im burnt out and thought maybe you guys could help. the dumbest question is one never asked. ive got the skylark with the sbb 350 still in it; (untill sumer at least, money is tight. i could barely get $300 for the 455) well the original timing chain finally skipped a few teeth, car has 192k orinal on it. so i go down and get a double roller timing chain from auto zone and all rubber gaskets. $25 for parts! im loving it! i do the timing chain in about a day with a buddy and i go to fire the car up, she runs great but is making a wierd noise. oil light is red hot on the dash and oil pressure is dead. i shut it off fast as i can. well i get new gaskets and redo the timing cover and i find that when i went nuts with the silicone the oil passage to the block was restricted. no biggie, i clean it all off and put a new gasket silicone free. i make sure no pasages are blocked off by the gasket and button it all up. i go to start it again and it still wont oil up!!! i let it sit, check the oil...plenty. fire it up for 5 secs or so and recheck, oil is now 1/4 inch lower. its getting from the pan to the pump but what gives? tomorrow im gonna pull he filter and get a bucket to see if im getting oil flow but i dont know what to do. o No: o No: i was told to take the p.r. valve out of the oil pump and stretch the spring a bit to see if it would help. i did it but the oil is not going into the engine. my oil gauge is flat out when i start it. what gives? any help is appreciated....thnx!:rant:
Better prime the pump You really need to pull the distributor and spin the oil pump over with a drill motor and priming shaft to get the pump primed. You can make a priming shaft by busting the plastic handle off a large screwdriver, or they can be purchased cheap. I think you want clockwise rotation (just pull the distributor cap and have somebody crank the motor to make sure which way the distributor spins). Pulling the distributor and getting it reinstalled properly will require a timing light and some care - you should be able to find info on how to do it with a search on this site. This is really the only way to go. You might still have to pack the pump with vaseline to get the drill to work, with as many miles as you have. Don't mess around trying to run the motor to get it to prime, or you'll be rebuilding that old engine. It might be time anyway..
Whatever you do, don't stretch that spring. It won't do anything but raise your pressure a bit, and too much is not good. Maybe you don't have the distributor in all the way, and it's not turning the oil pump shaft. It's an easy mistake to make if you have never R&R'd one before. The rim of the dist. body should be all the way down against the timing cover-if not the oil pump rod is not engaged with the dist. gear. Hope this helps!
i fully understand how to pull a distriutor and set timing but im not too sure about the priming. if i latch a drill onto that oil pump shaft and spin it the way it rotates that will prime it? or is there something else i have to do also? there is no way i am rebuilding this 350. if need be the car will sit untill i get new springs and money for exhaust work, then ill drop the 455 in it. its just that the car is useless as it sits.
That's how it's done. Take out the pressure switch and if oil comes out, it's working. Might be a good idea to pack the pump with vaseline first, don't use grease.:Smarty:
You don't even need to take the pressure switch out--you will feel it when the pressure builds up--you will feel the restistance in the drill and the speed of the drill will abruptly drop once you have pressure because of the torque it takes to spin the pump and generate oil pressure. I made my priming shaft by taking a 1/4" drive socket that would fit over the shaft, then cross drilled a hole through it and put a large piece of wire through it that fits in the slot in the pump shaft. Then just attach a 1/4' drive extension and use an adaptor to chuck it in your drill. This way it is locked firm on the shaft and can't slip off like using a screwdriver.
Right tool for the ... I don't remember where I got this from (local auto parts store I think. Its NOT marked with a name either.), but I'm sure it was reasonable and worth whatever price! Plus now its in my toolbox for 'whenever'!:Brow: It WON'T slip off the shaft, grind up metal shavings or anything bad like that! It still suprises me how MUCH torque it takes to spin the oil pump!:eek2: :jd: It REALLY drags down my old 1/2" drive Craftsmen electric!!
Bryon, You may be able to prime it with the above tool. Anytime you do a timing cover, the oil pump will lose it's prime. The Buick chassis manual mentions this specifically. They recommend taking the pump cover off, and packing the cavity full of vaseline. This takes up all air space around the gears, and insures a prime. To do this, take the pump cover off, take both gears out, clean the cavity, then pack it with vaseline. Then reinstall the gears. press them into the vaseline. They will displace the vaseline. After you have both gears in, clean the displaced vaseline off, then seal up the cover. You can either turn the pump with the tool, or start the motor. You'll get pressure then.
hey thnx guys but before you even posted about priming i found out my problem. i was in such a rush to finish i didnt notice that the distributor wasnt all the way in! can you say stupid? i can! well i popped out the distributor and reinserted it making sure it went onto the oil pump shaft. fired her up and she oiled right up! love that old car! she runs better than ever now and you guys truelly are wonderful. i chatted with buddies at the body shop im taking it to soon to get the front end fixed and i might end up with ome extra cash, time to drop in the 455!! ill keep the oil priming tip in mind and apply it later on. im new to buicks and im quickly learning that buicks are more sophisticated that other cars, and they need to be treated as such, hehe. we all learn somehow.
hey jeff, i see you print the posts out! thats a great idea. ive been just keeping a copy of the mail you get when someone replies in a special folder, genus!
Ah shucks (blushing:laugh: )!! Yeah, I get SO MANY PM's, that I have to print them out and keep them on file or I'd lose them. For me, its easier than putting on cd and better than wasting hard drive.o No: But the regular posts, no. There's no need for that. :beer
