I turns out I don't really have money for the gauge right now.

Any other suggestions or ideas?

Should I just forget it and try starting it up without getting oil to the rockers?

I'm getting desperate. I need to be able to move this car in a week :(

Yup the filter was filled and the oil pump primed as much as possible. How much cranking shoudl it need to build pressure? My battery is pretty much dead but we were using a charger to bring it up but by the end of the day it would only crank for about 20-30 seconds before coming to a crawl.

Maybe I'll look for a qauge at the parts store and try again. If not it sounds like the next step is to pull the oil pan and double check the pick-up and baffle plate. Can this be removed on a B310 without raising the engine?

Also, when I removed the drain plug I could feel the pick-up just inside as if it were almost touching the bottom of the pan. Does this sound right?

Plugs were out the whole time by the way.
Michael

Gary_P is right again, both early & late heads will work on the late block. It's only the late head/ early block combo that's a problem.

The oil pump lays on its side, so it is difficult to prime with oil & have it stay there, so I use a light grease & push some of it down the inlet side while rotating the shaft by hand to ensure that the interior is coated with it.
The grease is used as a sealant to help the pump to move the air from it & pull the oil up into it. It is also very important that the pickup flange is flat, & that the seal between it & the block is a good one. If not, then at cranking speed, it will suck air into the pump.

I have a very small oil pressure guage that I bought at a Harley shop & I fit it directly to the pump & watch it while I crank the engine over [without plugs] with a remote starter button, & I never start an engine untill I have at least some oil pressure first.

Oh yeah, you did fill the filter with oil before fitting it, didn't you? Even a running engine will need a few seconds to fill it if it's installed dry.

My only problem with A series engines is the inability to drive the oil pump with an electric drill to prime the pump & build pressure before start-up like you can with L series & my Chryslers.
Don't wory about your oil pressure guage line. It does not need to have oil in it for it to work.

Thanks Gary. The oil pressure light has been removed and replaced with an oil pressure gauge mounted on the dash. There is a hose for the oil to the gaugethat never filled with oil. Maybe it has to be bled I don't know (it's clear that's how I know it didn't get oil). I never saw a reading on that gauge.

The rocker tower itself wasn't disassembled so I doubt I got that messed up.

Did the oil pressure idiot light go out after you cranked awhile?

I think the thing to do now with the unknown oil situation is to get a oil pressure gauge hooked up. Then you can determine if you have a head oil problem or a more serious no oil at all issue.

The only time you have head oil issues is when putting a late model head (A12A and up) on an early block. The early A12's (and A10's?) had an oil passage in the head that got the oil into the center headbolt hole. On the later motors the passage to transfer the oil from the oil passage to the center headbolt hole is done in the block and the passage in the head is not drilled out.

All the heads have a oil passage that goes from near the top of the center headbolt hole into the center rocker tower.

I guess if you got the tower order messed up you could end up with out a oil passage to get oil into the rocker tube.

Gary

OK I got help this weekend finally and we gave it a go. The clutch is filled, carbs dampers filled but still haven't torqued the main. But anwyay we ran into some new problems.

We tried filling the oil and turned over the engine repeatedly with the starte (remote starter thingy). We were hoping to see the oil pressure build up enough to see oil come out of the rocker assembly at the top but couldn't get any oil to come up. We had about 3-1/2 quarts in the engine. So there are a few possiblities:

1. You won't see it come up turning it over with a starter - it has to warm up first.

2. Oil pick-up isn't installed or loose. I did install it and we drained the pan and felt in and could feel it just above the drain hole and it's not loose or anythign so I dont' think that's the problem. I do remember installing the gasket.

3. Oil Pump priming. We removed the oil pump and filled the filter and cycled the pump and filled until it woudln't take anymore. So this doesn't seem to be the problem.

4. Something blockign the passage to the rocker arm assembly? It is a complete rebuild, block and head were dipped, cleaned etc. I can't see how that could be it.

5. Headgasket is wrong and there's no opening for that oil path? Were there different heads with the oil passageway in different locations or is this common to all A series heads? I did get a set for my year model and it's the original head/block I think. I guess to check this we have to pull the head?? Or could I insert some sort of feeler down the hole to feel for blockage (suggestions for feelers?)

6. I'm not 100% sure that I installed the baffle in the oil pan. I have one sitting around but it could be from my spare pan (which doesn't have one installed) but who knows I could have lost one and not installed that one. Could that be the problem?

So any ideas or suggestions for troubleshooting? Shoudl we ignore this and just try to fire it up? I'm worried about all of the new bearings etc not getting oil and I don't want to trash the engine on the first try. Almost everything in the engine is brand new (oil pump, water pump, fuel pump, pistons, rings, bearings, etc..)

Thanks again for the help
Michael

dot 3 is what is used in the clutch.

you mean that the push rod for the clutch is wobbly, they do that, it's got a detent in the cylinder that it sits in.

try to be smarter than me and don't adjust your clutch so that if you pump it it pops the piston out and leaks everywhere and makes you abuse the tranny to get to a safe spot to fix.

Thanks guys. I'll print this all out and take out to the car.

Couple more related:

1. Is Dot3 brake fluid the right thing to use for the clutch (standard automotive brake fluid in the US).

2. The clutch slave cylinder "shaft" is wobbly and moves freely right now. Does it firm up once the fluid is filled or could there be a problem with it? It's a brand new slave cylinder.
Michael

Hi mate! whell. i have a metod thet i think it

Hope its a stock clutch, wont be no hand pumping with a h/duty beast.