3B sudden loss of oil pressure (1 Viewer)

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Apr 3, 2007
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3 mins. after normal start up oil pressure sudenly died.will start up again but only for few seconds before low oil pressure sensor shuts it down again.hooked up a mechanical gauge,still zero.
pulled pressure relief valve and cleaned, nothing. Gotta be the pump, right? Gear drive off the crank. Has anyone seen one of these gear drive pumps fail so quckly?The odometer reads 296KM.i took out glow plugs and unhooked EDIC so as to turn over fast,as i didn't want to keep starting with no oil pressure,how long before engine damage?i cranked over with releif piston sprig and out,does not blow out any oil,should it? I tried to prime it by loading oil thru pressure relief hole, still did not spit any oil back out. any other ideas before I pull the whole front cover?
 
I'm not trying to be an ass but there is enough oil in it right? If it's on the low side and you start and run you might draw enough out of the pan to set the low oil pressure sender off.

At 296,000 kM it is just broken in!
 
oil was a little on low side but i wouldn't have though low enough to suck air.
although that is exactly how it felt,it happened so quick,so my first reaction was to fill with oil.i started the engine 4 or 5 times,each time lasting about 5 seconds before the low pressure sender shuts it down.still no pressure.
the engine sounds perfectly normal when it starts, although i didn't want to run it too much with no oil pressure.i am baffled by this one,is there any way of testing the oil pump without pulling it apart.
 
did recently change filter,could try another.how fast do you think engine needs to turn to build up oil pressure,as i have removed glow plugs and disconected EDIC because i don't want to keep starting it with no oil pressure.do you think cranking it like this will be enough.
 
even a mechinical pressure gauge will take longer then 5 seconds to register pressure on installation...

I would try changing the filter, maybe even try filling the filter with oil, even though it is hard because you have to turn it upside down...

when was the last time the oil was changed?
 
filter was changed about a month ago.i will change filter and try again,this time with low pressure sensor un-hooked,but how long do you think i can run engine before doing damage,if in fact there still is no oil pressure.
thanks
 
Get a good oil pressure gauge and install it. OME gauges and sensors often give faulty readinings. Once the new gauge and sensor is installed, start it up. If after 5 - 8 seconds it registers low or non-existant oil pressure shut her down. Probably your oil pump needs to be replaced.
 
pulled pressure relief valve and cleaned, nothing. Gotta be the pump, right? Gear drive off the crank.

You pulled the relief plunger on the timing cover right? Not the one by the oil filter? If so, I think you are on the right track with the pump splines. The pump gears are not too expensive but it'll suck if the splines on the crankshaft are gone.
 
yes,i pulled the plunger on timing cover.what worries me is that even when i crank the engine with the plunger removed,no oil comes out of the hole.i would have thought that it would blow oil out if the pump gear was turning.if the gear splines have stripped,would the engine still start up and sound normal?
 
yes,i pulled the plunger on timing cover.what worries me is that even when i crank the engine with the plunger removed,no oil comes out of the hole.i would have thought that it would blow oil out if the pump gear was turning.if the gear splines have stripped,would the engine still start up and sound normal?

I'd be pulling the cover for a look-see. It will sound normal even with stripped spines I'd wager. You could drop the pan first to make sure the sump screen isn't blocked with something. That's about the only other thing I can think of that'd result in no oil pressure at the the relief valve.
 
ok,i replaced oil filter just for the hell of it,hoping it would be that simple.no such luck.
dropped pan to check oil strainer and oil pipe,all looked fine.however i did find a nice selection of small silver colored metal slivers in the bottom of pan.is this a bad sign?
any thoughts on this?
 
There should not be a silvery sheen to the oil nor should there be actual metal slivers.
 
however i did find a nice selection of small silver colored metal slivers in the bottom of pan.is this a bad sign?
any thoughts on this?

Yah I don't think you should see slivers of metal. You will have to look further. Keep us informed.......
 
finally found the problem,splines stripped on oil pump gear.the splines on shaft look ok,which is good news.i also found the cause of the metal shavings in the
oil pan,the front cam bearing is all torn up.as far as i can see the other two bearings look ok,i'm wondering if i can get away with just replacing the front one as replacing them all would require pulling the engine out.
does anyone know where i can get an oil pump kit for a 3b?
thanks to everyone for all the input.
 
It is not adviseable to change just a few of the bearings. If something's been shedding metal, then you chould give all your bearings a check and flush out the oil galleries.

You can get pump gears quite easily. Bearings too.


finally found the problem,splines stripped on oil pump gear.the splines on shaft look ok,which is good news.i also found the cause of the metal shavings in the
oil pan,the front cam bearing is all torn up.as far as i can see the other two bearings look ok,i'm wondering if i can get away with just replacing the front one as replacing them all would require pulling the engine out.
does anyone know where i can get an oil pump kit for a 3b?
thanks to everyone for all the input.
 

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