no oil pressure!

[ronstang94]

first time starting the car after new intake install. started trying to reset the timing since the distributer had to be removed and reinstalled. The engine ran for a few minutes and i noticed it felt really hot went to check the temp and realized there was no oil pressure on the guage! turned it off. pulled the distributer and a very faint amount of smoke came out of the hole.

Im not sure if the oil drive shaft is supposed to come out attatched to the distributer but both the first time I had it out and this last time, the shaft stayed down in the hole.

Im worried the distributer was not turning the oil shaft and the engine ran dry for a few minutes.

or maybe the connection to the oil pressure sensor wasnt good? or broken wire?

I will check the connection and wire to the sensor when the engine cools off. but what do you think happened? how bad is it if it ran dry? what should I do?

thanks

 

[ronstang94]

Also, I could not hear any unusual ticking

I think its quite possible that the connection to the oil pressure sensor is not good. but the gauge reading, heat, and faint smoke scares me.

 

[divit250r]

The pump driveshaft should stay in the block, it should have a little spring washer around it that traps it between the block and the oil pump. I'd suggest removing the oil sender, then get an aftermarket gauge and hook it up where you can see it at least for start up. If you don't see any pressure on it, then you know it's not just a bad factory gauge / sender. Good luck!

I'll admit no two engines are alike, but I have a buddy that drove his 87 for about 20 miles with the oil pump driveshaft snapped clean in two. This was at around 130k miles on a stock engine that had been BEAT by it's previous owner. New pump & shaft and it's still going to this day, now with HCI and a 125 shot of nitrous. So if you're talking a few minutes at idle, I doubt you'd hurt it enough to notice, but you can never tell. I guess it's all about your comfort level from here.

Scott

 

[Hef5.0weisen]

I'd agree that you're OK if it wasn't getting oil...being optimistic. Certainly not ideal, but these things are tough. Engine wasn't neccesarily dry, as in brand new dry. If you don't mind making a mess, you could take the sender off, and crank or start it, see if oil comes out.....might help in narrowing it down.

I might shine a light down the dizzy hole, see if the shaft is in place, also see if the edges are rounded over also the dizzy shaft, see if the receptacle is in good shape. Seems to me if it had fallen out, there isn't alot of room for it to go, you'd prolly know it.

The no noise or ticking is a good sign.... hydraulic lifters are noisy if they don't pump up, can't do that without oil pressure. Hope it is a simple sending unit...

Good Luck!

 

[95Vert383AOD]

What kind of oil filter are you using? I've had many pressure problems related to frams....thats why i no longer use them.

 

[ronstang94]

good to know how tough these things are

I use Ford Motorcraft oil filters, but that wasnt the issue

turns out the wire going to the oil pressure sensor had all but broke in 2. My disconnecting it finished it off. went to the junk yard to grab a connector with enough wire still on it for me to work with, soldered it on. started the engine and there was pressure

Thanks