Oil Press Light

[Mark Borer]

Started my 63 up and the oil light stayed illuminated

all appeared normal, but then the engine began to make noise

The car is now safely in my garage.

checking the service manual, changing the oil pump is very involved

can the pump be spun through the distributor like a dodge motor to check its operation?

any other insights it advice?

thanks

Mark

[Russ Austin]

If the valve has corrosion on it, it needs to be replaced. Very tight tolerances are in play here, and sanding anything off will only make it worse. 

I have temporarily closed up shop due to moving, but others will have a good used valve for you. 

[Tony and Ginny 429]

It does not take much debris to prevent the pressure valve from working correctly 

The valve has caused many problems with new engine builds getting stuff in it when working on the rebuild 

Last thing you want is  oil pressure problems with a new engine start up to shorten engine longevity 

l know you can put 64 429 oil pump gears in a 63 390 but may need a machine shop to do that 

They increase oil volume some 

You will be looking for score marking  damage on the front engine cover housing internal channel that may need a machine shop repair for the wear found there on its walls 

Enjoy 

Russ has some good experience having had some of the front coves repaired 

Do repair yours if needed  as the front cover is starting to be a difficult part to find in any condition these days 

[Mark Borer]

Hi all

took apart the oil pump housing

the cover has light scoring and the regulator piston is stuck

am attempting to free it.....

once i have that sorted, I can put it back together and attempt to crank the motor

do I have to load the gears with gear oil to get it to suck properly?

[mike page]

  Hello Mark, When I first got mt 1964 convertible home I took off the oil pan to check out the bottom end of  the engine. Cleaned out the oil pan sludge,found small pieces of plastic from the timing gears and checked out the main bearings. Cleaned off the oil pick up screen .After putting it all back together the oil pressure light stayed on and it started to rattle a little. Cut it off immediately . Took the cover off the oil pump and hand packed it with petroleum jelly and put the cover back on . The light went off and the rattle of the lifters went away. I primed the oil pump so it would have suction to pick up the motor oil . There are two gears inside the oil pump . You can only replace one of them with the engine still in the car .Just not enough room to get both out . Good luck my friend 

[Russ Austin]

You will need to prime the oil pump before starting the engine.  You can pack the gears with petroleum jelly or pour oil down the oil filter tube.  I pour oil down the tube. I take the oil filter housing off with the 3 bolts.  There are 2 holes, so pour oil into the front hole. 

[Mark Borer]

Thank you to all for your advice and help

I soaked the cover plate in ATF last night and gently tapped on the cylinder

at some point, whatever was holding it in age open position gave way, and I was able to fish it out

I sanded the bore with 2000 grit and did the same with the cylinder

oiled it all up and packed the pump with axle grease

reassembled it all and fired her up

after about 5 seconds and a couple of clicks coming from the old girl the oil light went out

a slight clicking can be heard still.....it appears to be dissipating as the oil warms and circulates.

i dont know whether anyone has or knows of the proper oil pump tool to allow one to turn the oil pump without running the engine, but mine looked like a round rod with a flat spot on one side

the keyed one I borrowed from my local shop did not fit

i tried several sockets from my set and none worked either

again.....thanks everyone 

[Jason Edge]

Congrats on the fix. I'm sure you are glad the front cover didn't ave to come off!

[Kurt]

You're right about the shape for the oil pump tool. I made one from an old tent pole I had laying around. Not pretty, but it did the trick.

[Tony and Ginny 429]

Mark

Russ  or Jason have   and uses the correct tool to turn the dist which you may want to have for the future 

Do be extremely careful with the socket end coming off the ratchet extension if you go that route 

If the socket gets detached from its extension it will fall into the engine and the front cover will then have to come off to retrieve it 

Others have spot welded the socket to an extension for that reason 

Just a heads up 

Enjoy 

[Tony and Ginny 429]

Glad your engine is back in action