Bummer! No oil Pressure

[Chilsam]

Does STP make a thick Vaseline like product?

No but it is very thick...vaseline works because it is thick then liquefies at a low temp the is absorbed into the oil

 

[1963JAM]

No but it is very thick...vaseline works because it is thick then liquefies at a low temp the is absorbed into the oil

Would Permatex Anti-Seize lube be too thick for priming the oil pump? I use it mainly on fasteners.

 

[F4R/T]

No anitseize! Use assembly lube or similar to pack it the first time, prime and go.

 

[Chilsam]

Would Permatex Anti-Seize lube be too thick for priming the oil pump? I use it mainly on fasteners.

NO ...do not use that....use STP or Vaseline.......IF it is assembled n in car ..."I.M.O" would fill filter let it sit while filter is off I'd use a Auto Trans fluid funnel to get the STP or at least some VR 60w or VR50w into the pump thru the port in the pump housing....u could pull the dist and make a priming tool fit to a drill into pump n use to prime it...when you see oil coming out of pump ur good n put filter back on with dist back on n timed of course

 

[dadsbee]

Same here. 45 years of doing my own oil changes. The problem I'm having is engine lost oil pressure, changed pump (440) and still no pressure. Reaching out for other ideas what causes pressure loss. I welcome ideas on making install is correct.

Cracked intake tube??

 

[Dave6T4]

A real long shot, because I just went through this myself. One of my racer friends said to check the rocker shafts, because they have a pressed in plug in each end. He said if one of these pops out, pump will not build pressure. First of all, I did not believe him about these plugs, but when I checked, there were indeed plugs there. Mine were still all in place. I feel for you Fran. This was real maddening. Wix filter fixed mine. By this time, we had pulled the extra rear gallery plug out and the rocker shafts off to see if we had oiling there. Maybe it burped air out there??? I dunno.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Lost prime once. Drained the oil took filter off. Then spent 2 hours doing something (parts store run) came back added oil to filter and engine. Started engine no oil pressure.

 

[lewtot184]

Same here. 45 years of doing my own oil changes. The problem I'm having is engine lost oil pressure, changed pump (440) and still no pressure. Reaching out for other ideas what causes pressure loss. I welcome ideas on making install is correct.

Check to see if if a lifter popped out. If a rocker arm breaks, and I've broken a few, a tappet can be tossed out of it's bore and all oil pressure is lost.

 

[Dave6T4]

Have you had the relief valve out yet? I had one stick open with varnish, etc. years ago. It is behind the plug at the back of the pump. Pull it out and clean with paint thinner or brake cleaner. Spray relief bore with brake cleaner and clean with bottle brush.

 

[Cranky]

I must be blessed....never had an issue firing up a big block and not having pressure. Even with ones that sat for awhile. I have one last big block still on the stand that hopefully will go into my car pretty soon and I have a feeling that engine is gonna give me grief lol. Rebuilt it but over 20 years ago. Done many over the years for other people and only had one come back because of an oil leak.

 

[dadsbee]

I must be blessed....never had an issue firing up a big block and not having pressure. Even with ones that sat for awhile. I have one last big block still on the stand that hopefully will go into my car pretty soon and I have a feeling that engine is gonna give me grief lol. Rebuilt it but over 20 years ago. Done many over the years for other people and only had one come back because of an oil leak.

My Bee was in the marine container for almost 14 years, pulled it out and fired it up. Zero issues... engine rebuilt in 1978 for about 300 bucks, still going strong. I did put a new timing chain set and valve seals in it afterwards but nothing else.

 

[1963JAM]

Have you had the relief valve out yet? I had one stick open with varnish, etc. years ago. It is behind the plug at the back of the pump. Pull it out and clean with paint thinner or brake cleaner. Spray relief bore with brake cleaner and clean with bottle brush.

I just installed a new Rockauto Mellings oil pump.

