Hi all,
I have a 58 Edsel with a 410ci MEL engine. I took her out for a spin today and on the way home, I start to hear lots of load tapping and the oil pressure light
comes on. I was able to pull over and shut the engine off within
about 45 seconds so I hope there's no damage. Towed it home and
dropped the oil pan. Things still look good from the underside.
Removed and checked the oil pump, it's working fine. So I put the
pump back on and then I notice that I'm able to lift
the "intermediate shaft" (the hexagon connecting rod) upwards into
the distributor just enough so that it dis-engages from the pump! I
consult the 58-60 Master Parts Catalog and from the pictures shown, I
have a pump that belongs to a 332/352/361 engine! Now I'm confused... So, a
few questions. Please answer each of these if you can:

1) Has anyone ever seen a 332/352/361 oil pump on a 410 engine?

2) The correct pump has a vacuum tube on it. Did this go to the check
valve mounted on the side of the block and is that the vacuum assist
for the wipers that we have been talking about in recent posts?

3)What is the purpose of the "retainer ring" (a "spring type" washer)
that slips over the "intermediate shaft"? Should it be a press fit on
the shaft and be positioned to prevent the shaft from rising up out
of the pump? Mine is loose and not grabbing the shaft...

4) How far should the very bottom end of the distributor shaft
protrude past the block casting and into the lower cavity of the
engine? Mine is flush with the bottom of the block and does not
protrude at all.

Thanks in advance for everyones help...
Kevin.

I have not directly used an FE pump in a MEL, but understand that they are interchangeable (after vacuum pump was deleted-later models). The intermediate shafts do have different PN's and and the Shop Manual gives a MEL shaft length of 2.24-2.26". The FE has one retaining ring (metal to bottom) while the MEL has two. The metal one is at the top on the shaft, the second (hard rubber is at the bottom and must control penetration length.

Here is the assembly (oil and vacuum) mounted);





Here is the check valve on the left side of the block skirt;



I think (not certain) that someone previously could not find a MEL shaft and tried to get by with the FE.

As for distributor shaft depth, this is another blind area at this point. Do you see a casting I.D. No. on the distributor bowl? Some distributors may interchange, some may not. MEL had valvetrain problems in the first year and they changed cam journal sizes, valve sizes and heads. I have no tech info for the 410 EDSEL, so have to play it by ear here.

Your pictures in the last post are VERY helpful. I see now what the correct pump looks like and how the "vacuum assist" tube for the windshield wipers hooks up. I have found out that everyone disables this vacuum tube because they fail and then pump oil up the tube and into the wipers (or at least oil vapors) and really mess things up... I've got a pretty good handle on how this whole pump set up works now, it will be no problem getting it all back together.
Take care, Kevin.