At 09:20 AM 5/22/2000 -0500, Andy Badeker <abadeker@tribune.com> wrote:
> .... apparently the oil pump lost its prime. ....
>.... I then tried putting the oil-pressure hose in a quart of oil, jacking
up a rear wheel and putting the car in 4th and turning the wheel backward,
hoping to suck some oil in via the hose: No luck.
See oil flow path description here:
http://www.ntsource.com/~barneymg/mgtech/engine/of101.htm
The oil pressure hose is tapped off the back of the main oil galley in the
block. This is just before the feed to the main bearings, but well along
in the supply path. To get there the oil from the pump first travels
across the back of the block, then through the external oil line, through
the oil cooler (if you have one), then through the oil filter and back into
the main oil galley in the block.
Each time I have reassembled a dry engine I have primed it by using a
trigger pump oil can to inject oil at the oil pressure hose port on the
block. I keep pumping until I can feel a significant increase in flow
resistance, which can take about a pint of oil at that point. This fills
the main oil galley and gives oil to the main bearings. If nothing else
this should provide peace of mind while you are cranking on it trying to
get the pressure up. It also tries to flow oil backwards through the
filter and oil cooler back into the rear of the block, and then back to the
oil pump. However, the oil filter generally has an anti-back flow check in
it so the oil won't go back that way anyway. On a couple of occasions this
has not provided a prime to the pump.
You need to try priming it closer to the oil pump. Disconnect the large
external oil line at the back corner of the block, fill the port in the
block with oil, and then rotate the engine backwards to draw the oil
backwards into the oil pump. Always works for me. But, if it doesn't draw
that way, try applying a little pressure to assist the back flow into the
pump.
Good luck,
Barney
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