Raidinator

I believe the pump was not sucking up oil because air was being introduced by the uncovered oil hole in the upper balance shaft compartment. with the circuit complete it was able to gain the necessary vacuum to pressurize the system. It was just a matter of covering the oil hole in the upper balance shaft location. so yes it pumps oil now

Last night in tore the whole thing down to bare block and inspected all the bearings and cleaned them up, alot more of them were fine that I expected, it turns out the three I pulled were the worst of the bunch I also picked through the oil passages the best I could with out compressed air they all appeared fine so i put it all back together. I packed the oil pump with Vaseline like my buddy recommended and spun it up with a cordless drill. oil spewed out of the top silent shaft hole. so I found a bearing that fit, pounded it in and spun it up again. I must say the prettiest sight I've seen in a while was the sight of that oil psi needle climbing to 70psi. so I checked to make sure no one was looking, danced around a little, and put the motor back in the car. today I need to hook up a few more connections and I plan to take an open headers run through my neighbor hood thank you one and all it looks like we're back in action!

alright there is a light at the end of the tunnel, I brought the number 1 main bearing shells to a friend of mine, a seasoned professional engine builder and talked with him a while. he said that I could certainly scotchbrite them back to life. He also told me that he thought assembly lube i was using wouldn't be thick enough to draw the necessary vacuum. he recommended packing the pump with Vaseline. he also suggested that the cheap oil filter I had on there could have been clogged with assembly lube. the oil pickup was firmly attached and fully intact, the gasket seems fine. I checked around the motor once it was out of the car, all plugs are in place. I think it just wasn't drawing enough vacuum to get the oil all the way up the pickup tube. also as far as the mechanical gauge, my experience in the past has been the at the gauge will let air pass through it but will hold oil psi , so there is no need for bleeding but just in case i plan to leave the line open and let oil travel down it. now shelby, I don't want to get into a mud slinging contest here, but your comments seem to have an edge to them. your last comment sounds like it's directed to a twelve year old kid who broke a window and it has no diagnostic value of any kind. I appreciate the ideas you've put forward so far, but I'd like to ask you to take a closer look at how you are coming across. If you really have a problem with me or my comments, PM me, but please keep it out of this discussion

well it seems we're screwed, I pulled the engine, dropped the pan and pulled main caps 1,2 and 4. number 1 is badly pitted and will spin if I run it. the other two looked passable I'm not rebuilding the gutless wonder again, I think I can get alot more fun out of a different ride for alot less cash. so, unless someone has some saving grace idea as far as how this is ok or something happens on my end that I can make this work out; All of this stuff, plus a bunch of other starion goodies will be on the for sale forum. If you have posted something helpful, and want something I'm selling, PM me and I'll take some off the price depending on how helpful your post were (i.e. Indiana this stuff is practically free for you) thanks again one and all for your support, sorry to disappoint Greg

yeah I started it, and reved it to 3 grand, no pressure and it was slow to rev which worried me any way wish me luck

Alright I will give the reving it another try before i take everything apart, and yes, the new pump looks just like the old pump. although instead of being a machined part it appears to be a raw casting on the outside. I have a mechanical sender unit in place because I don't trust my stock oil psi gauge. I have the mechanical gauge taped to the fender so i can see it while in the driver's seat thanks again indiana, I'll be back in a minute to tell you if reving it up works.

shelby: I of course I removed the radiator, the support behind it it what is screwing with me, this engine is the 2.6 carb engine available in the 87-89 raiders and monteros. the oil pickup is at the back of the engine near the flywheel in order to clear the 4wd system. I do have hydro lifters, but I also have open headers so I have no idea if they are ticking. ok so it looks like the only viable theory is that my oil pickup is jacked up in some way. tonight I'm going to pull the engine and take a close look at the whole thing. I don't think I can drop the pan in car because of the front diff. and because the rubber gasket I bought is a pain to get on even when the motor is on a stand. it's impossible if it's in the car, over a front axle. If any one has another bright idea to try while I have the engine out please let me know. I don't want to pull this thing twice by the way I can get the motor out and in in about 5 hours based on past experience, so so long as it's out how long do you think it would take to swap my current open front dif with a LSD I have o the shelf? has anyone done a diff swap? if so how long did it take you?

