I just recently built a new 350 and have it in the car with all the accesory's and intake on everything is put together and I need to prime the oil pump so I duct tape that shaft onto the priming tool and then stick in down into the engine unfortunatly it doesn't go all the way down and engage the oil pump. Am I just missing the hole or (please say this isn't it) does it need to go in from the underside with the pump? Thanks

 

Are you using an oil pump drive shaft with the steel collar? that one needs to be installed in the block before the oil pump goes on..
I am unsure of the one with the Nylon collar, because I have never used them.

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LOBC-- SS-84

92 RS Heritage package with a 305 3" high-flow cat and pipe with a Dynomax 3" in dual 2 1/2" out.

84 El camino- 383 CID, Performer RPM, GMPP vortec heads, Holley 750 D.P.(0-4779c), Crane Energizer 274,Dual 3" Flowmaster 40 Series Exhaust, Turbo 350 (375b), TCI 2500 stall, Richmond 3.42 gears, PST Poly graphite Suspension bushings, PST steering linkage, PST springs, Monte SS sway bays, Wheels from a Third gen(does that count?)

 

The drive needs to be installed before the oil pump.

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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R
and 2 POS commuters...

R.I.P. #3
"He can see air"

 

man you are so screwed, engineboy is right. you put the oil pump drive shaft in the #5 bearing cap before you bolt up the oil pump.

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ICON Motorsports
1st & 3rd
MM Black Diamond 538 F&AM

 

i'm sorry to laugh but i did this once, too

you gotta lift up the engine and drop the oil pan and put it on..

lol, that should take a good 4 hours..

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Webmaster: www.IROC-Z.org

 

I think I'm going to cry... that just added another week to my engine swap.

anyway now that I've come to terms with this whats the easiest way to lift the engine? I would prefer not to use a cherry picker as that would entail disassembling the intake. Can I jack it up from the transmission casing? thaks guys

 

NO! do NOT jack up on the transmission casing!

you don't have to take off the intake, if your car is TPI do what I did. I got two long bolts and a 3' long chain.

i put two long bolts with WASHERS on them into the outside bolts on the heads.. this allowed me to raise only the front of the engine.. make sure your tranny crossmember is unbolted...

the engine may slide forward a bit when you lift so when you drop it down the motor mounts won't match up.. if that happens, jack up on the transmission a bit with your jack and as you drop it down with the cherry picker have someone lightly push on the motor and it should just slide back in place..

my engine moved because my garage floor is slightly slanted..

you're looking at a day job man, a week??

email me if you need more help
Colin

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Webmaster: www.IROC-Z.org

 

why cry about it, just do it man..

imagine my situation. I looked 3 years for an '87 IROC, flew out to Dallas and drove it back to California.

I get back and find out the guy sold it to me with a turned main bearing (bad oil pressure) so i rebuild the motor. I buy a CompCams camshaft and fire it up. Car won't run. I tear the motor down TWO times, the 3rd time I put in the original cam and the car fired right up.

The whole time CompCams was telling me my distributor was one tooth off. Idiots

I got my car running but it took 7 months because i knew nothing about TPI and had to learn as I went..

now THAT made me cry, and I did I was so upset.. no joke man..

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Webmaster: www.IROC-Z.org

 

I'm in the same boat. I'm doing a TBI to TPI swap w/ a compcams cam. This is going on 3 months w/o a mode of transportation. well besides my parents but they're getting real tired of it.

Could you elaborate more on this whole cam thing? thats the last thing I need.

 

heh..

they ground it wrong, plain and simple.. i set the lifters like 6 different times, doing both the Chevy way and the race way (valve by valve)..

i hope they gorund yours right, they refunded the price i paid, my shipping, AND my tax.. i paid 220 for the cam originally here at PAW and I got 230 bucks worth of big block camshafts..

the whole time they were lying to me, telling me i was doing things wrong, big mistake..

if you get it started and it won't run worth a crap you can call CompCams, ask for Wayne Williams. he's the manager that took care of me..

if you want to know how my car ran, email me.. it's a long story, heh.

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Webmaster: www.IROC-Z.org

 

alright thanks for explaining hopefully mine is right (fingers crossed)

Anyway, you guys were right (as usual) it didn't take as long as I thought to get every thing apart. I got the oil pan off but it's still stuck between the crossmember and the flexplate. Do I need to raise the engine more or what? thanks again guys your the best .

 

This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I removed the oil pan and found a runner bolt that I must have dropped into the distributer hole. I'm in a much better mood now.

 

i had to raise my engine a total of about 6 inches to get it off..

congrats, i'm sure you were wondering 'where the HELL is that bolt!!?!!$%'

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Webmaster: www.IROC-Z.org

 

Man, I have so many bolts floating around from this engine swap I don't think I would miss one or two.

Colin, thanks again for all your help I really aprriciate it. If your ever down in orange county drop me an email.

Jim

 

That kinda sux...

It could be worse, I know of someone who did the same thing, never 'primed' the oil pump, slapped in a distributer...

Needless to say his engine buildup was set back by more than one week!