No oil Pressure with distributor cap

[Ronin357]

So some background of the car first, its a base 1985 buick regal with a 3.8l 231, i ordered a new engine for, it and swapped in a new timing cover for it, packed the oil pump full of petroleum jelly, we the mechanic used a drill to spin the oil pump it'll build oil pressure, but it';s when we put the distributor back in nothing happens. we're using the same distributor from the old engine as it looked fairly new from when i bought the car 6months ago, .. We even tried with of those high volume oil pump rebuild kits to see if that would help and nothing.. Any suggestions ideas, that could be causing it not to build oil pressure with the distributor
on there?

 

[86 Salon]

The distributor cap has nothing to do with oil pressure. How did the mechanic spin the oil pump? Did he use an old distributor or an oil pump drive tool? Do you mean that when the distributor is reinstalled you have no oil pressure? Maybe the distributor gear roll pin has sheared.

 

[Ronin357]

The distributor cap has nothing to do with oil pressure. How did the mechanic spin the oil pump? Did he use an old distributor or an oil pump drive tool? Do you mean that when the distributor is reinstalled you have no oil pressure? Maybe the distributor gear roll pin has sheared.

He used a Drill to prime it, and correct after he reinstalls the distributor theres no oil pressure everything seems to be seated right

 

[stew86MCSS396]

If the priming tool looks like this...and not like the second pic, I think like a Chevy you need the oil lands to seal off certain oiling holes in the block. Tbh the one I bought from KB back in the '90s looked exactly like the 1st pic but I didn't have the issues you've described. As already mentioned, after determining if the distributor drive gear pin is not sheared, I would just repack the gears with vaseline, stab the dizzy and give it a whirl that way. Maybe leave the cap off and observe the rotor rotating as well.

 

[spongbob]

Once I primed one of those front pumps by making an hole in the old oil filter( not drilling) and pouring oil into the hole as it was turned up .then we used a shaft or something to spin the oil pump gears befor starting we filled a new filter ( with oil)and screwed it back on..put the distributor back in and started it this time the oil pressure was working.. personally I would not rebuild a gear type oil pump they could lock and sheer the distributor pin or something if the clearance isn't right..also on old motors make shure no timing gear peaces are not in the pressure release valve. .... don't ask me how it got there ...but it happened once ( different motor)

 

[stew86MCSS396]

That is a very valid point. I remember getting the longer gears for the 455 stacking the gaskets to achieve the prescribed clearance and after everything was German torqued down, my electric drill couldn't spin the oil pump for beans. It was only after I backed the torque off and used a difficult to read accurately beam style torque wrench that everything started to work.

 

[Ronin357]

If the priming tool looks like this...and not like the second pic, I think like a Chevy you need the oil lands to seal off certain oiling holes in the block. Tbh the one I bought from KB back in the '90s looked exactly like the 1st pic but I didn't have the issues you've described. As already mentioned, after determining if the distributor drive gear pin is not sheared, I would just repack the gears with vaseline, stab the dizzy and give it a whirl that way. Maybe leave the cap off and observe the rotor rotating as well.

I'm going to reach out today and see if he can send me a picture of the distributor and check the shears, and the tool was the first one (top picture)

 

[Bonnewagon]

I only use a cut down distributor as it is the absolute best. I have used a big long screwdriver with the handle cut off when nothing else was available. All that matters is the pump gears get turned. On my Buick 350 I added the high volume kit to the pump and packed it with the Vaseline. No problems. If the pump is packed, and the oil pan is full, the only other problem could be the long oil pickup tube. It needs to be a tight fit so no air can be sucked in. While priming the oil pressure gauge will expose any issues. If you get good pressure while priming, then the actual distributor has to work, unless the cam gear is loose as mentioned.