Rob --

That "failing" oil pump has persisted from 116k miles (when I bought the car and first heard the rap-rap on startup) 'til now. And now it's quiet—and the car has 347k miles. Nope, not a failing oil pump. Tired, maybe, but it's truly amazing how a decent oil filter rejuvinated my "failing" pump.

"I merely asked a question; I do not want to argue with you. I wanted to know why you thought so poorly of..."

OK, Rob, I answered your question about why I think Fram filters suck. So why are you still digging at it?

"Sorry Don, I'm not buying it."

And once again, I don't really care. Because you don't understand something or don't know how to do it doesn't mean it can't be understood or can't be done.

"...you're realling saying is that you bought an '81 245 with a broken timing belt..."

Please — give me a little credit. Don't you think I know to reach behind the t-belt cover to turn the cam sprocket and test the cam?

Indeed, a broken belt, sheared alignment pin, and the cam tighter'n a pig's ass. But knowing how to patiently rework and polish the bearing surfaces by hand seems to have worked for me. That cam has 5 bearing surfaces, so is very forgiving. As I said, that was ten years and 65k miles ago, and the car still runs great.

The cam seized when the car was sitting in a July traffic jam with the AC on. Hotter than hell, and the top end lost pressure. Plugged filter? Maybe, but any decent filter (emphasis on "decent") has a bypass valve. When I dropped the pan, it was spotless—they had changed the oil often. No, I believe the 160k miles with those orange filters was severe service, and took its toll on the engine, top end first.

Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)