oil pump seized up...

  • The little hot rod 289 that came with my K code has troubles....after dropping the pan to see what I had for a rotating mass, I saw stock rods, but...hold it...a windage tray! and a double roller chain driving the cam, and a hipo balancer...looking good I'm thinking...but there are tiny bits of what looks like hardened rubber, half the size of a sunflower seed, or smaller.... hmmmm. but moving right along...we Fill it with a good high zinc Amsoil synthetic. fire. it up, oil pressure at idle is 56psi,,,lovely,,and the engine quits...won't restart...start digging.... the rotor is not turning...!!! the sheer pin on the distributor shaft has sheered. ...wierd. replace...turn the engine over...won't start...investigate....shaft to oil pump sheered....drain and drop the pan... pull pump, (I have a new Melling)...lookiing in the pump itself...nothing really noteable....new shaft, reassemble and oil it back up..starts..quickly slows, rod noise...shut down...pull everything down again.... shaft is twisted tight worse than a piece of red licorice....those bits again...???? they are small enough to get through the pickup screen...trying now to eliminate any bits from what ever we can find.....engine teardown...??? what to do ??? ideas???

  • Back in the day of the oil rubber umbrella 289 intake & exhaust valve seals they would become hard & very brittle over time then break apart in very small black pieces ,follow the oil path return down to the oil pan and through the oil pump screen and lock up the pump or break the pump shaft , what do your valve seals look like ,


  • Back in the day of the oil rubber umbrella 289 intake & exhaust valve seals they would become hard & very brittle over time then break apart in very small black pieces ,follow the oil path return down to the oil pan and through the oil pump screen and lock up the pump or break the pump shaft , what do your valve seals look like ,

    At this point, I don't know...I think I would need to remove the springs/rockerto see them....it's running now but the problem has not been solved. Thinking to pressurize the cylinder to hold vales and pull the rocker and the springs on all the valves and remove all the seals... any ideas on how to hold the valves from slipping into the cylinder?

  • One way to keep the valves closed while removing the springs is to feed a piece of cloth clothes line into the spark plug hole before the piston comes all the way up to TDC then rotate the crank by slowly by hand to TDC that should keep the valves closed for you to do what you need to do, leave some of the string hanging out of the plug hole so you can just pull it out after you have the springs back on the valves,


  • One way to keep the valves closed while removing the springs is to feed a piece of cloth clothes line into the spark plug hole before the piston comes all the way up to TDC then rotate the crank by slowly by hand to TDC that should keep the valves closed for you to do what you need to do, leave some of the string hanging out of the plug hole so you can just pull it out after you have the springs back on the valves,

    well there's a new one on me....stuff it in when BDC and then bring the piston upmight not need a lot of clothes line...or the piston might not reach TDC....

    • Official Post


    I used that method one night at the race track on a street stock charger class car , we broke a valve spring in a heat qualifier race and were able to replace it in time for the main feature ,

    That is a great trick that I had not heard of before, Chuck. Thank you for sharing this on here.

    -Fred-

    65 Koupe early San Jose Phoenician Yellow 4 speed
    66 GT Koupe Dearborn Blue 4 speed
    66 KGT San Jose fastback pony interior Silver Frost 4 speed
    64 Falcon sedan delivery 289 4 speed
    65 Ranchero 289 4 speed
    66 Corvette roadster 427/425 4 speed

  • well...third dropping of the pan and super cleaning of everything... windage tray, threw out my amsoil, [ dang, that hurt...] new oil pump shaft, fired up and 58 psi at idle with the new pump...drove it, and it runs strong... after four figures of cash and three days of work....fbvut..got my K back....urther improvements will have to wait....

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