Pump cavitation: What causes it?
Oil pressure is the result of several things. First, the pump must have an adequate supply of oil at the inlet side. Secondly, the pump must have the capacity to pump enough oil to overcome the “leaks” inside the engine and develop pressure. These “leaks” are due to bearing clearances, lifter bore clearances and top end oiling. If the supply of oil to the inlet side is not adequate due to small hose and fitting sizes, anywhere in the inlet hose, the pump cannot fill each chamber completely on each pumping event and the pump “cavitates”, or works at less than maximum efficiency. Please note that the hose or fitting size is really the I.D. size of the hose or fitting. Some industrial hoses and fittings use the same thread sizes and wrenches, but the hole “I.D.” is smaller than a comparable “AN” or high-performance fitting such as “EarlĂs Performance Products” fittings. Typically, a small inlet hose size will cause the engine to see a loss in pressure at higher RPMs.
