I poured 3 quarts of oil in the sump with the hope of finishing things up and attempting the first start of the season, but I noticed a really significant leak on the sprocket side of the oil pump cover. CRAP! After draining the fresh oil, I removed the oil pump cover to discover the issue with the gasket that I cut by hand. A whole section was missing because I made the mistake of trimming it without double checking it against the pump. I found a new gasket on eBay (it's described as N ew Old S tock, but I can't believe it really is NOS) so ordered it instead of trying to cut another one since the gasket sheets I was finding was a little too thick according to a Reddit poster. It looks like the old timers that told me the oil pump gasket being no longer available was not accurate. I'm super thankful that I had to remove the oil pump to replace the gasket because I would not have noticed the broken drive gear. Fracking Frack! - broke the drive gear The teeth on t...
This blog is just a place for me to record some minutae that some other person in a similiar situation may find helpful.