Another nailhead question

[dlcoop]

I am also assembling my 425. Have the  heads on and torqued. Lower end is also sealed up.  Using the tool to preoil the engine,  I cannot get oil to come up to the heads. I have no leaks but cannot seem to get it to pressurize.  I did not replace the oil pump.  It was a running engine before I took it apart.  Mostly just to hot tank the engine and get the heads done.  All expansion plugs are in place and not leaking   I did replace the rocker arms and shafts.  I double checked to make sure I put them together correctly.  I even pulled one of the rocker shafts back off and still no oil thru the heads.  I am using a battery powered drill (which the batteries do not hold up for long).  Maybe not enough RPM from the drill???  I did have a small leak at the pressure switch (which I have replaced) so I know there is some kind of pressure there.  When I put the oil pump back in the only gasket I used was the one that goes on the pickup screen. 

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

 

 

[old-tank]

Adequate oil?

Clockwise rotation?

Check oil filter for oil.

Faster drill (I never have used a battery device, but they are usually slower).

Make, borrow or buy ($$$) an engine preluber kit that forces oil into the oil pressure sensor fitting.  A friend rigged one from a cheap garden sprayer.

[Guest]

Good idea to disassemble and inspect/clean and or repair, then pack with vasilene so pump is "preprimed" and prefill oil filter so oil is right there for pump. If done, was oil pump bypass valve assembly moving freely?

[dlcoop]

I prefilled the oil filter.  Thought maybe the pump is weak as it comes up to the pressure switch but not to the heads.  Looked up a new pump and seen there are two gaskets to use on the pump when installing it.  I did not install the gasket from the pump to the engine block.  Thinking maybe the pump system needs to be sealed for an adequate pressure build up..  I will pull the pump and fill it with Vaseline as suggested.  Will check the bypass valve when I take it down.

 

Thanks

[JohnD1956]

3 hours ago, dlcoop said:

When I put the oil pump back in the only gasket I used was the one that goes on the pickup screen. 

 

Wasn't there a gasket between the pump and it's mount on the block as well as one between the pickup screen and the oil pump assembly?  And did you prime the pump either by packing with Vaseline ( the preferred method) or at least filling it with oil before attaching it to the engine?

[NTX5467]

I believe you'll need "more drill" than what you have for things to work.  The few times I've seen guys do that pre-oil deal, they used a mongo electric-corded drill motor.  On a small block Chevy, the drill would spin nicely, then when pressure happened, the load would increase and the speed would drop down to about 1/2 what it had been.

 

The "Vaseline pack" is better than pouring oil into the pump.  If the pump is not installed and "worked" pretty soon, the oil might find another place to be?

 

Good luck!

 

NTX5467

[SpecialEducation]

1 hour ago, NTX5467 said:

 

 

The "Vaseline pack" is better than pouring oil into the pump.  If the pump is not installed and "worked" pretty soon, the oil might find another place to be?

 

 

Plus, it’s always fun to see the looks you get when you walk into Walmart all dirty & greasy from working in the shop, and you walk up to the cashier only buying a tub of petroleum jelly. ?

[dlcoop]

So I dropped the pan again.  Pulled the oil pump out.  Turned the shaft on the pump manually and oil went everywhere, so the pump appears to be working fine.  Installed the gasket and re-installed.  Its just not building up pressure.  Will try a 1/2" electric drill tomorrow and see what happens. Just thinking my battery drill is not enough power.

 

I do not want to close up the engine and install it until I know I have oil on the valve train

 

Thanks for all the info.

[pont35cpe]

I`m not familiar with the Buick v-8, but is it possible to put the head gasket on wrong and blocking the oil passage to the rockers?

[old-tank]

2 hours ago, pont35cpe said:

I`m not familiar with the Buick v-8, but is it possible to put the head gasket on wrong and blocking the oil passage to the rockers?

No, but if the front cam bearing is not installed correctly there will not be flow to the rockers.  Install a pressure gauge for testing.

[Ttotired]

I am not fully up on the nails yet, but does the oil system supply oil to both heads at once?

 

When pre lubeing an engine, I turn the crank over as well as that opens and closes oil galleries

 

Maybe if your not doing this, its just that the engine is not at an opening for either side?

 

Just a thought

[buick man]

… here is what I do … while you have the pan off and the oil pump removed and the oil filter boss removed from the engine block ( that part that the filter attaches to ) , remove and clean/check the flow valve/spring assemblies in both the oil pump and the psi valve assembly integrated into the oil filter boss …. reinstall the oil filter boss and attach the oil filter canister filled with oil with filter installed since you have just rebuilt items in the engine … then simply get yourself the following :

 

Some clear 1/4 inch I.D. tubing about 10 feet,  a large 3-foot x 2-foot black plastic concrete mixing tub, a cheap plastic 1-gallon bucket a simple plastic cheap small pumping fluid transfer hub sized for the tubing, and a couple screw clamps  from your local hardware store …

 

Now ...take one end of the tubing and just quickly stick it up into the hole that is intended for the oil passage of the oil pump when it is in place … the tube will stick right up in the hole but may want to wire it into place just to make sure it does not drop down …  then take the other end and determine the amount of length you will comfortably need to both attach the drill to the pump hub and have enough tube left for the piecer to go from there into your

1-gallon cheap plastic bucket …. now pour  2 quarts of cheap 30 wt oil into the bucket … check to make sure the valve covers and valley cover are off so you can see everything then you can begin spinning the drill.   If you have indexed your rocker shafts properly upon the rebuild oil will begin to come out of the rocker shaft ends within 1-minute of pumping and you will be able to see oil bleeding throughout the cam valley components … If you can see oil coming out after a minute you know you will have proper flow and oil psi abilities ….

 

The distributor does not need to be removed … and you can watch the flow through the tube and observe every area … many time these psi valves get gummy bear and cause flow restriction problems ..  - uncle dave