eric951turbo

Hey guys,

I just finished a hell of a job.... Oil pan gasket, + while I was there.. new rod bearings.

I started the car, and all the lights in the dash are on, and oil pressure gage now reads almost zero.

I did not touch the oil pump.

Before changing the oil pan gasket and rod bearing, my reading was at 3.5 when hot, 5-4 cold.

I did follow all instructions, torque specs on rods.

Anybody have any idea what could be wrong?

Fara

did you use a micrometer on the journals? It's possible that the crank's been ground in the past and the bearings are now too large to make good contact.

Additionally, when you start the car up again after that job, you may need to prime the oil pump.

eric951turbo

Didn't use micrometer on the journals....

How do you prime the oil pump?

eric951turbo

Yep, the gauge is not lying, not the engine is knocking, I stopped it right as soon i heard the knock starting.

So I really don't have oil pressure.

I followed each steps on Texas Blake website.

- pick up tube was in great condition
- had the Lindsey baffle thing welded inside and around the pickup tube
- changed a front crank seal following van's youtube videos

Oddjob

How long did it crank/run without oil pressure? It takes a few revolutions to generate oil pressure.

Only time I have seen zero oil pressure w/ an engine running is due to a crack oil pickup tube.

PorscheDoc

Maybe you cracked the pickup tube when putting on the pan? Also, did you torque the front crank pulley to 150ft/lbs after doing the front crank seal? Make sure all the washers and o rings went in correctly on the front?

Assuming you did everything correctly on assembly......To prime the pump, pull the DME relay and or fuel pump fuse and crank the engine until it builds pressure. It can take quite awhile of cranking before pressure builds. Once you have full pressure, put the relay/fuse back in and start it up.

Mueller944s2

How's the crank bolt?


To build oil pressure I pull the plug on the distributor cap until I see pressure build up. I do that every engine swap

9turbo51

Pull the plugs, crank engine (with dme relay out) , if no oil presure, I have seen where loosening the oil filter has helped prime the pump, messy but effective. Never start engine until you have seeh oil psi.

mytrplseven

Are you sure you put the rod bearings in positioned correctly? I'm concerned about blocked oil passages due to bearing covering oil hole (don't know for sure if this is possible on Porsches or not...was an issue with Chevy's). I'm surprised that you still had no oil pressure by the time you heard knocking. I agree with turning the engine without DME relay to see if the oil needle starts to move.

Darwantae951

Pull the plugs and DME relay. Turn the engine over until you see pressure on the gauge. If that doesn't work, you can pull the filter and pour oil down to the pump. I had to do that. You can also leave it off and crank it over until oil comes out.

eric951turbo

thanks all for the replies...

I just came back trying stuff again.

I cranked the engine without the dme, then started it again.... pressure was at 1bar, no light open.
1 minute after, the red light open, 0 bar pressure, engine started knocking again.

I notice that the wheel attached to the crank spinning the power steering belt is not align. The belt will be very loose, then after turning the crank, it will be tight.

I remember that I didnt to the torque specs for the crank bolt. It was so tight, but never heard the ''click'', I was afraid of breaking something.

How can the crank bolt affects oil pressure????

carlege

Your oil pump is driven from that crank bolt. If you dont have it tight enough then it wont create pressure. Check and make sure the crank is on correctly. So there's your problem.

Darwantae951

150 ft/lbs is a lot of force. Go until it clicks. I've never heard of a crank bolt breaking.

eric951turbo

Cool, thanks guys, I hope that's problem. I don't feel like going under there again. Im pretty sure the oil pick tube is fine and that I installed the rod bearings correctly.

Ill keep an update tomorrow night. Im done for tonight.

Intruder196

Glad to hear you found your problem. I had the same thing happen to mine when I did a timing belt change. The PS pulley was off center and the 150 lbs of torque was being applied to the pulley alone. I corrected it and oil pressure was restored.