I was driving home a short while ago and when I looked at my oil pressure gauge (Autometer Ultra-Lite) it went to zero. I was only about a 1/2 mile away from my house and managed to get home. I checked the gauge and wiring to the sending unit and tickered with it a bit and still no pressure. I just took off the sending unit and the shaft the it goes on inspecting it for clogs etc. and have found none. There wasn't that much oil in either the shaft or the sending unit. I also pulled the distributor to make sure the oil pump shaft hadn't broke and it seemed to be alright. How do I check the pump? Is there any other problems that might of happened?
im an idiot, but two or three ideas i have: put a mechanical gauge on and see what happens. idea two. pull a valve cover off and see if pressure is making it up into the valve train. or since you are good at yanking the dizzy, how about priming the pump with the valve cover off and/or a mech gauge hooked up. you might hear something doing it this way, and there is no more wear and tear on the motor. that was what came to mind first blush. good luck.
That's why I don't like electric oil pressure gauges. Mechanical is much more reliable and with something as important as oil pressure, you want it as reliable as possible. With a mechanical gauge there's no second guessing. When it says zero it's zero. Did the engine make any noise? If the pump shaft is ok and it wasn't making noise I'd say it's the gauge, wiring, or sending unit.
Its not the gauge or sending unit, I have NO pressure. I've changed the pump and shaft is perfectly fine. You can hear the lifters ticking now b/c there's no pressure getting up there. I'm planning on pulling a valve cover tomorrow and see what happens.
How did the pick up look?? Was it clean at the bottom and not clogged?? If it was Ok and you have a new pump, you may have bearing problems.
Yeah, sounds like it needs to come out. If you have zero oil pressure and the shaft is fine, you must have bearing damage.
The pickup was clean and there was no debris. I think that a oil galley plug may have came out from behind the timing chain cover. I'm going to pull the cover and see what I can find out. If there is no problem there I'll pull the motor and tear it apart.
