30 model A tug, oil pump not working

31Abone

31Abone

Well-known member
been sitting for 30 or 40 years,do I need to remove pump or is there a way to prime it ??
 
Pull the pan, the pump is probably plugged. Also pull off the valve cover, the oil gallery is also an area to be cleaned out along with the pan.
 
How do you know the pump is not working? The pump is below the level of the oil in the pan so I can't see why it would need to be primed. Remember that all the pump does move the oil to the gallery where it flows by gravity to the mains. The rods are splash. The pump will probably put out 10 psi on a good day and then go down from there as the engine warms up. If it has been sitting 30 or 40 years it might be good to open things up and look.

Charlie Stephens
 
If you just check the oil level on a motor you know nothing about and then start the engine you are a gambler. Take the time to do what I suggest. There are other steps to take. Do your homework before you attempt to run the motor.
 
I have seen the driving tab sheared off due to engine being cranked with frozen water in the pan and pump--- was a car in long term storage and the owner bragged about "turning it over every month
 
If the car was stored with non-detergent oil there is a possibility that the oil pan is filled with sludge. Drop the pan and clean the pan and the the oil pump in keropsene and be sure to spin it to see of it is pumping. Be sure to remove the windage tray as the sludge if any, will be found under it. I once bought a used, "stored" engine and found about two inches of mud like sludge on the bottom of the pan.
 
40 yrs nearly guarantees non-D oil. Cleaning pan and valve galley would be insufficient. There are many nooks and crannies that will have crud and crap, that will loosen up with detergent oil and damage the babbitt. That sludge also bakes and cooks in the ring lands causing sticking rings. Timing cover will have nasty deposits to loosen up, too. Plunger spring might be seized with cooked sludge. A complete tear down would be best
 
I cringe when I see someone on a video start a car that has been setting for many years. They can do real damage to the engine if it is started without getting rid of that old oil. There are ways to do a limited job of getting it cleaned out and new oil in its place, but the only real way to do it is to pull the pan, and the valve cover, and even this won't clean it out perfectly. Use lots of diesel and flush what you can. The problem with a Model A is that there is a splash pan inside of the oil pan that is really hard to clean without pulling the oil pan and just doing it right.
 
Good answers ,I did pull the valve cover and poured oil inside so it wouldn't run dry,I also forced oil down the galley oil pipe hoping it prime the pump from the top side but nothing worked.Im going to remove pan and see what going on ..sc
 
"also forced oil down the galley oil pipe hoping it prime the pump from the top side"
?? why force sludge back into the pump where clearances are critical
 
Some news about oil pump not working, removed pan today looks good but spring on pump was short and not pressing pump up far enough I think.thinking maybe pump was not engaging slot...have other problem screw oil port can not get it out ,tried heat but screw damaged..Is there a way to hold pump without a set screw ?? maybe wire? sc
 
31Abone said:
Some news about oil pump not working, removed pan today looks good but spring on pump was short and not pressing pump up far enough I think.thinking maybe pump was not engaging slot...have other problem screw oil port can not get it out ,tried heat but screw damaged..Is there a way to hold pump without a set screw ?? maybe wire? sc
Click to expand...

No,do not use wire.
Can you show us a picture of the head of the retaining screw ? That would help find a solution.
 
Mikeinnj said:
If the car was stored with non-detergent oil there is a possibility that the oil pan is filled with sludge. Drop the pan and clean the pan and the the oil pump in keropsene and be sure to spin it to see of it is pumping. Be sure to remove the windage tray as the sludge if any, will be found under it. I once bought a used, "stored" engine and found about two inches of mud like sludge on the bottom of the pan.
Click to expand...

There is also a possibility than the oil on the dipstick appeared clean as new because all the dirty stuff had settled out over the years. Many have been misled by the appearance of such oil and thought it OK to fire up and race the engine straightaway. That is, until it bogs down and seizes up a few minutes later. If not changed regularly, non-detergent oil will form sludge so thick it will surprise you. I found an engine under old hay bales in the back of a barn. The oil appeared clean but when I pulled the drain plug nothing came out because of the layer of sludge on the bottom of the pan.
 
31Abone said:
Some news about oil pump not working, removed pan today looks good but spring on pump was short and not pressing pump up far enough I think.thinking maybe pump was not engaging slot...have other problem screw oil port can not get it out ,tried heat but screw damaged..Is there a way to hold pump without a set screw ?? maybe wire? sc
Click to expand...

Water in the bottom of the pan rusted the spring” I hate rust” Work at removing the plug in the side of your block Its pipe thread, small drill bit and work to larger
 
Problem solved, spring end was broken off so I put in a vice and stretched it out to proper length,installed pump and oil pressure is good now..as far as holding pump up while installing pan I just peened it a bit and it holds itself up ..so I learned something about A's..this motor in a mining tug and not on the hiway..sc
 
31Abone said:
Problem solved, spring end was broken off so I put in a vice and stretched it out to proper length,installed pump and oil pressure is good now..as far as holding pump up while installing pan I just peened it a bit and it holds itself up ..so I learned something about A's..this motor in a mining tug and not on the hiway..sc
Click to expand...

31Abone,

I was wondering what the "tug" in your header was referring to. I assume a "mining tug" was used to pull mining cars around. There are hundreds if not thousands of mine shafts and tunnels around California. Do you know what kind of a mine it was?

David Serrano
 
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