maestro1024

Oil stopped moving. How do I know if oil pump is bad or bearings?

I got my heads redone and back from the machine shop last week. Put the last parts on today and started the 67 289 up. Ran great for like 30 minutes (I think some of the coolant from the previously blown head gasket was clearing out).

Well I took it for a test drive down the road (had gone to the end of the drive way a couple of times already).

Well at the the end of the road the oil light came on and I started hearing a knocking. Got back and took the valve covers off and started it back up. Zero oil coming out.

I guess now I will drop the oil pan and check out the oil pump.

Are there any good tests for oil pump? Should I try turning it manual first or just pull the pan and look? Any other tell tale signs of a bad oil pump versus bad bearings or engine issues?

Thanks in advance

Coupe

Pull the dizzy and see if that shaft snapped off. That happens sometimes, especially with a high pressure pump.

Of course once the knocking starts it wont stop, so you may as well put that motor back on the stand..

maestro1024

Is that correct? I was thinking if it is a bad oil pump, I can put a new pump in and the oil will start moving again and all will be well. Is that not correct?

Good call on the shaft.

Coupe

Knocking is a symptom of metal on metal. Chances are you ran the bearings dry in the rods, mains and cam ...usually that is destructive.

rmodel65

+1 on checking the oil pump driveshaft its a common place for failure on a 289/302/5.0 get a good solid shaft from ford motorsport etc..

id put a 5/16 socket on the end of a drill and extension(tape it all together so you dont drop anything into the pan) and spin the pump up and see if you get any pressure to the rockers...

kenash

Hi,
You state "I think some of the coolant from the previously blown head gasket was clearing out". How is this possible? The heads would have been dry the piston holes would have been dry, as sometimes coolant will leak in when removing the heads. It would be very careless not to check those bores.
If and when you pull the pan, you can pull all of the caps and check the bearings. What is the history of the bottom end before the head work? Was it just a blown head gasket problem? Good Luck!

fastbackford351

Metal on metal sounds that don't go away generally mean that you've screwed the pooch.

But for a quick & easy test for your oil pump pull the valve cover then pull the distributor, put a....I think it's a 1/4" deep well socket on a 6" or 8" x 1/4" extension then turn it at speed, clockwise with a power drill. Inside of 10 secondsor so you should see oil coming up through the heads. If you see no oil, then...oh well.

You'll want to tape the extension to the socket then run a piece of safety wire somewhat loosely around the extension so just in case you get a case of the dropsies your rig won't wind up in the bottom of the pan.



*edit* Cornfed beat me to the punch.

boogerschnot

If it started knocking, id just go straight to the pan and see which of your bearings spun free. It wouldnt knock unless you ate some metal off of the crank or rod.

Put as much butter on it as you want.. its toast..

maestro1024

Got the issue fixed.

dropped the pan and the pump was seized.
The shaft was twisted and broke in half.
There was a ton of gunk in the bottom of the pan that I figure caused the oil pump to seize up.
Replaced everything and cleaned up the pan and so far so good.

boogerschnot

Fingers crossed!