440 Oil Pump Won't Prime

[George Jets]

CCW
Pump turns counter clockwise on the big blocks.

So your corded electric drill turns clockwise, need a reverse on that to get it to pump oil.

________

Small block oil pumps turn clockwise.

 

[Inertia]

This style of pump is a positive displacement pump,- they don't require "priming", moving parts need lube, but not nec to prime.
Look it up !
Commonest prob is gears installed wrong on assembly, and seizing .
Plugged inlet,
Next is sucking air !

"Most positive displacement pumps do need priming. In order to be self priming the pump must be sealed well enough to pump air. If the pump can remove air from the suction line, the atmosphere will push liquid into the pump."

Difference between a positive and non-positive displacement pump

 

[sabre67]

 

[racingsnake440]

Thanks for all the responses - I found the problem - the gasket between the pump and block was incorrect and blocked off one of the oil passageways. I’ve got 55psi with the drill so it’s good to go.

 

[George Jets]

Here is a good video that shows how to properly oil prime the big blocks.

Follow each step that they talk about to "make sure" you did not miss something or got something wrong.

 

[MoparMike1974]

You dont need vasoline to prime a gear (PD) pump. They will pump air as long as the gears are wet with a light coat of oil. I see you solved your issue but for future readers you could have tried removing the oil pump and filling the inlet side with oil from a squirt can. Wouldnt work on a small block but could be a good trick to expedite priming on big blocks and slants.

 

[RustyRatRod]

You dont need vasoline to prime a gear (PD) pump. They will pump air as long as the gears are wet with a light coat of oil. I see you solved your issue but for future readers you could have tried removing the oil pump and filling the inlet side with oil from a squirt can. Wouldnt work on a small block but could be a good trick to expedite priming on big blocks and slants.

The only problem with a slant is, you cannot turn the pump independent of the camshaft. You can prime them, but it's a little more in depth.

 

[thesiren74]

That won’t do anything
He is going counterclockwise.

Try a different oil filter and put it on dry, just because it so to do.

Take the pressure relief valve and spring out and make sure it is clean and moving. Unscrew the plug on the back of the bore. But since you tried 2 different pumps with zero oil press then the pan may need to come off and check out the pickup.

I like to put some oil in a new oil pump just so it is wet. You don’t need to pack it full of grease or Vaseline, it doesn’t belong inside the engine anyway.

Yeah it'll get oil to the guage I was thinking rockers

 

[MOPARMAGA]

This driving me nuts!
Swapping in a 440 motor home motor. Had to change the pan and pick up to car style ones, used a factory pan and factory style pickup which is right on the floor of the pan. Put new gaskets/seals in the pump while I was at it. I packed the pump with petroleum jelly to help it prime but got nothing on the oil pressure gauge when I spun it with the drill. Took the oil filter off and saw a small blob of the petroleum jelly pushed out of the housing and into the filter. Decided it was probably a mistake using the petroleum jelly so took a known working used oil pump I had, cleaned it up, new gaskets and seals and coated rotors and housing with oil. Put it on, still no oil pressure. Took the filter off and ran the pump with the drill again, there's a 'buzzing' noise coming from the outlet on the filter housing but no oil. I've used my cordless and corded drills running on high speed (counterclockwise), I ran the corded drill for 2 minutes and got nothing. The filter was half filled with oil when I put it on, the pan has 4.5 quarts and shows full on the dipstick. I’ve also cranked the motor with the plugs out, the oil light doesn’t go out and nothing registers on the mechanical oil pressure gauge.
Think it must be an issue with the pickup - anything I could be missing before I tear it down? The engine ran fine when it was pulled from the motor home

Did you spin the drill the right way ?

 

[4spdragtop]

Glad ya got it figured out and fixed!
Amazes me the amount of people that dont actually read threads.....how many here asked (after OP confirmed) about CCW rotation lmao...

 

[racingsnake440]

Glad ya got it figured out and fixed!
Amazes me the amount of people that dont actually read threads.....how many here asked (after OP confirmed) about CCW rotation lmao...

Thanks, yeah it’s definitely obvious who actually read the original post!

 

[67Dart273]

Here is a good video that shows how to properly oil prime the big blocks.

Follow each step that they talk about to "make sure" you did not miss something or got something wrong.



View attachment 1716010919

Nope. Do NOT use a hex shaft, unless you find some smooth sleeving to protect the distributor bushing. Which you might do. Otherwise use a proper priming shaft, which you can make if you have an old intermediate shaft.

Also as I mentioned earlier, START with the oil filter OFF, (and a container under) The pump should pick up "right away" with no head pressure against it.

All I've ever done is squirt some oil into the pump before installing.


(I had mentioned earlier about O rings / gaskets and there it was!!) I actually had a pump once "blow" an o ring / gasket external to the pump, not far from NAS Miramar where I was stationed, perhaps 10 mi. I had extra oil in the car and just kept pouring it in, LOL. I "bet" the CA CARB would not have wanted to hear that!