Oil Pump Priming issues. Seriously this motor hates me...

[JD's Toy]

So attempting to get a prime on the engine using a drill and spinning the oil pump drive shaft. It's a brand new oil pump.

as i hand spun the shaft slowly around counter clockwise i could hear oil squirting into the oil filter and filling itup. yay!

now here is the SOB. as soon as pressure starts to build, it's likethe oil pump driveshaft slips in the pump. it jumps like a hex is slipping on a rounded out bolt. ya know? i can't physically see the bottom of the pump or the bottom of the driveshaft, to do that i'd have to take the pan off, drain all the oil, etc. but as i spin it around it definatly jumps once every turn, and so far no oil pressure yet. i was hesitant to attach the drill and spin it up fast until i tried to figure out WTH the issue with this thing jumping all the time was.

so.. WTH. the way it goes is 3/4 turn good feeling, then JUMP. 3/4 turn good feeling, then JUMP. each time it pops it's just as it starts to build up pressure it feels like.

now to compound the frustration as i removed the socket wrench from the shaft, the shaft lifted out of the pump on the bottom and now i can't figure out how to get it back in. their is no way to really manipulate the driveshaft at all from the top of the motor, you have to have it set into the oil pump from below before assembly yes / no?

SO I'M F-ED. now i gotta drain the oil, pull the pan, put the driveshaft back in. inspect for issues (i suspect i'll find none). then what, put it all together and try again? it's a brand new pump...

SON OF A I WANNA BURN THE F-ER TO THE GROUND. Thoughts / suggestions are welcome. Anybody experienced this? should i have just put a drill on the shaft when it was in place and spun it up and seen if this popping / clicking / jumping went away?

[86VickyLX]

How did you install the shaft? With the stopper facing the top of the motor, or the bottom, did the oil pump turn freely by hand? Any binding is bad. Did you replace the driveshaft with a new one while you had all that out of the car?

[JD's Toy]

stopper thingy is facing the bottom, down by the oil pump. oil pump turned freely and easily until it tried to build up pressure. i inspected the shaft and saw minimal to no wear on it and re-used it.

i'm gonna have to pull the stupid thing and take a look at it. i was just mondo pissed off and needed to vent. i'm still mondo pissed off. at this rate my wagon will be on the road again in like january.

[DuceAnAHalf]

are you sure the shaft is going far enough into the pump?
would not happen to be using a 302 driveshaft in a 351 pump?

[grandpaslincoln]

An oil pressure gauge of some sort would be helpful as well.

Also, to get the shaft back in, try using a magnetic 1/4 inch bit driver.

[turbo2256b]

I have had much better luck turning the pump by hand with an old pump shaft chucked up in a brace.

[1987cp]

I didn't think it should be possible to pull the shaft up out of the oil pump ... sounds like the little collar may be broken or slipping. I just spent the $16 on an ARP shaft on both the 302s I've assembled at home, and they're entirely machined from chromoly with no little collars to slip or break, so I'm not used to thinking in terms of stock oil pump shafts.

[gadget73]

are you sure the shaft is going far enough into the pump?
would not happen to be using a 302 driveshaft in a 351 pump?

+1. 302 shaft is 5/16, 351 shaft is 3/8.

Once the shaft is out of the pump, unless you're extremely lucky with a magnet, its probably not going back in there. There is a clip that is supposed to keep that from happening, but if the clip slipped down the shaft, or its missing entirely, it does no good.

[JD's Toy]

ha! what's a 1/4 inch shaft out of then? cause that's what i have. it was the shaft that came out of the motor.... and fits the pump properly although i can't be positive it's engaging the pump properly.

appreciate the replies everybody but it was really more of a big venting session than anything... i decided to spend last night working on one of my other cars to get it on the road again, and probably won't look at the 302 for another week or so. give me time to calm down and not do something stupid, like hit it with a sledge hammer.

next step will probalby be to try and put the distributor in, if it goes in and seats properly then the shaft should be all they way down into the pump. hopefully it turns out it's not seated. i'll try the magnet trick to get the pump driveshaft back up so i can re-align it.

[1987cp]

1/4" shaft? Weird?

[gadget73]

hm, or maybe i fucked that up, 302 uses 1/4 and a 351 uses 5/16. sorry, had a senior moment or something. in any case, the 351 uses a bigger shaft, and the 302 one won't work properly in a 351 pump. The 351 pump does otherwise bolt up.

[86VickyLX]

stopper thingy is facing the bottom, down by the oil pump.

That's not good, just be careful when you remove your distributor, other wise, you might run into the reason why I needed to take my oil pan off. The shaft fell down between the crank and the block. Stopper is supposed be facing towards the top of the engine. So it won't move at all. Your priming issues may be because that shaft can move more freely than it should. try pressing down on it a little when priming, to see if it changes your problem.

I didn't think it should be possible to pull the shaft up out of the oil pump

you shouldn't. Unless it was installed upside down, or the stopper is missing. Installing it upside down was my problem.

[JD's Toy]

you shouldn't. Unless it was installed upside down, or the stopper is missing. Installing it upside down was my problem.

apparently mine is upside down too. yay.

[86VickyLX]

Be careful mang, one false move and clunk. Then you'll have to drop the pan, again...

[Lincolnmania]

yea i've had the clip slide off too.......use a new shaft every time!