oil pump nightmare

[CrazyHorse]

Well finished puttin my drivetrain back up saturday from the main seal removal fiasco! Put my oil pump up after torqueing the mains , All back together and stated it. NO OIL PRESSURE. Pulled the pan(2nd time), checked everything, put all back together, NO OIL PRESSURE.. starting to sand dry in there. pulled the distributor, primed pump to no avail! Pulled it apart again and put new Oil Pump in this morning, Will try again today to start it. Any suggestions?

 

[stevew]

You put the oil pump drive shaft in ? If so is it matching up with the distributor shaft ?

 

[americanhorses]

Mine didn't prime right away ethier. I made a little fitting and hose, plumbed it in the oil sending unit spot, put a big funnel on the hose and poured oil while turning the pump with a screw gun. It worked for me.

 

[Skuzzlebutt]

I've had a few engines where I needed to completely fill the oil filter with oil before installing it in order to prime the pump. Filling the filter without pressurized oil would take along time tho.

 

[CrazyHorse]

Ive made sure the shaft lined up, put a pressure guage where the sending unit goes and spun the shaft with an air ratchet and go no pressure. Now with the new pump Ill try again! I thank all you guys for your help. I f you have anymore ideas or advice let me know. I'll try again in the morning. Thanks again

 

[CrazyHorse70]

Whenever I rebuild a motor I always prime/pressurize the oil system by spinning the pump up with a fabricated pump drive shaft turned by a 3/8 drill. Check to make sure the drill rotation is the same direction as the distributor rotation! The oil usually picks up and pumps in 10-20 seconds. Good luck.

 

[Waverous]

Had the same problem!
My problem was the gasket between the oil pickup and the pump MOVED somehow and blocked about 75% of the oil coming to the pump. I too primed the pump and had some success (which probably saved the engine from lock up). After I replaced the gasket, all was fine!

Another issue is the oil pump/distributor shaft. IF you have pulled the retaining clip off the shaft that keeps it in the oil pump, REPLACE IT. The shop that machined my block has a 79 Ford Highboy with a new blownup 390 in it. The guy pulled off that clip, thought he reseated correctly in the pump, and drove off - for about 20 miles! The damage was so bad the the block is physically cracked in 3 cylinders.

A trick to help prime the oil pump I found that worked well was after I found the correct size socket and adapter for my cordless drill, I held the socket, shaft, and drill adapter together by using heat shrink wrap over each joint (my biggest fear was somehow dropping a socket into the opening!)

 

[supermottl]

I was worried about that too when i did my oil pump. All I did was pour some oil in either end of the pump with it just sitting there, and turned the shaft by hand and oil shot out. I left it like that, then bolted everything up, added oil, and started it up, and oil presure rose w/in a few seconds... I got a NAPA pump.
Let us know how it goes

 

[Broncobowsher]

I wouldn't use an air ratchet to spin the pump. The RPM of an air ratchet is pretty slow. Cordless drill can get some good RPM, which really helps the pump prime.

Another old trick is to rebuild the pump using a bit of petrolium jelly.

 

[CrazyHorse]

OK, I ised a 1/2" drill to prime the pump with the correct socket and still no oil! Im totally disappointed. Tried a new filter, tried pouring oil down the sending unit fitting and NO LUCK. I thought she loved me. Im without words.

 

[Waverous]

[quote author=CrazyHorse link=board=5;threadid=19206;start=0#msg147590 date=1056571825]
OK, I ised a 1/2" drill to prime the pump with the correct socket and still no oil! Im totally disappointed. Tried a new filter, tried pouring oil down the sending unit fitting and NO LUCK. I thought she loved me. Im without words.
[/quote]
Did you run the drill in reverse (counterclockwise)?

 

[feitctaj]

Another old trick is to rebuild the pump using a bit of petrolium jelly.
This is the easiest way, although I always work the petroleum jelly into the pump and turn the pump and work more jelly in until the pump is full. Seems to work , I have done this about 8 times with great success

 

[bert]

Didn't Ford use two different diameter oil pump driveshafts? 5/16 and 3/8 ? Does the driveshaft fit the pump correctly? bert

 

[CrazyHorse]

Yes ford did make two size shafts, mine is the smaller one. It does match the pump as well. I gave up, because I have no more time for it and sent it to my cousins shop for him to fix it!! I will post what the problem was and I thank you all for your advice! ;D With all the time I've put into this project I could have put the 5.0 HO motor that I was planning on installing this winter in....About 5 times!

 

[CrazyHorse]

Reil pump nightmare FIXED!!!!(I Think)

Yes Im an idiot! I could not see that the shaft was not fully engaged into the oil pump! SHOOT ME NOW!. Thanks for all the help! Lord, I will learn to be more patient in my dealings with the mighty bronco. AMEN