Help - no oil pressure after rebuild!

Thanks,

J

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J

You can"t expect even a new pump to do that.

I guess my question is this: if it isn't the pump - do I have to open up the whole friggin' engine?!?!

J

Normally, oilpump rebuild you stuff the oilpump gears with chassis grease to create enuff suction to prime yer pump. Lets hope its just a simple thing, eh?..... ....Dell

J

I think just a good oilpump prime with very heavy oil will gittcha pumpin' again ...unless... yer oilpump suck'em-up tube-arm has come loose and that still won't cause bearing damage.....yet. You damage bearings when the combustion forces cause things to move. Oil protects things from rubbin' together and other nasty stuff..... ...Dell

Can't imagine the oil pump tube is loose, we rebuilt the thing. Let me ask you this: I towed in 3rd gear for 7-8 minutes, how can it not be primed? Is that possible. And another thing: if I remove all the linkage, and oil pressure is ok, will oil squirt out of the governor when it turns over?

J

Probably that front or the oil pump prime. Assemblers will pack the pump with assembly lube or some such to give it a prime.

J

An old hot-rod engine bulider's trick is to use an external source of pressurized oil to fill the oil galleries, prime the pump, and lube the bearings, before the engine is ever started.

You can use a NEW, clean, pump-up garden sprayer that will cost $10.00 to $20.00 to make a simple system to do this. Simply cut off the plastic wand ahead of the nozzle. Get a brass hose barb that will screw into the oil gauge fitting at the back of the block. Connect the cut off wand and the brass fitting with a piece of gas hose and clamps.

Put some motor oil in the spryer, and pump it up.

If all is OK, the oil will fill the oil galleries, and bleed off, relatively slowly through the bearings, and into the crankcase.

If you have a missing gallery plug, or other major interanl leak, the oil will flow very quickly out of the sprayer, and into the crankcase, and you'll notice you're not building any pressure with the sprayer.

If it seems all is well, you can re-connect the oil gauge, and start the engine, which should QUICKLY develop oil pressure. You'll have to drain out excessive oil before continuing to operate the engine, but some extra oil for the initial startup won't hurt, and, in fact, will be good.

If there seems to be an internal leak, you'll have to drop the oil pan to track it down.

With the pan off, you can again apply oil pressure to the oil gallery with your makeshift pressure system, and look for the internal leak. The better the fit of the rod and main bearings, the slower the drip of oil will be from each, and a missing plug, or other problem will show up as a BIG leak.

Then you have to remove the front cover for that silly plug thing. Both plugs come out to clean the gallery. If you only replaced one plug and it was in the back side then that front plug is high on the list of things to check.

Only then should you pull the pan and pump.

Don"t worry so much, it comes apart easier the second time. Goes back quicker too.

J