Nothing getting too top end, cranked on the starter with plugs out till it glowed, pressurized system with an external oil tank and 100 psi and nothing getting too top end, not even a drip.

Verified gauge is working, have not verified sending unit is any good.

To go buy another gauge and plug it in where sending unit would be will cost 30 bucks roughly, hate too do that just too see if the pump is doing anything or doing what its supposed to be doing.

Machinest says there is a check valve in the oil pump that may be sticking, is this true and how can I deal with this?

I pulled out the rocker shaft bolt closest to firewall and it is the correct bolt.

New engine? Old engine? Hydraulic valve train or adjustable?

The camshaft of a solid lifter engine meters oil to the top end through a drilled passage in the cam. If the rear cam bearing is installed wrong or has spun it will block oil flow to the top end. Did you pull the oil filter to see if there is any oil delivery from the pump?

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Joshua

I believe he is working on a mid 80s hydraulic lifter slant six.

I think we just went through this with another board member. Yes, we did:

http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic ... g+hole+oil

Sorry Joshua, I should have given more information, yes Reed has it right, 1986 hydraulic engine fresh re-build

Okay... What do you get when you pull the oil filter?

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Joshua

Josh has the right idea. Did you drain the oil completely? Did you prime the oil pump before you tried cranking it? If you didn't prime the pump, remove the oil filter and pour a little oil down the stand pipe.

Ok well after thinking about it and before I get into all of this my next step should be too verify oil pump is pumping oil even if that means going and buying another gauge set-up for temp. use.

If its not pumping but instead only by-passing than I should look into the check valve machinest mentions. It is a new pump, I have no idea where this valve is specifically but maybe it will be in my service manual.

If there is oil pressure than proceed as you guys have suggested on this other thread. Thanks for the link, hopefully I wont have too use it.

If someone could explain too me where I would find this valve and how to check its operation it would be a big help. Im on my way now to get a cheap gauge too hook up in the A.M too see where I stand with the pump but before I do shouldnt I be able to again remove the oil pressure sending unit, stick my finger over the hole and feel pressure as the engine is spinning?

Obviously I cannot know how much pressure but at least this way I can know if its doing anything at all?

Do you mean prior to pressurizing it with the external oil tank/pump? If so than I got nothing at all in the oil filter after spinning it over many times. I did not check it after I primed it with the air/oil tank but I would assume it was full.

I assume this because the tank is hooked up at the same location the pressure switch would normally go which of course is adjacent to the filter so I would assume at this point that the filter would be full.

Not sure what you mean by drain the oil completely, at what point I mean are you asking. The engine was completely torn down, hot tanked, machined, new parts and re-assembled.

Yes during re-assy. the oil pump was primed but that was nearly two months ago.

I was told that there was no way to prime the engine except to run it without spark plugs until I was able to see oil out the top end.

OK- try this. Remove the oil filter and pour oil into the standpipe that sticks up into the middle of the filter. Pour it in until it overflows. Now put the filter back on and try cranking again.

The only valve in the oil pump is the high pressure relief valve. It is NOT a check valve. The check valve in the oil system is in the oil filter, if you are using a decent quality filter. The high pressure relief valve is located on the oil pump. It is the cylinder which sticks down at about a 45 degree angle towards the front of the car and it has a hex bolt on the end of it. Even if it fails it will not completely restrict oil flow to the top of the head.

What has probably happened is the oil that was in the pump when it was primed has leaked out and the oil pump is not developing sufficient suction to pull the oil out of the sump.

I don't know how one would use an external tank of pressurized oil to check oil pressure.

If you really are desperate, you can pour it onto the base and the hole and use your newly installed crank bolt and manually turn the engine backwards to backflow the oiling system a bit and then fill the oil filter and use the starter to see if it primed and is now sucking oil out of the pan (hopefully the machinist got the screen the right distance off the sump in the pan...)

If all else fails, it will cost a head gasket and you will the head and see if you are getting any oiling out of the hole in the block (thereby ensuring it's not the head gasket blocking the passage). Do you know if the cam you are using had a grooved rear main bearing (if it didn't did the machinist use the cam bearing set that has the correct rear bearing that is supposed to be groove?)

My all time favorite was getting a newly machined and assembled slant six locally, user got frustrated because he never got oil pressure...just said 'F-it' and dropped in a 318...I pulled the timing cover and the guy's machinist forgot to install the front galley plug...I guess that was one way to eliminate oil pressure and oil the timing set really good...



-D.Idiot

The way the tank works is to drain all of the oil that was in the oil pan and put it into this external tank, pressurize this tank to 100 psi or so, it has a flexible hose with screw on adapters avail, pick the adapter same size as the oil pressure sending unit inlet size, screw it into that pipe.

Crank open the handle located on top of tank, it is supposed to send fluid all throughout the engine forcefully, I was assuming I should see oil at the top of the engine by doing this.

Unfortunately I have also heard that some Chrysler engines have to have the cam/engine spinning to get oil past the rear cam bearing and up into the top of the engine. I do not know if slant six engines are this way?

I thought ( not certain ) at one point that I could hear oil just draining back into pan, if this were the case than I would think that there were some sort of check valve within the oil pump that was not allowing the oil to go anywhere but instead just re-directing it back too the bottom of the pan.

Quote: The only valve in the oil pump is the high pressure relief valve. It is NOT a check valve. The check valve in the oil system is in the oil filter, if you are using a decent quality filter. The high pressure relief valve is located on the oil pump. It is the cylinder which sticks down at about a 45 degree angle towards the front of the car and it has a hex bolt on the end of it. Even if it fails it will not completely restrict oil flow to the top of the head.................

Ok so is it possible that this valve could be stuck, I know you say that it will not restrict ALL oil but can I remove this hex head bolt, whatever is underneath it ( assuming some sort of spring/plunger deal ) put the heax bolt back in and then crank engine without the opportunity for this valve to restrict anything??

I feel it would be best to start at the bottom of the engine and work my way up so that is why I am trying to eliminate a problem with the pump pumping before I start screwing with other BIGGER issues up top.

I am positive that by pressurizing the oil system the way I did that at the very least the oil filter is full, the oil filter is I am assuming the very first place I would have been forcing oil into.

I dont know what he got right, this will be the last time I have anyone else assemble a specialty/oddball or unique engine like this. I am quite capable of doing it myself and that is what I should have done.