Refresher: Katech’s Billet TrackFlow LS9 Dry-Sump Oil Pump Replaces GM’s Discontinued Part
Today’s Daily Planet by Planet X Performance
Refresher for C6 ZR1 and LS9 builders: GM’s factory LS9 dry-sump oil pump (GM 12578147) is no longer available, and good used cores are getting hard to find. A core is a used part sent back so it can be rebuilt. Katech’s billet TrackFlow LS9 pump, KAT-A7974, first covered by LSX Magazine in late July, is a newly built replacement with no core required.
Quick background: in a dry-sump system, the oil doesn’t just sit in the pan. Scavenge sections of the pump pull oil out of the pan and send it to a separate tank, and a pressure section feeds oil from that tank back through the engine. Pulling oil out faster helps keep it under control at high rpm and on the track.
Katech says it moves 62% more scavenge oil than the OEM LS9 pump and makes 8% more peak oil pressure than Katech’s own billet LS7 pump. It’s listed for 2009-13 Corvette ZR1 LS9 engines, and Katech says it can also go on LS7 or LS3 dry-sump setups when more pressure is wanted. Katech’s separate TrackFlow LS7/LS3 pump, KAT-A7936, covers those engines otherwise.
Plan ahead before ordering. Katech’s instructions call for installing it during engine assembly with the oil pan off. It slides onto the crank sprocket, the gear on the front of the crankshaft that drives the timing chain, and that has to be a 2009+ GM LS9 crank sprocket (GM 12622539). Timing-chain damper choice matters for clearance. The damper is the guide that keeps the chain from slapping, and an LS2 damper needs shorter bolts.
Are you still running the factory pump on your LS9, or have you had to hunt for a replacement?
Sources
- LSX Magazine: Katech’s billet LS9 dry-sump pump
- Katech Engineering: TrackFlow LS9 pump
- Katech Engineering: TrackFlow install guide (PDF)
- EngineLabs: LS9 pump fills a lost legend’s shoes
- GM Parts Giant: GM 12578147 oil pump listing
- Chevy Hardcore: Katech’s LS7 TrackFlow pump (background)
Images: Katech Engineering