Hey everyone I have a 64 cadillac and just changed the oil pump cover gasket due to it leaking. I replaced the gasket and have now primed the pump with approximately 4oz. of oil. The pump worked and I drove it for a few miles with good oil pressure and no noises from the engine compartment. Stopped for gas and upon starting her back up, I noticed the oil light flickered a bit and then went out. I stopped at my work for approximately 15 minutes and when starting her up again the oil light stayed on and I drove her for approximately 2 miles. As soon as I could hear the top end ticking I was literally right up on a frineds house and left it there. I ***ume I lost the prime on the oil pump but why and has anyone else experienced this problem?
did you use a bunch of silicone on the new gasket? I have heard of people using m***ive amounts of silicone and a piece getting cauget in the oil pump and trashing the engine.
Grease on the pump gears ususally helps them prime but you shouldn't lose prime once it picks up. Get a pressure gauge on the engine and pull the distributor. Pretty sure the pump is a hex drive so use a drill with a socket on the end and prime the pump that way through the distributor hole. See what pressure you get. A p***age may be blocked. Put a new filter on just to be safe
The pump was working fine prior to changing the gasket. Didn't use any silicone. I did use two gaskets instead of one though. They were paper thin. Could that have been the problem? Thanks.
I also had a 1964 Cadillac that I reringed years ago. After re***embly I disconnected the ignition and cranked and cranked but could not get the oil light to go out. So I changed the pump cover gasket to a piece of ordinary writing paper to thin it down, and still the light would not go out. I finally gave in and started it, and in a few seconds it got its prime and the oil light went out, and I never had any more problems. Having two gaskets is not good. The manual will tell you the end clearance allowed, and it will be excessive with two gaskets. As the engine heats up and the oil thins out, this allows so much oil to byp*** around the ends of the gears that you suffer low oil pressure. As for the silicone wrecking engines, I was searching for a Toyota 1200 engine core some time ago and found two that were destroyed by a blob of silicone. One had a piece block a rod journal oil hole, causing the rod to burn up, break off and window the block. The other had a silicone blob jam the oil pressure relief valve open causing no oil pressure. It had almost new undersize bearings in it, showing it was freshly rebuilt.
Tomorrow I will take the secons gasket out of there and fill the pump with some petrolium jelly. Then I will reprime her and hope for the best. What are the odds that I screwed my motor up? I guess I'll find out once I start it with oil pressure. Thanks for all the help. If anyone has any more tricks to add, I'd be open.
I wouldn't fill the pump with grease just coat the gears or you may cause a blockage. Petroluem jelly is a good idea it should break down in the oil once it heats up. Modern oils will hold a film for quite a while. I've seen engines lose pressure at 7000rpm for 20-30 seconds and you wouldn't know by looking at the bearings. See how it goes. I've done some horrible things to the 429 in my 65 and it still loves me
I took out the second gasket and packed the oil pump with vasoline. The oil pump began to work instantly and the oil light went out. The only problem is the top end is still ticking. How long until it stops and is there a delay maybe because the engine did not get warm enough to break down the vasoline yet?
IF the pump is an external pump...Pack i full of petroleum jelly...that'll get it to prime...and I mean pack it...and do not use more than one gasket... R-
Ok. So I took the oil pump cover off and cleaned it up best I could with some gasket remover. Also sprayed the oil pump surface with gasket remover but didn't have much luck. It is difficult to remove all of the gasket from the oil pump surface due to the location. I removed the second gasket and just used the one upon ***embly. Also packed the oil pump and both gears with Vaseline. I started her up and the oil light went out instantly!! And stayed out. Everything seemed to work great. The only problem was the top end continued to tick. I was told by a mechanic friend that I may have gotten air into the lifters. I was told to start the engine and let her run up to operating temperature. Then to turn her off and let her cool fully. I did this multiple times throughout the day and the ticking stopped. She is now running smoothly and the oil pressure seems to be keeping it's prime. I just want to thank all you guys for the ***istance. It's really nice to have a group dedicated to these specific cars. I have learned a ton of information from this site and read from it on a daily basis. I just hope that I can contribute and help someone else on a later date. Thanks again, Kevin
Hey Kap, you do realize there's a difference between petroleum jelly and Vaseline, don't you...??? Both are available at grocery stores... I'll bet your oil smell likes it's got a cold now...!!! LOL...!!! R-
Hahaha. I know. My mechanic friend said vaseline would work just fine. Plus I got extra left over for those dry days. Ashy elbows and knees.
Maybe so, but at least regular petroleum jelly doesn't smell like something your Mom rubbed on your chest...!!! Besides, it's cheaper than Vaseline...!!! R
Vaseline IS 100% petrolium jelly! And it doesn't smell like anything. I had to check, but now I know. You were talking about vick's vapo rub. Paid $3.48 for a big jar. Any other applications for this stuff? Anybody else got any cool Cadillac stuff to talk about??
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