mccoy88olds

I recently put a new oil pump in my 350 rocket and there still is not any oil get pumped up to the valves,so now im in process of replacing the lifters.can anyone tell me that im making all the right moves or could it be another issue.i did prime the pump and soaked it in oil over night before i installed it and i check to see if the push rods were clogged,and they are clear

Oldsmaniac

How long are you running the engine before stateing that no oil is coming to the rockers?

mccoy88olds

1st day 15min then 30 min straight and still nothing

mccoy88olds

Nobody knows???????

442much

OK, here's a stupid question. There is enough oil in the engine right?

GAOldsman

You say it ran for 15 mins and 30 mins respectively? What oil pressure reading(s) are were you getting or do you just have the "idiot" light? Is this a rebuild or just a new oil pump? What kind of pump? It could be a few more possibilities but we need to have some more info to proceed.

mccoy88olds

well the oil pressure gauge isnt hooked up,but it is a brand new stock pump from oreilly,and yes it has enough oil in it but its only a very very small amount coming up on the rockers and its causing them to tap do to dryness, i just wanna make sure if replacing the lifters a good move that could fix my problem

gearheads78

Give a little more info. Why was the oil pump replaced in the first place. What else was done to the motor and how old it it? At idle you are not going to get a lot of oil up to the rockers. You will have a slow trickle at best.

Oldsmaniac

Any guess must be done with an accurate oil pressure gauge. Worn rockers will tap with or without oil. At idle the rockers only bleed small amounts of oil. Perhaps nothing is wrong but your worn rockers and stands.

GAOldsman

I'm wondering why the oil pump change and no gauge or "idiot" light. Or is this a rebuild with no gauge or "idiot" light?

getawaycar

Is that all that has changed? If the lifters are fed by the cam bushings maybe the oil holes are positioned incorrectly.

Chris

mccoy88olds

The oil pump was replaced due to valves tapping so i removed the valve cover to see that it was dry under there and was not getting any oil that is why the oil pump was replaced thats the only thing i replaced,the motor comes out a 1972 cutlass was running fine before a pulled it and put it in my eighty eight cutlass and i did replace the timing chain

mccoy88olds

My dad cut the wires that hooks up to the oil gauge by accident,so we have not took the time to find which wire goes to what

getawaycar

It is important to make sure you have good pressure. Hooking up a mechanical oil pressure gauge would be my first step. When you took off the oil pan was there any debris in the bottom? I also assume you changed the oil filter?

Chris

TripDeuces

Maybe way out of line but is the oil pump driveshaft in it after the swap?

MDchanic

Not to be a buster, but it sounds to me like you saw a problem, took a guess at the possible cause, changed a part, and still have the same problem.

Now's the time to do the diagnosing you should have done the first time.

You've got to start from scratch, measure you oil pressure, check your valve clearances (the original problem was valve noise, if I recall), decide whether the valve noise came from one, some, or all valves, and begin thinking of possible causes and ways to investigate.

I'm not taking a stab at this one, because I can't see your engine and I'm not clear on the exact details of your problem.

- Eric

mccoy88olds

no debri in the oil pan,yes the oil pump drive shaft is in,yeah i saw a problem but im not a real mechanic but i know about how to fix something of my own stuff, but i thank u all for your knowledge but i know that if my valves are dry that means no oil is getting to them so ill hook the gauge up and go from there after i install the lifters

455forgedsteelcrank

Sounds like he has it handled all on his own...............

oregontopcat

Since you are already changing the lifters you can now rule out them as the cause. What the people above are trying to say is that it is time to stop throwing parts at this issue and do some simple diag first. Number one, oil pumps almost never just go bad, they can wear over time, like a couple of hundred thousand miles, or they can sieze up due to debris. The lifters can cause excess clearance if one or more are collapsed but it would be rare indeed for all to be bad. If the top end is truely dry as you state then there is a major problem somewhere in the engine. With no oil to lifters or rockers there should have been a loud rattle much more than a tapping sound. Remember the lifters get their oil from the oil galleys on each side of the valley, they then feed some of this oil up the pushrods which then oils the rockers. Even a collapsed lifter will continue to feed oil to the top end. Get that oil pressure gauge on there and confirm oil pressure, if you have oil pressure bring the engine up to 1200 to 1500 rpm and observe the rockers to see if they start getting oil, my guess is that you will start to see oil. If you have no oil pressure within 60 seconds shut the motor off and find the problem. Maybe the tapping was just 1 or 2 bad lifters and you really had enough oil all along? Maybe this helps a little. Dave

Railguy

If the main and rod bearings are extremely worn it will cause low oil pressure.
railguy

mccoy88olds

my choice of words may seem blount ,but i meant no harm to anyone but i replaced the lifters and i got oil shooting up on the rockers evrywhere and the tapping has stopped maybe it was one lifter or more bad ,but i hope i solved my problem,so now im installing the oil gauge in the morning so thanks to all that gave their info!

getawaycar

Congratulations!

gearheads78

I hope I am wrong but new lifters and old cams do not go well together especially with the oil we have today. You now have a very good chance of loosing a lobe or two on the old cam with in a few hundred miles.