Oil Pump / pressure

[firefighter525]

Is there any way to tell if the oil pump is engaged without pulling the motor and dropping the oil pan?

Can I attach a gauge somewhere and read actual oil pressure?

Long story short, I just put a motor in my truck and started it up only to hear lots of top end ticking. Valves / Lifters

Prior to installing the engine I did put a new oil pump in it. Now I'm wondering if its engaged or not. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

your stock oil pressure gauge will read halfway up the "norm" scale if you have over 8PSI...which is enough to float the crank at idle.

chances are that your hydraulic lifters have bleed down and need some time to pump back up...otherwise you have worn pushrods and rockers, which the 4.0 is somewhat notorious for.

you can add a mechanical pressure gauge...i believe the 4.0's pressure fitting is on the drivers front corner of the block, under the truck.

 

[firefighter525]

The stock gauge didn't move at all in the 10-15 seconds i had the motor running.

How long should I give the lifters time to "pump up" with the chance theres no oil circulation?

I'll try to locate the pressure fitting and attach a gauge there. Thanks

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

the gauge should move, even if the lifters are still flat. chances are good you dont have oil pressure.

time to yank the pan back off and see whats up.

 

[Hahnsb2]

The sending unit is just forward of the driver side motor mount, hook up the mechanical gauge there.

 

[Bob Ayers]

The oil pump is driven from the cam position sensor synchronizer located near the firewall. Was this re-installed?

 

[firefighter525]

I never had the cam position sensor out nor the shaft. but yes, the plug was reconnected.

I'm going to attach a guage to the sending unit and make sure there is no pressure. If there is not, I'll pull the engine and drop the pan.

I was looking through the Haynes book and it appears that I should have pulled the oil pump shaft out of the block, connected it to the new oil pump and then reinstalled it with the pump. When I installed the new oil pump I left the shaft in the block and just bolted the new pump on assuming the shaft would connect with the pump.

So the probability of the pump not turning and no oil circulation is very high.

 

[Bob Ayers]

Before dropping the pan, pull the synchronizer, and check the cam gear. Just mark the sensor location on the housing, so you can set the timing on it the
same when you re-install it.

 

[firefighter525]

I had no oil pressure with the mechanical guage so I started the teardown last night. Should have the motor out this evening.

By pulling the synchronizer, will that let me verify that the oil pump shaft is engauged without dropping the pan? I guess i'm just a little confused in how the synchronizer works. Don't I need a special tool to reinstall the synchronizer? Or is that just for proper alignment?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

the syncronizer is just the bottom half of a distributor...so if your familier with them, its the same thing. the syncronizer engages the cam gear and drives the oil pump through a coupling on the bottom of the shaft.

it sounds like your problem is the oil pump shaft at the oil pump end, however...though im not sure.

the special tools are for proper "timing" of the syncronizer...if you put it in exactly how it comes out (and dont turn the engine over while its out), you'll be fine.

 

[firefighter525]

Ok I finally got the motor back in the truck this past weekend. It turned out to be the cam synchronizer gear was stripped. Oil pressure is up and there is no CEL but motor seems to have a slight shudder so I think I may have to check the cam synch again to see if it may be slightly off. If its off will it throw the CEL on?

What worries me the most is I have a rather loud knock from the lower end and seems to be coming from the the flywheel area. I first thought a rod bearing, but the knock only starts when I put it in gear and gets faster if I move the truck in gear. when I go back to park the knock becomes very faint to no knock at all. Any ideas on this?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

an out of time syncro will only trip a CEL if its bad enough to cause a misfire.

and about the knock....it sure doesnt sound good. double check all your bellhousing, torque converter and starter bolts to make sure nothing could be loose and rattling. if everything is tight...could be bad news

 

[firefighter525]

The new syncro came with the alignment tool. I installed the new syncro so that the arrow on the tool was directly parallel with the centerline of the motor and pointing towards the firewall when all the way in.

I was thinking a misaligned torque converter also. I plan to take the starter off tomarrow and see whats up. Hopefully its just a loose bolt somewhere.