well not long ago i blew a head gasket and had to have major head work. re surfaced, new valve work etc. runs great now, and i went to the drag strip for my first time on friday. ran a 13.8 @102. i was happy considering i screwed up every launch. well drove the vette home, an hour away, and then drove it around town today. over an hour of time. then tonight i'm going down the road and the check gauges light comes on. oil pressure is 0!!! so i let her idle and pulled into the nearest parking lot which is like 3 or 400 yards away. then i shut her off. dad showed up and we start it back up then i have to cut it right back off. making racket. he says it's just the top end not getting any oil. my question is did i hurt my bottom end or top end permanently from this amount of use. like i said i just let it idle for that distance and shut it down as soon as i didnt need to steer anymore. dad says its my oil pump. i'ts got plenty of oil in it. how does a pump go bad? did me racing do it? or what? and what are my options on upgrades while it's out and being replaced? is there a better one? please help. and tell me if i hurt anything. thanks guys.


Stuart

 

Running at the strip didn't cause the problem; I've made hundreds of passes down the 1/4 mile with over 144k miles on the original engine with no problems.

Hopefully it's just a failed oil pump with no damage to top or bottom but you won't know till you get a new pump in and start it up, unless there are metal filings in the oil pan.

Good luck.

 

Some probable causes.

Bad oil pressure switch/sender or wiring. (Mounted on top of block, behind intake manifold, between firewall and back driver's side corner, near distributor.) P.I.T.A. to reach.

Loose oil pump pick up tube.

Oil pump pick up screen clogged.

Plugged oil filter.

Bad, worn, or dirty oil pump.

Broken oil pump to distributor drive shaft(Factory collar sleeve holding it in place at the pump is made of plastic, aftermarket shaft use metal.)

Factory oil pumps came with the pick up tube pressed into the pump. Most folks weld it in place to prevent it from ever moving loose and choking off oil flow or sucking in air. If the pick up moves on you and sits too close to the bottom of the pan, it chokes off oil circulation to the rest of the motor. If it's too high from the bottom of the pan, the pick up can become exposed and suck in air instead of oil. Recomended distance between pick up and bottom of pan should be between 3/8 and 1/2. Unfortunatly, this requires removal of the oil pan.This is checked using a piece of clay lightly coated with oil to prevent it from sticking, fitting the pan with a few bolts with a gasket, removing it, and measuring the compressed clay thickness. Definately check the oil in the pan for shavings as previously posted. If you pull the pan, see if the pick up tube's press fit is loose, or is easy to move by hand, if so that is a problem. You might also want to remove the pump, remove the 4 bolts, and check the inside gears for wear or dirt, ect. while you have the pan off, if all the easy checks turn out good first. If you run it with "0" oil pressure long enough, you'll trash the rest of the bearings in the motor, as I am sure you already know.

 

Maybe you'll get lucky and just have the pick up tube as described above. You said head gasket not long ago, Is this the same oil from when the head was reinstalled? Assembly lube, valve grind compound...
If you had coolant in the oil did you flush out the oil system? I can tell what I have done in the past to flush out the milky mess, just pm me or email.

 

If the motor is hurt, you didn't do it in that short time after the light came on, it happened before that. its real easy to drop the pan and have a look. I would do it soon.

 

And since you have to drop the pan-it might be a good idea to pull a main bearing and a couple rod bearing caps to inspect them. Good luck.

 

so assuming everything is groovy once i get into it, what are my options on replaceing the oil pump? is stock the only way to go? is there a better option? if there is, are any modifications needed? will it bolt up? higher oil pressure? more pumping ? thanks in advance, car will be towed to the shop monday morning. need to know waht to tell em. thanks men.

 

Just stick with a standard volume/pressure pump. No need for any fancy or high volume pump here. It will only consume engine power for something you do not need. Go with a quality pump from Melling, or similar. All you need is 10 PSI for every 1000RPM. Anything more than that just costs you power and extra money. While you are at it, replace that factory oil pump shaft with a plastic collar with one having a metal/steel collar. You don't have to take my word for it, read John Lingenfelter's book for his view about high volume/pressure pumps.

 

Get a Melling pump, preferably M55A, which is a high pressure pump that I use, just be sure to tack the pickup on.

 

any place i can get these parts? and where can i get that metal collar shaft thing? i appreciate the help. one more thing, are the oil pumps the same for a L98 and an LT1? i know mine has an opti while the older has the distributor. what's the deal and how do they work? tia.

stuart

 

My bad, I did not even notice you have an LT1, not an L98.

 

Since everyone has been so up-beat about your problem (sorry it happened BTW), I hate to be the first one to take the opposite view.

Assuming that it's not a gauge/sending unit type problem, chances are one or more of the bearings is hurt. If so, the crank will need turning too.

Since the engine did run for even a short while with ZERO oil pressure you should be able to get an idea by removing the oil filter, cutting it open and looking deep within the filter pleats for little sparkles. If there, they'll be silver, or even worse gold in color; that's bearing material.

I suspect that's one of the reasons GM went to priority main oiling on the newer blocks.

Jake