 

[1963JAM]

Phew. A big thanks to FBBO'rs for the insight on oil pump install. Was thinking the worse, spun bearing, dropped or blocked pick up, motor rebuild. Funny that Ma's repair/maintenance manual makes no mention of priming new pump. But it does make complete sense.
Thanks again and happy holidays.

 

[1963JAM]

Idle pressure. Thanks again.

 

[Dave6T4]

Congratulations, Fran! It is weird that you and I both went through this about a month apart. So, are you putting this up to a bad pump? I bought a new Mellings from RockAuto, too. But it would not prime initially either, after being filled with STP and Fram filter. What style pump did you buy? Standard or High Pressure? I bought HP and it idles with 70 psi. cold, with Castrol GTX 20W40.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Was running a high volume pump and 10/40 oil. What happened was I left the filter off for a couple of hours. Was doing something else on my car and didn't put the filter on and run the engine like I normally do. It simply drained the oil out of the pump and lost it's seal. Lucky the parts store had a pump to block gasket. Friend who trained people to fix Xerox machines always look for the simple things first, it's easy to over diagnose a problem.

 

[padam]

None of you guys are making it clear what actually solved your problems.

 

[Fran Blacker]

None of you guys are making it clear what actually solved your problems.

Removed pump put oil in the pump and half fill the filter and didn't diddle around, start the car. You can add oil to the oil pressure fitting if you can cobble something together. Never did that.

 

[Dave6T4]

None of you guys are making it clear what actually solved your problems.

All I know, is that with Fram filter, the pump would not prime. Changed to Wix filter, and it primed up 75 psi. I don't know how to say it any clearer.
I am leaving this gauge on permanently, plus one under the dash. Can't hardly see it with air cleaner on.

 

[moparben]

After working on my 1964 Dodge Polara, since the Pandemic, I figured I had it ready to fire up today. My buddy and I worked on it Saturday and today and got the 440 engine running, only to find we had no oil pressure. I had tried priming it with my power drill, and foiund it only had a slight resistance when spinning CCW, and none when spinning CW. I know the pump and distributor run CCW. I have primed other big blocks, and when they start to achieve pressure, it almost jerks the drill out of your hands. This was not the case today. Yesterday, I had the restricter valve and spring out of the pump, thinking maybe the valve got stuck in the bore. I cleaned everything up and replaced the stock blue spring with a stiffer black one. I have a new filter and 5 L. of 10 W 40 oil in it I have the stock sender with red light in the dash, plus an aftermarket mechanical gauge under the dash. Neither gauge showed any pressure. Curiously, the hydraulic lifters were not clattering.
The car has not been on the road for 20 years, but I would occasionally fire the engine up to make sure it did not get stuck. The car was a strong runner when I parked it in my new heated garage 20 years ago. When I had the engine out of the car about 4 years ago when the car body was getting restored, I pulled the intake,water pump, and heads off and put new gaskets in it. At the same time, I coated everything with GM.Engine Oil Supplement. I use this stuff at every oil change in my old cars. I don't think the engine has 10,000 miles on it since a quality rebuild. I figure that either the pump or filter has f**ked up. After talking to a couple of Hemi racing buddies, I think that the inner rotor and shaft have separated. I have a new Melling M63HP pump on order from RockAuto (made in USA). I had it all lined up for new exhaust for tomorrow, but cancelled that. I am pretty disappointed. After working on these early B-bodies for about 50 years, this is not my first rodeo.

Dave,
Dead mouse in the oil pickup screen? I once heard of a chevy guy dropping roller bearings into another guy's intake manifold and they got all the way into the cylinders. A piece of cardboard or paper/ plastic, something may be plugging the pickup screen. Put your drill drive back in and pull the oil filter right off. Then run the pump and see if you have volume. If you have volume, put your finger over the hole where the oil is coming out of and see if it develops any pressure. There is a slim chance of an opening in one of the drilled passage ways where air can enter and create air bubbles. Ask me how I know. I was outfitting a 440 with Hemi pickup and I drilled the passages out to accommodate more volume and I drilled too far. I hope you find it and it's simple.
moparbens at yahoo dot com