No oil pressure (Page 1/4)
willyt OCT 30, 12:22 PM
I just replaced my oil pan gasket, when starting up after filling with oil my pressure gauge stayed at 0. I shut it off right away, but I’m wondering what to do next. Any ideas on what to check? The pickup and screen looked good when the pan was off.
willyt OCT 30, 12:50 PM
Is there a way to cut spark and fuel so I can crank it over and see if the oil pressure builds?
willyt OCT 30, 01:11 PM
Okay I just disconnected the coil and fuel pump relay and cranked the motor, no change, it is not building oil pressure. Is there anything else to check besides pulling the pan again?
PhatMax OCT 30, 01:36 PM
I can’t imagine it would be plugged with seeing some major goop in the pan when you changed it. Suppose the pickup tube could have fallen off…. Pull a valve cover off , see if oil is making it up there.
La fiera OCT 30, 07:31 PM
You can bring the oil pressure in two ways.

1- Remove all spark plugs so the the engine spins faster and crank it 10 seconds at time until you get oil pressure. Make sure you do it with the key in the ON position so the gauge is powered up and can read.

2- I'm assuming this is a distributor 2.8L. Remove the cap and mark the position of the rotor on the distributor housing. Mark the distributor housing to the block for reference when installing it back. Remove the distributor. Get a drill with an extension and a socket to match the hex size of the distributor shaft and with the drill spin the pump until you get oil pressure.
Install distributor and rotor back matching the marks you made on the block and housing

[This message has been edited by La fiera (edited 10-30-2022).]

willyt OCT 31, 09:27 AM
Thanks for the suggestions, I will try these next weekend when I can get back to my car.

My follow up question on this is:

Would there be any reason my oil pressure would take awhile to build after dropping the pan? Should I start by trying to build oil pressure or should I start by dropping the pan and seeing if the pickup tube fell off?

Thanks!
ArthurPeale OCT 31, 11:41 AM
Are you relying on the dash gauge to read pressure?

For giggles, hook up a compression tester and check the compression on the pistons. If oil isn't making it up there, there shouldn't be compression.

Also, as was suggested, remove a valve cover and visually watch for oil, while spinning the oil pump manually.
Patrick OCT 31, 04:05 PM

quote
Originally posted by ArthurPeale:

Are you relying on the dash gauge to read pressure?



Yeah, my first reaction to the OP's situation would be to double-check that the oil pressure sensor (and gauge) are indeed both working properly.
willyt NOV 01, 09:41 AM
Patrick and Arthur,

Yes I am relying on my gauge for oil pressure. Before dropping the pan my oil pressure and gauge always reacted as I would expect.

Now it's reading zero. I wouldn't think anything would have changed with the gauge, but stranger things have happened. (Patrick, you may remember my last thread on here where I had two plug wires switched....)


My initial thought (which may very well be wrong) is that it would make the most sense to drop the pan again, as it seems most likely something like the pickup tube fell off during installation.

Does it really make sense to go through the trouble of pulling a valve cover just to confirm that oil is or isn't reaching the top of the motor?

Thanks again for the help.
Dukesterpro NOV 01, 10:12 AM

quote
Originally posted by willyt:

Patrick and Arthur,

Yes I am relying on my gauge for oil pressure. Before dropping the pan my oil pressure and gauge always reacted as I would expect.

Now it's reading zero. I wouldn't think anything would have changed with the gauge, but stranger things have happened. (Patrick, you may remember my last thread on here where I had two plug wires switched....)


My initial thought (which may very well be wrong) is that it would make the most sense to drop the pan again, as it seems most likely something like the pickup tube fell off during installation.

Does it really make sense to go through the trouble of pulling a valve cover just to confirm that oil is or isn't reaching the top of the motor?

Thanks again for the help.




Normally, I am not one to pipe up. But you seem to be suffering from the same case of panic brain that I frequently suffer. Unless you noticed the pickup was loose and wobbly while the pan was off, the likelihood of it falling and you not noticing is very, very low. The likelihood of you accidently snagging a oil sending gauge wire, or something coming dislodged when the pan was removed, in my opinion seems much more likely

Furthermore, you are relying on one of the least reliable gauges (in my experience) in the car, to determine the status of a very important function of the engine. I wouldn't trust a Fiero electric gauge if it told me the sky was blue.

What I would do is find your sender and make sure everything is all hooked up right. And if it is, but is still showing no oil, unscrew the sender and screw in an el cheapo advanced auto oil pressure gauge in its place. This would be far easier to dinking around the valve covers and squirting oil everywhere. Crank the engine and see if the gauge bounces, you shouldn't need to remove the plugs to crank fast. It should build something.

Please keep us posted!

George