$cactuskid

This past week some friends and I replaced the oil pan gasket on my 2001 V6 automatic. We had to take out the exhaust, starter, driveshaft and transmission to do it. I thought we did a great job but after getting it back together and filled with oil, I started it and there was no oil pressure (according to the gauge) and a clunking sound that increased with RPMs. The next day I added more oil, since it was low, and checked over everything, tightened up a few bolts and started it again. The clunking noise was worse and the car died after a minute. Still no oil pressure. I’m afraid to run it again figuring I could really f…. something up. I can't tell where the noise is coming from. Anybody have an opinion on what could have gone wrong?

GT Nate

did you check the oil pickup tube? Could it have been clogged?

$cactuskid

Yes I did, it was clear. I cleaned out the pan really well. Since then I pulled off the filter (new one) and there was oil in it. So maybe it is pumping oil around. My Haynes manual says to prime the oil pump, fill it with Vaseline. Has anyone tried this?

$cactuskid

Well I figured out the problem and it is pretty embarrassing. I had drained the oil and removed the filter in preparation for doing the oil pan gasket. Either I didn't know or I forgot that my buddy had put a rubber stopper in the threaded filter connection to stop oil from dripping all over. It was black and almost all the way in so when I put the filter on I didn't see it. Needless to say I was trying to run the car with the stopper blocking the oil flow, D'oh. When we were investigating the problem, we took the filter off to check for oil in it. That is when he remembered the stopper. It runs good now and it has good oil pressure. What a lesson learned. I am glad we didn't remove the transmission and oil pan sgsin to check things out.