Krab

iTrader: (28)

I just finished up a cam/springs swap on a friends car earlier today and now we're having some trouble. This is my 8th or so cam swap, so I'm not exactly a newbie. I changed out the cam and springs only, the oil pump was not touched at all, so the usual pinched O-ring is not a suspect in this case. Intake manifold was not messed with, so I'm assuming the oil pressure sending unit is working fine. Engine is a low mile '01. No rags or towels were placed in the front of the engine while removing the cam. All tools are accounted for and there are no extra parts.

The engine had normal oil pressure upon initial start up and even after driving it around a few miles. The oil pressure started progressively decreasing and now my friend says the needle is at zero when he last went to turn it on earlier this afternoon.

Does anyone have any idea what the culprit could be?

TheBiz

iTrader: (45)

Hook it up to a scanning program and see if you have pressure via the PCM. If you do, its prolly a gauge.

mrr23

iTrader: (3)

trash got into the oil pump and locked the bypass open. just happened to me. that would be my guess.

Krab

iTrader: (28)

Thanks for the input guys, we just tore down the front of the engine to inspect the oil pump and the seems to be in working condition. I disassembled the oil pump while on the block and all the internals look good. The top of the engine is definetely not getting any oil though. It is pretty much dry while the lower parts are covered in oil.

mrr23, can you describe what the bypass looks like if it's blocked open? I know where it is and what it looks like, but can you describe what it looks like if it were to be blocked open?

Krab

iTrader: (28)

Also, while I was tearing down the engine for the camswap, to be more specific after removing the passenger side valve cover, we found this.





It seems to be a piece of the oil filler neck. Yes, this was under the valve cover, riding along with the valvetrain all this time.

Krab

iTrader: (28)

Update for those who encounter this same problem in the future. Turns out you were right mrr23, somehow the oil pump bypass valve got jammed open and wouldn't pump oil into the block. Had to do a crapload of work to get the pump off and get a working one in. Turned the car on and the oil pressure is back to normal. Thanks for the help guys!

mrr23

iTrader: (3)

sorry i didn't answer your question about the valve and what it would look like stuck open. glad it was something simple.

Krab

iTrader: (28)

Don't worry about it. For future reference, I took some pics of the stuck bypass valve on the bad pump and the bypass valve on the good pump.

Here is the stuck valve on the bad pump.


Here is the valve on the good pump.


It's kinda hard to tell the valve is fully closed on the second pic, due to the quality of the pic, but the bypass valve is closed.