Is it possible for the oil pump o-ring to get sucked into the oil pump? When I started the car after the camswap it started right up with 60 psi. After driving around for a while and a run through the gears, my oil pressure dropped to 20 psi at idle and occasionally dropped almost almost to zero. I'm almost positive the o-ring didn't get pinched cause i took the oil pump gears off to install it, and because of the good oil pressure initially. If it did get sucked into the pump, how can i prevent that the next time? Also, are you supposed to put the o-ring rest on the thin part of the pickup tube, or push it all the way down on the thicker part? I won't be able to tear it back down till later this week.

 

You leave it on the thinner part before the bulge. The oil pump will push the o-ring over the pickup tube when you install it. The only way it would get sucked up into the pump is if it tore during the install. I was really careful about this during my install. I bought two extra o-rings just in case.

 

My car had the same symptoms your describing and my oil pump had failed.

 

So you are saying if i pull the oil pump and the o-ring looks good i should just assume the pump's bad and replace it? How can i tell if it's failed or not? Also would it be safe to drive it on 20 psi of pressure or so 5 miles to the garage where i can work on it?