Hi, I have a rebuilt 455 in a 65 Lark, I put the motor in this summer and it now has 2000 miles or so on it. Long story short I changed the oil/filter this past weekend (which makes the third sence install) and when I restarted the motor I had -0- oil pressure after 15-25 seconds of running????? So I shut it down, and proceeded to scratch my head for a while. The motor was making good oil pressure when I drove it in, 60-80psi at 2000rpm cold,and 20psi at idle cold. It was making 40+ psi hot, at 2000rpm and 10+psi hot, at idle. I didn't know what happend, and still don't. I have sence pulled the distributor, and reprimed the motor, but in order to get it to pump I had to fill the filter(I even went to town and bought a new filter JIC that was the problem) and add oil via a funnel to the pump, before it would pump up?????? I have changed the oil in alot of other vehicles 100's of times and never had to do this???? I am at a loss as to why the oil pump would loose it's prime. Should I get a new pump< or is this not unheard of with the poor oiling system Buicks have? I have a lot of money tied up in this thing and am to scared to leave the drive way HELP! Carl
I've heard that can happen.. Though it has never happened to me. But one thing I always do, is fill the filter with oil before installation. o No: I'm sure someothers will chime in with more info. :TU:
air pocket? yeah- i always with every oil change on any motor, is to put as much oil in the filter as possible, if not that pump is suckin nothing but air for the intial start , even though the buick is at an angle , a little mess from spill is worth preventin wear , just be quick about it.
and... being that the buick filter is at and angle,the oil would like to drain back into the pan. be sure the filter has that anti-drain back valve(looks like a black plastic washer thing at top of the filter where ya look into the filter and cant see the media). ive seen some without it . especialy if ya run the one quart filter from the ol' straight six motor gm's . but thats not recomended , stay with the stock 3/4 capacity . i know many of our old buicks sit alot and that start up is hard on them
You should always fill the filter with oil any time you change one. (in any engine) As said above, the little mess you might make is well worth it for your engine's sake. :TU: Carl... got tired of the 350 already? Or is this a different car?
So you guy's are fairly confident that there is not some thing wrong with the pump? Do those oil pressures seem right?? I am just a little gunshy as I have never had this happen before.....EVER! Rick, same car, I think I was a little more than that 350 wanted to deal with, and it gave up. I don't know for sure how it happend, but it ended up spinnig a rod bearing on #3. I was really hard on it one night (showing off),and smelled something wierd other than tire smoke, as it turned out the water pump had failed. what I was smelling was the motor. The gauge was at 280deg. with no water in it :spank: :spank: :spank: . I don't know how long it was running with out water :spank: :spank: as the motor ran just fine even at 280. Needless to say I put water in it, and made it home, but the next time out after I replaced the water pump, it started nocking after about 30min uzzled: So I pulled the motor and tore the bottom end down and found the bearing was spun...... Oh well it was fun while it lasted, i wish I would have noticed the water sooner, but what do you do o No: I have now gone the 455 route and may some day rebuild the 350, as that was a fun little motor, but for now I will stick with the 455, because i couldn't rebuild the 350 the way I would want it for what I can get for less out of the 455. I still apreciate what you did for me to get that motor up here, and if you do ever come up here to visit let me know.
Sometimes the oil can drain out of the oil pump. IF this happens you have to take off the oil filter housing, put some oil back in the pump or lithium grease (I would recommend lithium grease) and put housing back on along with the filter full of oil. I had this happen once, even filling the filter didn't fix it, I had to take off the filter housing and put oil in the oil pump gears to correct the problem. If you want to save some wear on your engine bearings, pull the distributor, and use a drill to turn the oil pump, after you make a change. If you start getting oil pressure with the drill, put your distributor back in, and go.
