Oil pump intermediate shaft breaking

Wonder where the pump drives are made now?

I can tell you this. I bought the upgraded Direct Connection pump drive in the 70s when DC started. It was made of Moly 4XXX steel. This steel is hard steel....but not hardened like the stock piece. The Moly can absorb some twisting & not break; the stock piece has no give, like steel used in gears. I tried cutting the stock piece with a hacksaw....just blunted the blade. The Moly piece can be cut with a hacksaw.
I also found the DC piece was wearing against the bronze bush. I got another DC piece & used it with an alum bush, no more wear. It is just another indication of the difference hardness of the two pieces.

To continually break the aftermarket piece, I can only think of two reasons:
- poor quality metal
- something in the pump is locking up or extreme pressure is being applied to the shaft, eg binding relief valve.