Oil Pump Gear

[Dave W.]

My technique for installing seals is to smear a thin layer of black RTV on the outside of the seal to help it slide in smoothly, reduce the chance of damage during install, and help seal any burrs/nicks/deformation in the housing. The inner lip of the seal should be installed with a light coating of motor oil on the seal and the crank surface (or whatever part the seal is sealing against) to help slide it into position without damage. Make sure the inner edge of the seal does not fold over during installation.
Also, these old engines tend to have more crankcase pressure from piston ring blowby, which can push oil past the seals.

[Richey]

I got busy and forgot to come back and update what happened.

I reached out to Steven and he sent me another gear to try. The second one was pretty tight on the tolerances but letting it get to room temperature allowed the replacement to slip on. I tried the same with the original gear and it still was just too tight. I'm thinking it boils down to the tolerance is tighter on the new gear but tight enough that 50 degrees difference from it sitting outside in the box to inside made it so that the second one went on.

At this point it would make sense to just get a new gear. It's a shame you can't get in touch with the original vendor. Cut your losses and just order from an online Genuine Porsche Parts dealer. Personally I like Delawareporscheparts.

Actually, I think there are two different gears for the early cars. I remember having to check my engine serial number to make sure I ordered the correct gear for my 1984NA. However, I'm not sure if the newer style is backward compatible or if it is a different fit.

I think the issue was emailing Ian, since Steve has really taken over daily operations from what I can tell. I just pinged Steve and he assures me he's taking care of it. He suspects the part was just machined wrong -- sadly Porsche parts quality control may not be what it once was...