Hey guys. I was wondering how important is the little ball bearing in the oil pump? I rebuilt the pump a couple of months ago, went to Subaru and got the actual rebuild kit, and rebuilt it. I changed the oil today and went and dumped out the oil filter and out comes the ball bearing. My oil pressure is just under 50 psi running and about just under 20 psi while idling. Do I need to rebuild it again??????

The ball bearing is part of the filter bypass, yes that ball bearing is important.

Edited May 15, 201312 yr by mikaleda

What would cause it to somehow get out of position and stop in the filter????

That's a good question, I don't know, it's probably best to just get another pump, it sounds like its worn out and let the ball slip out.