Almost no oil pressure help

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J

JeffreysDart

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i have had my Dart running for about 1 month with no engine problems and a total of 25 miles on it and since I bought this car from someone who had not ever had the engine running I decided to put a oil pressure gauge on it because the oil pressure light was on.....with the mechanical gauge installed... Upon starting the car... The gauge shows no pressure and after 2 laps around the block the most the gauge has jumped to was 20psi. Thoughts comments recommendations....
 
Is the engine making noises or the lifters clacking? How many miles are on the engine? What kind of engine (slant 6, 316, etc.)? Have you pulled a valve cover off and looked at how much sludge is built up in the head(s)? One thing for sure, you don't want to run the engine without oil pressure, or bad things will happen fast.
 
Well you have proved that the engine does not have oil pressure so don't keep running it until you find out why. Really need more info. Is this a rebuilt engine? Has the oil light always been on since you first started it?
 
Engine is a 1970 318, yes it's been rebuilt, I have pulled the valve covers and all
I see is fresh clean oil from when I filled it... The rockers appear to be lubricated well. There is no noise at all comin from the engine and I just did the exhaust on it. It's pretty quiet. There are only 25 miles on engine if that. Yes the oil light has always been on since the initial fire up.
 
Was the wire for the oil light connected to the sending unit?

Cause if it was not connected and touching a metal object the light will come on...

Start it up with a valve cover off....and see if you get oil..
 
Chances are the builder left a oil galley plug out when it was built. There is one at the back of the lifter galley that is a common one to forget right beside the dist drive gear.
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
Chances are the builder left a oil galley plug out when it was built. There is one at the back of the lifter galley that is a common one to forget right beside the dist drive gear.
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What would the oil galley plug do... How would it effect the oiling and pressure
 
Without it,it's like a big hole in a garden hose. You can turn the faucet on but your not going to get much out of the end of it with a big hole in it. In essence your loosing the pressure and starving the system of needed oil.
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
Without it,it's like a big hole in a garden hose. You can turn the faucet on but your not going to get much out of the end of it with a big hole in it. In essence your loosing the pressure and starving the system of needed oil.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I'll check that... I really don't want to have to resort to changing the oil pump or further....
 
you can see if that plug is in by removing the distributor and looking at the back of the lifter gallery to see if it there..

it is on the passenger side..
 
I know there are some diagrams of the oil system that have been posted on here in the past. Try a search and see if you can find one.
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
I know there are some diagrams of the oil system that have been posted on here in the past. Try a search and see if you can find one.
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photo
 

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After you remove the distributor, remove the cam drive gear and get the proper size hex key that is long enough to reach the oil pump. Have someone use a hand drill to rotate the oil pump and recheck your oil pressure. Could be a core plug left out, although you should have gotten no oil pressure from the start. plugged oil filter, frozen oil pressure relief spring, sheared oil pump drive...
 
Ok let me also add that I had to change the oil filter after initial fire up from a long filter to a short filter to accommodate the exhaust system from TTI exhaust and the oil filter was 1/2 full... So I believe some oil is going somewhere..
 
Well as mentioned above. You can remove the distributor, oil pump drive ( inspect it) get a oil pump priming shaft, use a drill and attempt to prime the engine. If that pipe plug was left out, you will see oil dumping out of that hole.
 
Be sure to index the distributor to the intake and note where the rotor is pointing. Makes going back together a whole lot easier.
 
The next one is not so much fun. There's a long tall oil passage which starts at the top of the engine at the oil sender and goes all the way out the bottom, if the main bearing cap is removed. However, there is supposed to be an oil plug "in there." It's a press in plug like a tiny freeze plug. You can tell if it's in there by removing the oil sender and sticking a straight wire like a gas welding rod down there and measuring how far down it goes. I'll have to search and find out what that measurement "is"

Here we go 7 3/4"

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showpost.php?p=316787&postcount=10

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=266852

and here

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showpost.php?p=1970329417&postcount=15

Also do you have ARP or other main bearing cap studs? There has been some oil pump interferance issues, causing leaks and cracks / breakage at the pump mount

Also there is a possibility of some pumps and some pans interfering, which can damage / break a pump

In this thread is some useful dope

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=142832
 
67Dart273 said:
The next one is not so much fun. There's a long tall oil passage which starts at the top of the engine at the oil sender and goes all the way out the bottom, if the main bearing cap is removed. However, there is supposed to be an oil plug "in there." It's a press in plug like a tiny freeze plug. You can tell if it's in there by removing the oil sender and sticking a straight wire like a gas welding rod down there and measuring how far down it goes. I'll have to search and find out what that measurement "is"
Click to expand...

I was thinking about that and the well maybe that passage way is just blocked and I'm not get pressure to the gauge because of that....

My initial thought was to pull the pan and take off the pump and I'd be able to see it? Or not...

Any point to trying to replace the pump?
 
Check for the two plugs that go behind the camshaft thrust plate. I had a machine shop leave those out once and it caused low oil pressure...

also, if they put the main bearings in wrong. The tops have holes for the oil to feed through, if you put the bottom ones on the top. they block the oil passages in the top of the mains...
 
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