2006 Silverado 5.3
new oil pan, pick up tube, and R&R(twice) o-ring
fresh oil 5w30 5-5 1/2 quartsFresh k&n oil filter (filled with oil before installing)

Hooked up gauge, found I had zero oil pressure.
Dropped pan, seen oil filter was bone dry, pick up tube didn't look seated, and had a few metal shavings with black sludge oil grit crap. Nothing even inside the pick up tube.

Cleaned the pan, poured oil in the filter, replaced o ring with a black one, and added a helper bracket to keep the o-ring in place up against the pump.

Bolted pan back up, added oil, and crossed my fingers. Primed by unplugging both sets of coils, and by removing fuel pump relay. Plugged everything back in, started and had 35-40psi, lost all pressure within 2 seconds.

Decided to remove oil pressure sensor and start, had plenty of oil shoot out all over everything. My guess is because I prefilled the oil filter.
Question is this, since obviously there has to be pressure in order to push the oil from the filter up and out the hole for the pressure sensor, so the pump must be working, why cant I get oil to flow anywhere else
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If you still have the factory oil pressure sensor pulled. Throw on a mechanical gauge and check oil pressure.

 

See second paragraph, first sentence.

 

Not sure if he was referring to hooking up a mechanical gauge.

 

First things first gentlemen, I am a she, definitely not a he(•‿•)
and yes, I did hook up a mechanical gauge and after everything had been dropped and filter filled, etc... It read almost 40psi and within 2 seconds dropped down to zero. That's what led me to feel like it only showed because of what I put in the filter.

I'm about to go outside and drop the pan once more, double check the o-ring and make sure the tube isn't cocked or sitting funny, and most likely pull the pressure relief valve from the oil pump and see if it looks gummed up.

I read somewhere, that someone had a very similar problem, but it turned out that a crank bearing had slipped. That wouldn't cause no oil pressure or stop oil from flowing to other parts of the motor, correct?

 

Ok, fellet it is then. And a cam bearing can cause that if its decided to just take a dump. Or, you could just have a faulty oil pump. Which one did you put in?

 

Neither. I was hoping that because I knew the donor truck it came from, I wouldn't need to worry about any issues. But I know better, and even when I go out and drop the pan, again, I'm gonna drop the splash shield and check my caps and bearings for play and see if anything looks out of place. Had to replace rod bearings three times within a 2 year period on my dodge magnum, which wasn't mechanic but poorly designed engine, with crappy oil logs in the heads. So atleast I know what I'm looking for with the 5.3.

Will I have to remove the front cover if I have to replace the oil pump? And is there anything else at that time, that should be replaced so I'm not doing this again??

 

Yes. And you can replace the timing chain and cam gear and cam plate while youre in there. I would just look at the teeth on the cam gear first and see if theyre worn enough to need replacing or, just replace since youre there. Your cam plate could be bad and leaking oil which would also cause no to little oil pressure but it could be a bad pump, clogged pick up, bad cam bearing, bad main bearing, etc etc. Just don't know until you find it lol

 

I agree cam plate; timing chain/gears oil pump would be the first few things I’d look at. If you decide to replace the oil pump, let it be known that you need to shim the pump to align it correctly. ,

best of luck,
jimbo

 

Just to rule it out, make sure you have clearance between the pickup screen and oil pan. Usually you want 0.25" to 0.375" or so clearance.

Also, can you describe the 'Helper bracket' for the O ring that you are talking about? Are you talking a little bracket that allows the pickup tube to be held in with 2 bolts?

he O ring can be finicky, and color doesn't necessarily mean much. There will usually be 'thin' and 'thick' O rings that come with the pump. There are generally 2 styles of pick up tube. If you pickup tube has an indent for the O-ring, then it takes the thick O ring. If the tube is all the same diameter/smooth, then it takes the thinner one. Some people have managed to tear 2 or 3 in a row while installing.

You are putting the O ring on the tube, then installing the whole thing into the pump, yes? (Not putting the O ring in the pump and trying to put the tube through it?)