Alright I got the gaskets and found some time. I tore the thing apart and discovered I couldn't fit my drill between the rad support and the oil pump to spin it, so lacking an impact wrench I just pulled the pump. I took the little punk apart and inspected the whole thing. it looked fine (like a new pump should). I then filled it with assembly lube and spun it by hand once it was back together. I pumped about one bottle of assembly lube in one hole and out the other. the oil pump is fine. I filled the pump once again with assembly lube, installed it and put the rest of the beast back together. I fired it up and still no oil pressure. the only other theories I have is that: -the pickup isn't installed or it is cracked -there is some kind of blockage pretty early in the oil track -that there is a fracture in the block introducing air into the system and removing all the necessary suction. My classes at college start in less than 2 weeks, one of those weeks I can't work on it. My new lease begins in three weeks so I am out of time. I will no longer have the facilities or the time to play games with this thing. I need to pull the engine tomorrow or the next day and fix this thing or get rid of it. does anyone have any theories besides the lack of an oil pickup tube? by the way if this thing does not have oil psi in a few days it will be in the "for sale" section with a bunch of starion related goodies thanks again to everyone who has helped me out so far, I don't mean to jump ship I still think I can fix this thing i just need to know when to call it if it comes to that

Royal purple over kill in every way and available at advanced auto (you have to ask them to order one, it takes like a day or so)it's expensive but really who cares it 10 bucks extra.

I second the throttle position sensor story, I had an S 10 pickup with the exact same symptoms, after replacing the throttle position sensor it runs like it should

I was just joking about selling it (unless of course you would like to make an offer) anyway I 'm a little broke right now so as soon as I can get my hands on some gaskets i'm planning on pulling this thing apart one more time and inspect the oil pump and fill it with a whole lot of assembly lube. thanks you everyone for your help and ideas. I'll be sure to update the forum as soon as i am able to tear into this thing. thanks again

Ok I drained a quart of oil and pumped it through the priming hole (making 6 quarts in the engine, right at the full mark on the dip stick) i then cranked it up 3000-3500 for about 10 seconds still nothing at all. - yes I have a removable upper balance shaft plate why? - I don't have time to pull the timing cover these days - I am no longer convinced the bearings are still OK, they had assembly lube but I'm concerned that in my effort to get suction I might have scuffed them by now. does anyone want to buy half done raider? it's a mechanics special

I like all these theories sadly none of them fit - I remember assembling the oil pump because the key way took me forever (someone thought it would be cute to make the bottom of the trench and the bottom of the key round) - there is a gasket on the oil pickup tube - there is not sealant around to the oil pump (or anywhere for that matter) only the standard gaskets I guess I need to create more suction my new plan is to pump a small amount more oil into the priming hole and then crank it up to 3000 rpm for about 10 seconds (or until I lose my nerve)

So I fired up the beast for about 10 seconds at 2000rpm (a surprisingly long time with open headers,and not sound dampening)....Nothing!! I'm back where I started. What could be misassembled that would cause the head to get oil but not the main gallery? All plugs are in, the balance shafts have been removed and all of the engine bearings are facing the right way and are on the right side. based on the diagram I don't see how this is even possible! what is going on with this thing! has anything like this happened to anyone? thank you one and all for your help (especially you Indiana)

Indiana you are a god for finding a oil path diagram. I've been looking for a good one, however you lose some points for presenting no solutions. (which lands you somewhere around Hercules status) having oil to the head and not at the hole clearly is possible....I have an engine to prove it as an update: -I jacked up the rear of the truck and cranked it in hopes of oil pressure - nothing -I am too much of a panzee to run the car in hopes of oil pressure I refuse to rebuild such a low displacement engine twice -the car took as many as 10 quarts of oil since i have drained it and replaced it through the priming hole until the dipstick indicated it was full. all that to the system should be fully primed and full of oil. - the engine was not hot tanked after rebuilding, so a random blockage is a possibility but I can't imagine that it would stop flow 100% thank you one and all for your help