Engine Rebuild oiling problem

[WB72]

Hey all you mechanics,
I just rebuilt a 350 and am having an oil issue. I am in the process of reinstalling it in my C10, and while I was priming the oil pump, I noticed that I am getting oil only to the drivers side of the engine, none to the passenger side. There is definatly oil pressure, I have no idea why there would be none coming for the whole side of the engine.

I have tried running the oil pump while rotating the crankshaft slowly, but no oil. Is there anything else I should be looking for?

I have pulled my pushrods and made sure that I can blow through them, you can, and there is oil in the bottom of the pushrod.

Yes, there is enough oil in the crankcase.

I am lost for an answer, hopefully the smart folks who watch this board will help!

Am I worried about nothing, is this normal, or should I wait to install untill the problem is resolved?

Thanks,

[vectorit]

Shot in the dark...

Did you try to prime your lifters before you installed them? (Assuming they are hydraulic).

As for me, I would put a quart of clean thin weight motor oil into a coffee can then put all the new lifters in the oil. Then take a push rod and pump them while they were submerged in the oil, doing this on a hot day or heating the oil with a lamp helped. I'd also let them soak in that can over night, or at least as long as I could.

If you did all that already, then pop out of couple of the lifters on the non oiling side and run your drill motor that is turning the pump. While you are doing that, look into the lifter bores, and see if you are getting oil up to that oil passage.

If not, then the problem sounds deeper.

Are you the one that built the motor?
If you did build it:
What kind of oil pump did you install?
What kind of oil pump pick up did you install onto the pump?
Stock oil pan? (asking because of depth, in relation to the pick up position on the oil pump).
Did you have the block cleaned at a shop?
Did you pull the oil galley plugs and run a brush through each one?


Just thinkin out loud...

[ripdog28]

I would check for anything possibly plugging it up somewhere on that side. Then i would pout oil on that side and let it run for a minute.

[Sinister]

What are you using to prime the motor? Some of the tools don't have the correct block off thingy to get oil to that side IIRC.

[vectorit]

Originally Posted by Sinister

What are you using to prime the motor? Some of the tools don't have the correct block off thingy to get oil to that side IIRC.

Good point!

[biggreen292]

on my 350 i had that problem but on both sides, it was the rear cam bearing being aligned with the wrong hole. i would prime it without the distributor body and see if theres 2 streams of oil coming from the very rear of the cam towards the lifter galleries.

[WB72]

[QUOTE=vectorit;3895561]Shot in the dark...

Did you try to prime your lifters before you installed them? (Assuming they are hydraulic).


If you did all that already, then pop out of couple of the lifters on the non oiling side and run your drill motor that is turning the pump. While you are doing that, look into the lifter bores, and see if you are getting oil up to that oil passage.

If not, then the problem sounds deeper.

Are you the one that built the motor?
If you did build it:
What kind of oil pump did you install?
What kind of oil pump pick up did you install onto the pump?
Stock oil pan? (asking because of depth, in relation to the pick up position on the oil pump).
Did you have the block cleaned at a shop?
Did you pull the oil galley plugs and run a brush through each one?
QUOTE]

Vectorit,
I am buildng this engine, although the machine work has been done at a reputable shop.
The Block and crank were cleaned by them, I did blow out all the passages, and found nothing out of the regular I would expect to find nothing more with a brush.
Rebuilt Stock Oil pump with a factory pan.

I did not, however, prime my new lifters, I will do this, and see if the problem is still there. It does sound weird that one side is having an issue.

thanks,

[WB72]

Originally Posted by Sinister

What are you using to prime the motor? Some of the tools don't have the correct block off thingy to get oil to that side IIRC.

Sininster,

What is IIRC?

I am using an old distributer rod to prime the pump, it doesnt have the housing on it. will this make a differance? if it will, I could run a portion of the housing to block off the thingey

Thoughts?

[Sinister]

IIRC = If I Remember Correctly Do you have a pic of the tool you're using to prime the motor?
If you don't have the parts on the tool to block off the oil galleries it won't get pressure to that side. Try running it with part of the housing. I used a cheap priming tool on a motor once and it wouldn't prime that side. I just dumped some oil on the rockers on that side and fired it up.

[scottcorvette]

The distributor body guides oil from one side to the other, just using the shaft wont do it, you either need to use an old distributor housing or the correct tool. Worst case fit the distributor and crank the engine. Sometimes if you cant get oil to each lifter you may need to turn the crank a bit. This is waht we do, we use the tool pictured and it works well.

[WB72]

Scottcorvette and Sinister,
What a relief, I was about to rip and tear.....
I will give it a go, it sure is good to have guys like you at our disposal.

WB72