rustED71's 1991' Ex-cab Build (4 Viewers)

[aztoyman]

Did you have it completely apart again? Oil pickup tube on and tight? if the pump is turning it should pump oil. If the relief is stuck open it wont flow to the engine as it should. If a galley plug is out it won't go to where it needs to go. Was there any debris from the cam damage that got into the oil passages?

Maybe crank it over with the valve cover off and look for some oil flow. Too much cranking without oil is going to damage your bearings quick so I hope it's just a gauge problem. Filling your filter with oil first might help.

 

[aztoyman]

It's been a while since I've been into a 22RE so I'm going on memory here. The oil pickup tube, pump (and relief) oil galleys to bearings ,oil jets under pistons, timing chain tensioner, up to rocker shafts. I think the relief returns to the inlet side of the pump.

If pickup is restricted, no flow.
If relief stuck, flow but reduced flow.
Missing rear galley plug, oil all over. I think front is behind timing cover?
Missing oil jet or even a bearing shell, oil flow but low pressure. Very low.
IS THE PUMP TURNING? I don't remember if the drive gear can go on wrong?

Good luck!

 

[rustED71]

If you were starting out with a fresh rebuild I'd say make sure all your oil galley plugs are in. Oil pumps put out flow. Pressure builds because of resistance to flow. If a plug is missing or a bearing shell or some other part, you won't build much pressure.

If it was building pressure before you changed the pump, I'd suspect the pump you just put on. It's pretty basic so maybe check the relief? Is it assembled properly or stuck?

Did you have it completely apart again? Oil pickup tube on and tight? if the pump is turning it should pump oil. If the relief is stuck open it wont flow to the engine as it should. If a galley plug is out it won't go to where it needs to go. Was there any debris from the cam damage that got into the oil passages?

Maybe crank it over with the valve cover off and look for some oil flow. Too much cranking without oil is going to damage your bearings quick so I hope it's just a gauge problem. Filling your filter with oil first might help.

I have not had it completely apart again. When I originally removed the oil pan to clean it and clean the pickup tube I replace the pickup tube gasket and made sure to re-tighten all the bolts.

It's been a while since I've been into a 22RE so I'm going on memory here. The oil pickup tube, pump (and relief) oil galleys to bearings ,oil jets under pistons, timing chain tensioner, up to rocker shafts. I think the relief returns to the inlet side of the pump.

If pickup is restricted, no flow.
If relief stuck, flow but reduced flow.
Missing rear galley plug, oil all over. I think front is behind timing cover?
Missing oil jet or even a bearing shell, oil flow but low pressure. Very low.
IS THE PUMP TURNING? I don't remember if the drive gear can go on wrong?

I havent removed any of the galley plugs, and havent messed with the bottomend and/or crank bearings and such. The cam shaft wear seemed minimal, just a tiny amount of grit sitting in the oil directly under the damaged cam lobes. I thoroughly cleaned the head before installing the new cam. I also changed the oil and filter. I thought I might have possibly put the oil pump drive gear on backwards, but double checked on my original 22re block that is on a engine stand and the drive gear can only go on one way due to a taper in the crankshaft (the shaft gets bigger where the timing chain gear goes on) so the drive gear won't slide on all the way if you put it on backwards. Thanks for taking the time to run through some scenarios for me Scott, I really appreciate it! I think I will go ahead and remove the oil pump and inspect the relief valve like you suggested, double check the orientation of the gears and make sure I installed them in the pump correctly. I will also compare it to the old oil pump i removed...depending on what I find or dont find maybe I will reinstall the old oil pump? I will also try priming it with vaseline this time. I did fill the filter with oil (about half full) am trying not too crank the engine over too much, I will dump some Lucas Zinc additive on the cam and rocker assembly before reinstalling the valve cover and trying to crank it over again.

 

[pappy]

yeah I am kinda at a loss...I was thinking of getting an aftermarket oil pressure gauge and install it and see what happens, I will have to research and see what kind of fittings I need to adapt one to the engine block...kind of a PITA because I live out in the sticks so I order everything online and end up waiting for parts...man I really want to get this thing going!

Metric to SAE adapter can be had. I bought some long time ago at PepBoys. If you go this route, I would look at a mechanical gauge to test the oil pressure.

 

[rustED71]

Did you have it completely apart again? Oil pickup tube on and tight? if the pump is turning it should pump oil. If the relief is stuck open it wont flow to the engine as it should. If a galley plug is out it won't go to where it needs to go. Was there any debris from the cam damage that got into the oil passages?

Maybe crank it over with the valve cover off and look for some oil flow. Too much cranking without oil is going to damage your bearings quick so I hope it's just a gauge problem. Filling your filter with oil first might help.

aztoyman#
so I figured out my no oil pressure problem...it's kind of embarrassing. I dropped the oil pan to check the oil pickup tube. I knew I had cleaned it thoroughly before reassembly and had installed a new gasket, but I was thinking maybe it had a crack in it or something and It was the only thing left to double check. After we dropped the oil pan and unbolted the pickup tube there was the culprit plain as day. I had made my own pickup tube gasket out of some gasket material I had, I cut out the hole for the bolts but somehow I forgot to cut the hole for the oil to pass through!...I still can't believe I did this! While we were there we pulled a rod bearing out and inpected it, it looked fine so we put everything back together (after I cut a hole in the pickup tube gasket) anyway everything went well after that. Truck made good oil pressure (imagine that)

I put some miles on it locally to make sure the engine was running good. Then yesterday I drove to work and back (about 80 miles round trip and it did fine. Next on the list is to replace the heater core, since the dash has to come out I want to replace the speedometer cable while im in there since it makes noise and the needle bounces.

 

[aztoyman]

Well I'm glad you figured it out and had no damage. Thanks for letting us know. Dead end threads suck.

You're not the only one who's made an embarrassing mistake.

 

[rustED71]

Well I'm glad you figured it out and had no damage. Thanks for letting us know. Dead end threads suck.

You're not the only one who's made an embarrassing mistake.

yeah I still cant believe I did that, im guessing that i got side tracked doing something else and then overlooked it somehow...but at least we got it sorted out and like you said no damage...i definately won't ever do that again!

Thanks for all your input, I appreciate it!

 

[pappy]

Old saying ... the next thing to break will be the last thing you worked on.