Alright im fairly new here and i own a 96 Camaro Z28. Now to get to the point, my lifters are very noisey and my oil gauge reads none pressure what so ever. So my question is what could it be and how i can fix it. And yes ive turned a wrench before. Lol.

 

Verify the pressure reading with a mechanical gauge. Is the pressure "0" at idle? Does the pressure increase as RPM increase? If so, what is the pressure at 2000 RPM? What viscosity oil are you running?

 

Well it reads 0 peroid. Engine idle, even driving it remains 0 and noisey lifters. Doesnt smoke or anything.

 

Im really suspecting the oil pump to be the culprit. And if so what would be the procdure to replacing it? Ive replaced clutches in the past so it should be a piece of cake right? And as for what the viscosity of the oil was i couldnt even tell you man.

 

Oil pumps rarely fail. I'd suspect the oil pump drive first (and it is easier to replace). Do the mechanical gauge check as suggested.

 

Alright ill check that out first. What are the smaller things i need to get out of the way first? Basically the smallest thing to check towards the biggest? And sorry for the late reply. Was at work during the entire time.

 

As noted, check the actual pressure with a mechanical gauge. If you verify no oil pressure, and you've been driving it that way for any period of time, you'll be tearing down the engine, inspecting for damage.... at least if it doesn't seize up on you before then.

 

I guess the first thing you should check (since you have not mentioned it) is if there is any oil in the engine. Otherwise there isn't anything you can check besides doing the mechanical gauge thing. Oh, I guess you could unplug the oil pressure sensor and see if the gauge deflects to full pressure (key ON). That would tell you if the wiring to gauge was ok.

 

Well i tried your method and unplugged the oil pressure sender and yes the gauge shoots up to max. Though while started there is no oil flickering as opposed to what im used to seeing on a car throwing oil at you when the cap is removed. So pressure is a fault here bringing on the noise of the lifters. As far as i can tell and hear over this loud *** exhaust is there is no bottom engine knock so that is a good thing right? The most i can probably do is remove the oil pan and see about the pump and maybe the pick up. Also what else is under there should be inspected for the oil issue? Ive read other posts about this problem and guides to removing the oil pan. Some say its a pain but were able to do it in about 45 minutes without removing the k member or anything like that.


Thing is i purchased this car yesterday. Last owner claimed he was driving and the oil guage Just dropped to 0. So he shut it off and never ran it again. I bought it for 1400 dollars. In pretty good shape too. Im 22 and fogured this could be something i could do. Im a mechanic in training, i can turn a wrench as i said, performed head gasket changes and clutch replacements so its not something that sounds tough at all.

But on topic id like a walk through on everything i should check towards everything that possibly needs replaced.

 

If it truly has no oil pressure, the more you run it, the more damage there will be. Plus, since you just bought it, you don't know how much damage there already is. Post #5 has my suggestion on what to do first.

 

Alright. Thanks shoebox. I bought a tester and a new oil filter. So im going to try those and see where it takes me.

 

Alright so the engine isnt getting ANY oil pressure. I even changed the oil filter as a guy did in one post and still no dice. Now this oil drive shaft, that you mentioned shoebox. How would i go about inspecting it?

 

You have to pull the intake manifold to access the oil pump driveshaft. It's where the distributor drive would be on a conventional SBC. But without the top-mounted distributor and the hole it fits into, there's no other way to access it. The retainer is a plastic piece, and known to fail.

 

The cam removal/install guides on my website will show you what is needed to get the intake off and access the pump driveshaft. Links in sig.

 

Alright. Thanks shoebox for your diagram and instructions, helped me pretty good. Anyways i got the driveshaft out and 3 of the teeth are quite mesh with the shaft. Like 3 of them are grinded down and i tried to take good photos but thats the best i can do. Anyways, i went to autozone for the drive shaft and in the photo is ehat they gave me. So.... coukd this be the reason the top half of the engine was not getting any oil? Or something else i should look out for. Also where can i get a whole new assembly of the shaft cause the gear will be replaced too.