[madscience]

I'm losing my mind here.

I've got a 260 in my Falcon that I rebuilt and was running fine for about 500 miles, then it started losing oil pressure intermittently over a 10 minute period. It sat for a couple months because I didn't have time to tear into it.


Finally pulled the pan tonight and the oil pump pick up tube was loose. Seemed like an obvious smoking gun for the symptoms I had.

I checked the bearings and they looked fine, so tightened everything up and filled it back with oil.


Didn't prime running off the starter with plugs out, so switched to a drill down the dizzy hole.


It spins but never loads up. Pulled the filter and that pump is pumping zero oil.

I'm trying to avoid pulling the pan again, so I tried backfilling it via the output hole at the oil filter. I ran the pump backwards and forwards. No dice.


I read a last ditch trick is to fill the pan stupidly high with oil so the pump doesn't have to lift as much vertically (then drain it down after priming). No dice.


When I run the drill in any of these tries it never loads up at all. So either the drive shaft isnt turning the pump (it was before), or the pump gears are just shot?


Anything else to try before dropping the pan and taking a bunch of stuff apart?

 

[galaxiex]

Try turning the pump the other direction?

 

[dennis112]

The correct running direction of the oil pump is counterclockwise, when looking down at the distributor location. Going the clockwise way will suck in air, which won't help you one bit.

If turning the pump CCW and you can't get oil to the oil filter location after a minute or 2 (using a speed wrench or a drill), then you have either oil pump, pump pickup, or the shaft itself has a problem. The shaft may not be in in the pump or has a rounded hex.

 

[madscience]

Ok, so finally got a chance to tear into it and after I dropped the pan and pulled the pump out I just turned it by hand and it worked fine (WTF?!). Oil glugging up/out of it the way it should be.

Turns out the answer's stupider than any of us could have imagined: I was using the wrong size socket and it was just spinning around the hex. So, so stupid.

Anyway...worth double-checking if you're ever in this situation.

 

[extech]

i'm impressed you owned up to it. you will never make that mistake again. sometimes education is expensive

 

[madscience]

sometimes education is expensive

Oddly, in this case it was free!

(assuming my time is worthless)

 

[1964Fastback]

So the oil pressure is okay now when running? That was the original problem and I guess caused by the pickup?

Pat

 

[madscience]

So the oil pressure is okay now when running? That was the original problem and I guess caused by the pickup?

Pat

Yep.

As far as I can tell the whole issue was that the pickup wasn't tightened down properly and got loose, allowing the pump to suck air.

 

[PSIG]

Turns out the answer's stupider than any of us could have imagined: I was using the wrong size socket and it was just spinning around the hex. So, so stupid.

It was a ... learning experience. The up-side is now many others will learn from you, and avoid the trouble you didn't. So, thank you.

On that note, this is one reason everything has a torque, and you check it off the list. Setting to proper torque is not only obvious, but it allows feeling for junk in the threads, squish of the gasket, and other things a "close enough" doesn't get you. If you still avoid proper torques, then at least watch what you're doing, so you feel those things I mentioned, which will cover your butt most of the time.

The reason racing engines are expensive is only partly parts cost. The rest is skills and mostly labor, checking every last detail, to put the package together to stand those conditions without failing. Find your own balance for your projects, and enjoy your oil pressure!