possible oil pump took a crap???w

you drove it 8 miles and you did not hear any valve clacking or knocking, if you didn't hear any noise from engine i am willing to bet that your oil pressure sending unit is the one that took a crap.

noslow5_0 said:

no oil pressure, no shacking with grinding in valve train?? think the motor might still be salvagible??? drove about 8 miles limpin it home... is there any way to get to the pump without pullin the motor???

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Are you or are you not hearing noise in the valvetrain/engine? You should have shut down the engine as soon as it lost pressure (if it actually did lose pressure). Just to be sure, I'd pull off a valve cover and have someone crank the engine over with the coil wire off so it doesn't fire, and watch to see if you're getting oil to the top end of your engine. As dastang said, your sender might just be bad if the engine wasn't making any other noise. Not sure if you would have made it home with absolutely no oil pressure; you certainly should be hearing noise if that was the case.......

check the oil for metal shavings also.

Install a direct reading mechanical gauge. You can get the gauge & all the fittings from Home Depot for less than $15.

Next pull the distributor. here's a tech tip:

Take the coil wire out of the distributor. Pull #1 plug, put your finger in the spark plug hole. Have someone crank the engine until it starts to blow air past your finger. Stop cranking, turn the engine by hand (breaker bar on the harmonic balancer bolt, or put the car in gear and push) until the TDC mark on the harmonic balancer lines up with the pointer on the passenger side of the engine. Loose the distributor hold down bolt, remove the clamp, cap and wires, disconnect the wiring harness. Pull the distributor straight up.

Now that the distributor is out, use a 1/4 socket and a speeder handle or reversible drill to turn the oil pump shaft counterclockwise. You should see 20-60 PSI with cold oil depending on how fast you turn the oil pump shaft.

If you have good pressure, start troubleshooting the electric gauge.

If no oil pressure, plan on pulling the engine for a teardown. Bearings running without oil for more than a minute are definitely going to need replacement.

Follow the remaining steps to get the distributor reinstalled & timing set.

The following re-install depends on the engine being lined up as in the previous instructions.
To re-install, turn the distributor rotor to point to #1 cylinder position on the cap. The#1 position is about 11 o'clock if 6 o' clock is the front of the engine. Line the rotor up with it pointing at the #1 spark plug position on the cap and drop it in: you may have to twist the shaft some to get it to engage the oil pump shaft. Then remove the SPOUT connector plug, and use a timing light to set the timing. The SPOUT is the dangling connector on the distributor harness on stangs made prior to 94 and with a computer controlled engine. 10* is stock for most 5.0s' 12*-14* is good for more pep if you are not into NO2 or power adders

My '89 did the same thing. Pull the distributor and look at the oil pump driveshaft. Mine was sheared in two, and when I got the oil pump out, it was seized up.

If you loosen the motor mounts, you can jack the engine far enough to get at the oil pump. Also, buy a hardened shaft.

If you shut it down quick enough you'll be fine. Mine had 200,000 on the clock with the oil pump froze up.. I've currently got 261,000 on the original motor..

Good Luck!

before pulling it, just take a look at the oil pump shaft that is under the dizzy. chancees are, he twisted it when missing 2 gears while downshifting. does the car run good while idleing. hopefully there is no bent valves.

that means no oil psi but chances are, if he drove 8 miles then the bearings need replacing. time for a rebuild

dastang2 said:

that means no oil psi but chances are, if he drove 8 miles then the bearings need replacing. time for a rebuild

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Time for a STROKER KIT!! C'mon guys! These are life's little green lights to do what you've been wanting to do in the first place, that being MORE MOTOR! Something breaking can always be a PITA, but it's also a great reason to make that thing better.