VS v8 5 Litre Oil pressure issues Sump Removal?

[joely1991]

I've searched high and low for answers regarding my problem, and have found nothing specific, so sorry if there is already a thread covering this..

Basically having Oil Problems with a VS '96 Caprice V8. One day while driving, after about half hour of driving had the Oil pressure light come on and the engine was very tappy. We have changed the pump and still hasn't solved the issue of no pressure, and the old pump looked fine to me anyways (im no expert though). So we continued to search for other causes, such as the relief spring, seems fine.. the drive shaft for the oil pump in the engine is still in tact. Even after running the engine for a minute or so, and then removing the oil cap, i can see no oil is reaching the top of the engine...

So we have come to the conclusion that there must be a problem with the oil pickup or sludge build up. Now with limited automotive knowledge, I don't know the steps in taking a sump of one of these engines. After Reading some threads im led to believe that ill have to atleast lift the engine to get it off.
Can anyone give me a list of steps and out of the ordinary tools ill require?
or is there something else i should be checking first before goign down the path of the oil pickup.

Also I should add that this loss of oil pressure came about a week after doing an oil and filter change. The oil is Castrol GTX 20W-50 and the filter is a ryco
Another thing to note is that we dont seem to be losing any oil, so I don't think the oil is escaping somewhere in the engine.

If any one could shed some light in the situation, it'd really be appreciated

 

[ashleysnep]

Did you prime the oil pump with vaso?

 

[joely1991]

Had a mechanic fit the pump and yes it was primed mate

Did you prime the oil pump with vaso?

 

[drewVHSS]

replace gasket from sump pickup to where it mates up to the block.

 

[GRPABT1]

If you're lucky you can undo the motor mounts, jack the motor up and jam blocks of wood in to hold it and you might be able to squeeze it out. Otherwise it's motor out or K frame off.

 

[joely1991]

Okay, when/if i get the sump off, am i better off just cleaning the pickup or buy a new one, which would come with a gasket im assuming

replace gasket from sump pickup to where it mates up to the block.

 

[joely1991]

Okay, so this will involve removing exhaust, seperating from trans? and obviously an engine crane

If you're lucky you can undo the motor mounts, jack the motor up and jam blocks of wood in to hold it and you might be able to squeeze it out. Otherwise it's motor out or K frame off.

 

[drewVHSS]

if you're lucky and the pickup isn't blocked but it's just the gasket, you might be able to get enough clearance to redo the gasket.
I've never tried that way, i've always pulled the motor out and done it on a stand.
Alot hinges on such a tiny gasket too.... reason why i think it's either gasket or blocked pickup is you mentioned it ran fine initially for a bit and then lost pressure, this usually means you had pressure that back filled when the engine was off and then ran dry after a little while of running.

 

[joely1991]

Yeh by the sounds of things the sump has to completely be removed hey. yeah id imagine it'd be fairly fidly doing it like that. yeah that does make sense to me, so its just sucking air basically, cheers for your response

if you're lucky and the pickup isn't blocked but it's just the gasket, you might be able to get enough clearance to redo the gasket.
I've never tried that way, i've always pulled the motor out and done it on a stand.
Alot hinges on such a tiny gasket too.... reason why i think it's either gasket or blocked pickup is you mentioned it ran fine initially for a bit and then lost pressure, this usually means you had pressure that back filled when the engine was off and then ran dry after a little while of running.

 

[88GreenVN]

I've searched high and low for answers regarding my problem, and have found nothing specific, so sorry if there is already a thread covering this..

Basically having Oil Problems with a VS '96 Caprice V8. One day while driving, after about half hour of driving had the Oil pressure light come on and the engine was very tappy. We have changed the pump and still hasn't solved the issue of no pressure, and the old pump looked fine to me anyways (im no expert though). So we continued to search for other causes, such as the relief spring, seems fine.. the drive shaft for the oil pump in the engine is still in tact. Even after running the engine for a minute or so, and then removing the oil cap, i can see no oil is reaching the top of the engine...

So we have come to the conclusion that there must be a problem with the oil pickup or sludge build up. Now with limited automotive knowledge, I don't know the steps in taking a sump of one of these engines. After Reading some threads im led to believe that ill have to atleast lift the engine to get it off.
Can anyone give me a list of steps and out of the ordinary tools ill require?
or is there something else i should be checking first before goign down the path of the oil pickup.

Also I should add that this loss of oil pressure came about a week after doing an oil and filter change. The oil is Castrol GTX 20W-50 and the filter is a ryco
Another thing to note is that we dont seem to be losing any oil, so I don't think the oil is escaping somewhere in the engine.

If any one could shed some light in the situation, it'd really be appreciated

I had this issue when I first picked up my 5.0L VN. Changed oil and no better so I used engine flush and changed the oil. The noisy start and oil light seemed to be fixed only to return in no time at all. People said no to engine flush - but I repeated this 4 times in 6 months and slowly removed all the sludge from the pickup. This avoided removing the sump and now 60,000kms later still going strong. I was told by 1 mechanic that the bearings were gone and it was short motor time.... true!!. 5 oil changes larter and the motor is just fine.

The V8 has a very small pickup for the oil and gets blocked easily.