New engine build. Bad oil pump.

[timuh60]

So I just finished my first engine rebuild. I did go ahead and used a rebuild kit from ebay. I hot tanked the block, replaced the pistons, rings, all bearings, oil pump, water pump, timing belts and pullies, and had the head done by a head shop. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a stock rebuild when I wasn't sure if I could do the build myself just using a Haynes book. (My mistake for going cheap)

I was able to get it rebuilt, timed, put in the car, manually turned the engine several times, and cranked it up pretty easy. I was happy for about 30 seconds before the engine seized up. I thought I screwed up the timing and the valves hit the pistons but I took the head off and there was no evidence of anything hitting. The cams turned freely off the engine and the cranked turned easy with the head off.

I finally noticed the oil pump sprocket didn't turn until I broke it loose with a wrench and some foot power.

My question is if there is something I could have done to cause the oil pump to fail after running for 30 seconds of running or is it a clear case of a bad oil pump in the beginning? Have anyone ever had this happen to you?

 

[overboosted1g]

Did your oil pump have any play in it and did you pack the gears with some engine lubee before you installed it? Also I like to prime my engines by filling them with oil and with a cordless drill by putting it on the oil pump drive gear and letting it spin till you see oil pressure so you might wanna think about that the next time around, sorry about your engine though.

 

[nehring8]

if the oil pump was too "dry" when the car started then it may have never primed itself, I always crank my engine until I get oil pressure before starting it. I usually spin the oil pump with a drill before I put the timing belt on, this also makes sure that all of the engine is lubed before starting. One time I had a heck of a time getting it going, actually had to take the oil pressure sensor out and draw a vacuum on it to get oil to the pump, then it worked great

 

[gixrman]

Your suppose to pack the pump with grease when installing a new pump or for any rebuild.

If you already have the motor together you can do this.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...pump-timing-components-already-installed.html

 

[timuh60]

The oil pump came in the kit already installed on the front case so I thought it was already greased. I will make sure the pump is packed with grease and I prime the pump properly after I pull the engine (again) and install another pump.

One of the reasons I wanted to do this prodject is to learn. Making rookie mistakes is one way to learn.

 

[Gs Dewd]

When you say the engine is seized? What exactly seized up? You will need to pull the engine back down and check all bearings and the crank for scarring.

 

[timuh60]

After 30 seconds of running the engine stopped. I checked to see if I could still spin the engine manually with the crank sprocket and couldn't. Once I took off the timing belt and the head, the cams and crank still spin freely but the oil pump sprocket was stuck.

I sent the head back to the head shop and it was fine. I plan on pulling the short block this weekend and check it all out to see if anything else was damaged.

 

[overboosted1g]

Yeah pull the oil pan and check all the bearing surfaces and crank for scratches and nicks and if your not sure about anything when you tear it apart post some pictures.

 

[nehring8]

This sounds more like the balance shaft bearing may have seized...

 

[gixrman]

what replacement oil pump did you use? I've heard bad things about anything but OEM for replacements.

 

[Juanpa]

the oil pump didnt prime like everyone else said, the brand doesnt matter if it doesnt get prime, if your doing all you work yourself and you want some reassurance it wont happen again you should spend the $40 and get an oil pressure gauge. that way when you lose oil pressure you can stop the car before you ruin all that hard work you did rebuilding the engine.

 

[EclipticalGS]

I bet when you installed your oil pump gears, you didnt make sure that the oil pump sprocket spun freely, and when you went to start/prime the motor or crank it over, you siezed up your pump.

 

[cookmeup272]

Yea you have to make sure the two dots line up with eachother on the oil pump gears as well as packing it with grease or vasoline(thats what I did). Since the pump is dry if you just slap it in, it wont be able to pull any oil.

 

[timuh60]

I will know better what happened this weekend when I get a chance to tear it down. I will be quite a bit more anal when putting it together this time. I will let you guys know what I find.

 

[timuh60]

After tearing it down again, I have figured out what happened. My mistake was assuming that since the oil pump was already mounted on the front case and all the seals in place, it was greased and ready to be installed on the engine. So I didn't pull off the oil pump.

After pulling off the oil pump from the front case I saw the oil pump driven gear (the small one) was on backwards so the timing mark couldn't be seen. Do to that fact I am sure the oil pump and balance shaft wasn't proprly timed, it caused the damage to the oil pump. So I will be replacing it.

The oil pump vibrations caused the oil pump sprocket for the timing belt to get stuck on the oil pump drive gear so I had to gently tap off the gear. Once the sprocket was off I noticed the sprocket was cracked. Here are a couple of pics of it. Could you guys tell me if I can reuse the sprocket or have to find a new one?

 

[tenn-gsx]

I wouldnt use that.

 

[AllWheelRS]

I would absolutely not reuse it.