ANOTHER oil pump question

[88turbobird]

This topic has been beat to death with 100's of different answers from 100's of different people. I have even called several companies that support the 2.3 platform and have received different answers so I wanted to post this here as it seems a lot of folks on this forum have modified cars, motors, etc. 

I'm in the process of putting back together my 2.3 motor. Some background: bored .020 over, CP pistons, H beam rods, ARP everything, Boport Stage 3 head, 2.1 cam, etc. I will be running a thermostatic oil plate that will flow to an external oil cooler mounted on the front of my 88 TC. Reason for this is turbo is oil cooled only and I do plan to do some autocross, road racing, etc. I will be running a billet aux shaft with bronze gear. 

The question: which oil pump should I use? I would just go with the M86E (stock replacement for TC) but I want to know if the external oil cooler warrants a higher volume or pressure oil pump. Esslinger sells a stock pump that is shimmed for slightly higher pressure and there is the obvious M86CHV. All thoughts are welcome!

[Stinger]

I will NEVER run anything but a stock replacement pump on a 2.3. The damage caused by the damaged gears the HP/HV pumps cause is much more problematic than anything slightly lower oil pressure would cause (not that a stock pump will cause any problems).

[88turbobird]

Appreciate the response; I'm thinking I will give the M86E stock replacement a go. I had good pressure in the motor when I pulled it and that was with 95,XXX miles on it; though I didn't have an external oil cooler. I'll report back here in the future when the car is back up and running on how the pressure and such looks with my setup.

For those who are unaware, not all stock replacement pumps are the same. The M86C is for the N/A 2.3. The M86E is for the turbo 2.3. The relief spring on the M86E is stiffer than the M86C. There's also the M127 and M86CHV. M127 is a newer design (same volume as M86E) but pickup tube holes are different and it may not fit with certain oil pans. M86CHV is the "high volume" unit.

[Stinger]

My thoughts on this is always to say "show me one 2.3 engine that died because the oil pump was too small". Good luck finding one. I've heard the output is the same as the 460 Ford pump, though I don't have proof of it.

[88turbobird]

Good point; I have the stock M86E on the way. Question about the install: there doesn't seem to be a gasket for the mating surface between the oil pump and the block. From what I've read, there isn't one from the factory (I haven't seen any on various motors I've disassembled) but many manuals call for a gasket there. Thoughts? There were suggestions to smear a small amount of RTV around the protruded hole but is that really necessary if both surfaces are flat?

[Stinger]

No gasket is used there. A paper thin coat is fine as long as none of it gets in the pump or oil galleys.