I am going to replace my rod bearings this week and inspect my oil pick up tube.
Question is if the tube is cracked, can it be welded, reinforced or replaced.
Mark

Mark,

I added some additional support to the oil p/u tube by welding. It can done and I believe it is a small insurance policy to minimize cracks in the p/u tubes.

well, 3 hours and the rod bearings are in and the car running. that is the good news. The rod bearings were in good shape but #2 was definitely hammered more then the others. The oil pickup was good but the brace between the two tubes was broken.
Welded while in place.
The bad news. One engine mount broken and the pipe from the header to the exhaust was badly cracked.
Lots of work before Sebring

The factory tubes are actually brazed together, not welded to give them more resistance to vibration and potential cracking. If you weld the tubes the entire assembly should be heat treated or normalized. We add a "skirt" on all of our engines to help with scavenging that goes around the pick up screen. Greg F