The culprit revealed
Into the shop. I have the engine back on the stand after pulling the bellhousing and clutch. Of course the oil pump is one of the first things you attach to the block when building it, so understandably a large number of items need to come off before we can get to it. Pretty much everything on the front and the bottom.
While engaged in this process I made the discovery that my giant oil drip pan, seen here below the motor, must have slid over and rested against my air compressor motor housing when stored, burning a nice hole in the bottom. This was made evident while wrenching on the motor and finding myself standing in a every widening pool of oil. A quart of oil on the loose can cover an amazing amount of garage floor. The remnants of that spill, plus the coolant that been seeping from the water pump, makes retrieving a beer from the cooler in the garage an interesting experience.
Eventually I got the oil pump off and onto the bench. And quickly the oil pressure problem was found. The oil pump would only rotate about 20 degrees before it would bind. 20 degrees in the other direction and thump. Something was either jammed or broken in there, but in either case, it wasn't doing it's job. Eventually I'll do an autopsy, but for now the task is getting the motor working. I'm already a month behind.
I find a spare oil pump. Running it through my parts washer it pushes fluid back and forth when rotated, so I just need to clean it up and bolt it on.
Several hours later, the front of the motor is back in shape. Belts attached and adjusted, oil pan back on, exhaust hung, clutch and bellhousing snug. Time to put this puppy back in the car.
Deja Vu? Weren't we just here a little while ago?
While engaged in this process I made the discovery that my giant oil drip pan, seen here below the motor, must have slid over and rested against my air compressor motor housing when stored, burning a nice hole in the bottom. This was made evident while wrenching on the motor and finding myself standing in a every widening pool of oil. A quart of oil on the loose can cover an amazing amount of garage floor. The remnants of that spill, plus the coolant that been seeping from the water pump, makes retrieving a beer from the cooler in the garage an interesting experience.
Eventually I got the oil pump off and onto the bench. And quickly the oil pressure problem was found. The oil pump would only rotate about 20 degrees before it would bind. 20 degrees in the other direction and thump. Something was either jammed or broken in there, but in either case, it wasn't doing it's job. Eventually I'll do an autopsy, but for now the task is getting the motor working. I'm already a month behind.
I find a spare oil pump. Running it through my parts washer it pushes fluid back and forth when rotated, so I just need to clean it up and bolt it on.
Several hours later, the front of the motor is back in shape. Belts attached and adjusted, oil pan back on, exhaust hung, clutch and bellhousing snug. Time to put this puppy back in the car.
Deja Vu? Weren't we just here a little while ago?
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