zero oil pressure

[rivmasta]

hey all,

we went to fire the racecar for the first time on the weekend, and aside from a few wiring issues we couldnt actually start the engine as winding it over we had zero oil pressure.

I'll be pulling the engine out tonight and pullng the sump to make sure that Ive not done anything stupid like forgeting to tighten the bolts holding in the oil pickup so it sucks air or a blocked pickup etc.

I made up an external oil filter mount using braided hose and have been told that the if I dont prime the lines and filter I can get an airlock which will stop the oil from pumping... sounds far fetched to me - has anyone heard of it/experienced it/think its possible?

anyone think of anything else I should check while engine is out?

 

[Lextreme II]

Double check the gauge? Make use the gauge is good.

 

[rivmasta]

Ive wired up both a gauge and an emergency light - both say zero. To test this I disconnected the oil pressure line going to the gauge... no oil came out! so its def not pumping oil.

 

[jibbby]

Oil pump maybe?????? What racecar do you got going on over there Riv?

 

[cribbj]

I made up an external oil filter mount using braided hose and have been told that the if I dont prime the lines and filter I can get an airlock which will stop the oil from pumping... sounds far fetched to me - has anyone heard of it/experienced it/think its possible?

anyone think of anything else I should check while engine is out?

Ford & GM products have to be primed, but I wouldn't think the Toyota gerotor type pumps require it, nor would I know how to do it.

Just make sure your suction side is OK, and your pickup is not sucking air, and the pressure regulating valve is functioning, and not stuck in bypass. Here's some detailed pics of the pump:

http://www.lextreme.com/forums/showpost.php?p=44219&postcount=12

 

[Lextreme II]

Is the pump new? You gotta make sure the oil pick up pipe is fully seal with a gasket. If it leak air then the pump will be unable to suck the oil into the pump. If not..... http://lextreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7746&highlight=oil+pump

The pump suction leak i was referring to:

P.S..... John, you are 30 milseconds faster then me.....

 

[rivmasta]

actually - something else I just thought of: heaps of hoses hanging out of th front of the motor have not been blocked off yet - could any of these have been oil...

find out tonight I guess!

thanx for all the info abouve guys. will check it all tonight... but was really hoping to not have to pull the engine out again... oh well. better to be safe I guess.

How do I check thatthe PRV is working correctly?

Jibby - my baby is here: http://lextreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7681

 

[jibbby]

Haaaa - Right on Rivmaster...A 1uz-fe powered sandrail....Love it...

What 1600-1800lbs while sporting 300bhp.... Probably hauls arse. What tranny is in that beast? Love the dual electic fans too but are they really adequate for cooling in a serious 4x4 situational hot day? I thought you would need the hydro for that kinda setup....

 

[rivmasta]

not quite a sandrail, its pure offroad - a baja 1000 type car.

Transaxle is renault UN5 with lots of aftermarket bits ($$$!!!). Driveline is full of mazda, porsche, renault and custom made bits... more $$$!!! Rad is out of an aussie 5ltr V8 ute (XR8) with twin 11" multiblades so should be ok. not like we go slow anyway so it'll have plenty of airflow.

just got to get oilpressure, fix a stupid wiring f**up and get it fired, I'll be alot happier!

 

[Zuffen]

A lot of filters and/or housings have a non return valve in them to stop the oil draining out of the filter when the engine isn't running.

Check you have the oil flowing through the filter the correct way.

By this I mean the oil from the engine flows into the adptors correct port to route it through the filter the correct way.

Does that all make sense?

 

[rivmasta]

yep - makes sense. Im 99% sure its right, but with the pics provided above I can check that the discharge is going to the outside of oilfilter. But its another thing to check so cheers!

 

[Lextreme II]

Any news on this oil issue?

 

[rivmasta]

No news unfortunately as there's still no oil pressure!

Engine is coming out on Wed night and I'll be pulling the oil pump on Thurs night to check the PRV.

Definately not crossed lines to the filter - took the filter off and there was still no oil pumping. I'll keep this thread updated when I know what/where/why!

 

[1uzvl]

i had the same prob when i went to start mine.Thought it would be ok as i never turned the engine upside down on engine stand.No pressure after a good few seconds of cranking.Remembering back to my old 308 days starting a fresh one of those with moly grease in the oil pump.

So,i took of the oil filter and adaptor of the block,got a oil can and jammed it in the top hole(i think)of the block and pumped the oil pump full of oil,hey presto oil pressure!!!

 

[rivmasta]

thats an interesting one! we primed the filter, but not the pump....

We have turned the engine upside on the stand before it went in.

So might try priming the pump before I pull the engine out!

 

[gloverman]

we have had issues getting oil pressure with engines that have been sitting a while. We now pump oil onto the pump - blowing back through the filter hosing or pressurise the crank case and then wind the motor over. remote filters can be a pain but keep at it and you will get there. Cheers

 

[rivmasta]

Prob solved!

We've been struggling not only with oil pressure, but also with getting the car fired due to the wanker who wired it (me!)

From the braided lines plumbed into the block I put a 1m long hose over each and clamped it on, put a funnel at the top of each hose and ran some oil into the pump. let it sit and drain into the pump for a bit, reconnected the oil lines to the filter (making sure the oil filter was full) and rolled the engine over. Oil pressure light went out, then the oil pressure gauge started twitching up to around 10psi - figured that was a start so went to work fixing engine fire up problem (turned out to be injector wiring)

The first time the engine coughed the oil pressure jumped straight to 75psi. Engine now idles happily at same.

So I now have a running engine! with biiig pipes and only a pair of 5 inch supertrapps as mufflers... its loud!!! REEEEALLY loud!!! Needs a tune badly, but it also needs gears in the gearbox and axles before I can put it on the dyno.

 

[Lextreme II]

Vid? stop teasing....

 

[rivmasta]

BTW - thanks to everyone for their advice and help!

 

[rivmasta]

haha! when Ive got the water lines plumbed so the temp can get read properly by the ecu. at the moment its running super rich due to it staying on the warmup tune (60% extra fuel!) a week or so and I'll have the vid.