Reply To: NO Oil Pressure

[Gregory Long]

Hello Stan.

I just looked at a Series 33 owners manual, and it shows the oil pump in the bottom of the oil pan. So unless the oil screen is clogged with sludge, the oil in the oil pan will fill the oil pump by gravity.

So: a few questions:

When you change the oil, do you remove the screen from the oil pan, and clean it in solvent?

If not, that would be the first step towards diagnosing the lack of oil pressure.

Have you ever removed the oil pump from the bottom of the oil pan, and inspected the pump’s gears and

pump body for scores, old damage or corrosion from water ??

The oil pump in the bottom of an oil pan is a great way to make it easily available for inspection and replacement, but it also creates a problem for engines that run cold, only short time periods, or sit for a long time.. This problem is that any of the three mentioned conditions: cold, short duration running, and long storage duration, will create or allow the collection of condensation on the inside of the engine. This water condensation will drop into the oil pan, and the water will gravitate to the bottom of the oil pan and to the pan’s lowest spot: Which is the oil pump.

The water, which is usually acidic in an engine, will displace the oil in the pump, and corrode the gears and the pump body.

So unless the engine has been rebuilt or the pump removed and inspected since you have owned the car, it probably should be done.. If it were my car, I’d inspect it just for peace of mind.

Hope this helps.

Greg Long