I would NOT suggest, modifying the current oil pump design by drilling a vent hole to be used for by-passing the higher pressure oil, back to the oil pan, sump, directly.
as in several tests, Ive seen posted over the decades, it was proven to result in a constantly pulsing jet of high pressure oil aerating the sump oil, this causes the oil pump pick-up to suck in a mix of air & oil thats is not nearly as effective ate lubing or cooling bearings, pistons etc.
routing high pressure oil back to the low pressure side of the oil pump is generally the more effective approach, now you can enlarge and smooth that return oil passage, to reduce resistance to oil flow.
in the factory design the piston on the pressure relief spring opens a direct route less than 1/2" long from one side of the gears to the other, once the pressure on the high pressure side forces the spring under the bye-pass piston back out of the way
the picture posted above, will reduce but not necessarily prevent that issue, as the re-routed line to the oil pump pick-up does little but increase the distance the high pressure oil travels before it returns to the oil pumps low pressure side of the gears while adding a good deal more complexity
I assume your aware there are GEROTOR aftermarket oil pumps available that are more efficient??
in my opinion , and experience and from lots of G.M. engine, race testing.
theres no need for oil pressure to exceed about 65 psi,
it takes power to spin the oil pump against that extra resistance, it induces extra wear on the distributor and cam gears,
and it does nothing to reduce bearing wear or increase cooling on the bearing surfaces,if your engine shows more than about 70 psi, you should open some bearing clearances marginally
(maybe an extra half thousandth on the mains) to increase oil flow volume reaching the main bearings, and use a lower resistance oil pump bye-pass spring.
extra oil flow volume cooling the bearings and valve train will do more for durability than oil pressure exceeding 65-70 psi
http://pitstopusa.com/i-22954300-moroso-bb-chevy-billet-aluminum-pro-gerotor-oil-pump.html
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Chevrolet Performance 14091563
Left (Driver Side) Dipstick Plug
Chevrolet Performance 9421743
Right (Passenger Side) Dipstick Plug
On oil pans I prefer studs, and an oil pan back plate
you might want to Use with P/N 12553058 RH and P/N 12553059 LH oil pan reinforcement plates to distribute the bolt stress on the oil pan rail for 1985 and earlier oil pans P/N 14088501 (LH) and P/N 14088502 (RH).1986 and newer
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...l-pumps-pressure-bye-pass-circuit-works.3536/
http://www.milodon.com/oil-system/oil-pumps.asp
if some internal engine oil control components breaking,in engines, theres a reason,
and its frequently related to either inferior materials being used or component design,
not having the operational stress being induced taken into account in the design phase.
or the components not having been ,manufactured or installed correctly.
example
for awhile SBC oil pumps were breaking after the manufacturer,
tried to save some cash by reducing the thickness of the housing casting ,
this was a really stupid change that cost them a great deal, in customer confidence,
and potential future sales are word, of the defective pump, got around quickly
theres some vibration stress on any oil pump, and the manufacturer rapidly found ,
they were forced to revert to the original older design.
trying to save a few cents per pump so they could undercut the cost,
of the pumps of other manufacturers, and gain an advantage,
cost them rather dearly in sales.
as many of you gentlemen know MELLING CHANGED the casting on their standard M55 high volume oil pumps making them weaker and thinner
Id also point out that, if you properly set up a performance engine with the proper after market oil control components,the stock engine's oil system, can be vastly improved upon, youll want too, open the oil drain holes and use the proper oil pan, windage screen and crank scraper, its virtually impossible , in a well designed engine to run the engine
"long enough to pump all the oil upstairs."
as with a properly designed baffled oil pan, with a carefully fitted and clearanced windage screen and crank scraper, the oil pump simply reaches a flow rate pumping oil out of about 100 or so potential lubricant flow leakage points
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/whats-a-windage-tray-do.64/
theres zero doubt an accusump oil feed is a good insurance policy to maintain oil pressure at the bearings, but simply having a 7-8 quart baffled oil pan,properly clearanced, windage screen and crank scraper will insure the oil pressure remains consistent , mostly due to the fact that theres always going to be enough oil over the oil pump pick-up, simply because theres really no room to pack most of the available oil volume in the upper engine ,plus the fact that hot oil flows well.
yes Ive seen several cases where guys failed to install the oil pump pick-up at the proper minimum 3/8"-to-1/2" off the oil pan floor clearance,
the result is the pump is starved for oil intake flow.
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...m-sure-your-convinced-its-the-oil-pump.11085/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...m-oil-pump-installed-now-no-oil-pressure.525/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/bbc-oil-pump-in-a-sbc.2598/
OIL PRESSURE read on the oil pressure gauge is a MEASURE of RESISTANCE to oil flow, you can REDUCE the pressure the gauge reads by either increasing the engine clearances or REDUCING the oil viscosity (thickness) so it flows thru the clearances faster with less resistance.(OR INSTALLING A SLIGHTLY WEAKER OIL PUMP BYE_PASS SPRING,that limits the pump pressure before it allows some oil to re-circulate back through the bye-pass valve ,from the high pressure back to the low pressure side of the pump impellers, but only the max pressure you reach is limited by the bye-pass spring,in your oil pressure bye pass circuit and its that spring resistance determines the point where the bye-pass circuit, opens and limits max oil pressure, but the bye-pass circuit has zero to do with anything else, if its functioning correctly,
there are many oil leakage points(100) in a standard Chevy engine.
16 lifter to push rod points
16 push rod to rocker arm points
32 lifter bores 16 x 2 ends
10 main bearing edges
9 cam bearing edges
16 rod bearing edges
2 distributor shaft leaks
1 distributor shaft to shim above the cam gear(some engines that have an oil pressure feed distributor shaft bearing.)
once oil exits the bearings or valve train it flows mostly by gravity back to the oil pan sump, but a properly designed windage screen and crank scraper correctly clearanced allows the spinning crank/rotating assembly to act like a directional pump that drags the vast majority of the oil flow back to the sump, by design.
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/whats-a-windage-tray-do.64/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/oil-system-mods-that-help.2187/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/basic-info-on-your-v8-lube-system.52/
Without oil temp numbers though, no idea if more oil is needed, or if I'm fine with 5qts. Heck, could be fine with 4qts, without temp numbers I really don't know. But GM must have felt there was a reason to run a cooler, and we ask far more of our trucks today than when they were designed and built.