Low Oil pressure
is there anyway to check this without pulling the front of engine apart ?
like through the fuel pump hole?
No, it is behind the camshaft thrust plate. You have to take the timing chain cover off, and the timing chain to get the camshaft thrust plate bolts off and then remove the thrust plate to see if they are there...
No tricks to get around it, that's why Before assembling a block I always check for all of the oil galley plugs at least once....
I had to pull and engine out 5 times before finding out that was the problem.... :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
Once you have done that, you don't make that mistake again...
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If you are loosing that much pressure, you should use the method that was suggested to me by a good mechanic that I knew: Get a priming tool and spin the oil pump with a drill. Then tear the engine down a little at a time and run the drill. If you see a bunch of oil gushing out, then you have found your leak.
That is how I found out that my camshaft thrust plate oil galley plugs were missing. When I spun the oil pump. the oil shot 6 - 10 feet out of the engine while it was on the engine stand.
Any leak that will loose that much pressure, will be a gusher...