Well, it feels good to measure.
Got an HV aftermarket cover (Had it for about 5 years) and dropped in some new gears.
Here are the measurements;
Lash – 0.007" - YOWDZER! (Spec – 0.0015-0.003")
Clearance between gear teeth and side wall 0.003 (Spec - 0.003-0.005")
End clearance 0.0015-0.003", NO gasket! (Spec - 0.002-0.006")
Gasket is 0.005", uncompressed, and end play was waaaay too loose with the gasket.
Blue Printing Oil Pump
The cover is a bit scored, so I am waiting for the new one to arrive.
Measurements were done with the cast wear plate in the kit, which is reasonably flat (Appears to be less than 0.001”).
Interesting you will see in the pic that the drive gear is concaved. There are clearly some markes on 2 of the teeth while the other appear to be clean
Wish I had the center-center gear dimension.
Options:
1-Start over
2-Lap the gear, AND the cover to be able to set the end clearance with the 0.005 uncompressed gasket.
3-Run it till it blows.
Just thought I would share, and not hijack the thread.
Point is; Apparently, the end clearance issue is not isolated to your case, although, a sample of 2 does not result in a "trend".