Just did a compete rebuild of a 54 6 cyl motor. New everything, including cam, etc. Pre-lubed motor with a drill and have good oil pressure to the gauge, but started motor and ran for a couple of minutes at about 900 rpm and never got pressure! The motor sounds okay, but afraid to rev up for fear of losing the whole thing! Any ideas on what I may have done wrong?
Sorry to here of your problem, if it were me I would make sure that the pressure gauge that I am reading was ok. Try another, get mechanial one at your nearby auto parts store. Put it together out and replace the existing one at the outlet in the engine and see what happens. Hope this helps.....Chb46
Well, I found the problem. The regulator in the new oil pump was bad, leaking very badly. Found the problem by blowing air into pickup tube and holding my finger over the outlet hole. Air came out of the regulator fitting. I guess you live and learn! In the future, I will always check a new oil pump for regulator failure. Hope this story helps someone out someday! Bubby5415
Well I'm glad you resolved the problem BEFORE the engine was damaged!! I did have an oil pump on a smallblock go onetime. Actually, one of the ears near one of the bolts broke, so it was leaking pretty good around there and the pressure at idle was about 8 PSI! Fun and games in the world of trucks....Again glad to hear the problem is taken care of!