I'm about to assemble my first Ford engine. Looking at the HD oil pump driveshaft I got, it cam with a part I don't know where it goes. I looks like a sheetmetal nut, Where does this go????

Any help appreciated.

 

Extremely important part! With the pump installed, install the shaft with the flat end down, and the pointy end toward the top. The pushnut should be installed with the cup side up, as close to the top as it will go. This pushnut keeps the drive shaft from coming out if you remove the distributor at some point.

 

It will only move on the shaft in one direction. Slide it up the shaft from the bottom, but stop just short of the hole the shaft extends through at the top. You do not want it to rub on the block as it spins.

 

Once the pump is installed with the shaft, you should have some up and down play of the shaft, and that retainer should keep the shaft from coming out, but yeah, you don't want it so tight that it always contacts the block.