got motor assembled used drill to prime...never got hard to turn, no oil pressure according to gauge, but there is definitely flow. oil will rush out of the oil pressure gauge port on the back, but not enough to even get the gauge to work. replaced oil pump, no difference. i'm getting oil to cam and lifters, but not to the top end, even with oil hole in cam lined up with where the oil hold should be in the cam bearing. passageway from cam bearing to top of block and through head is clear, head gasket installed correctly with no restrictions.

i'm thinking the cam bearing wasn't installed right, which would be why the oil isn't reaching the top end......anybody else have an idea on this?

thanks

All the oil gallery plugs get put back in?

Just to be sure you are running the drill in reverse aren't you.

yup drill running counter clockwise. there are 2 plugs in the rear of the block on each side of the cam, correct? those i know are in for sure...any more i should be looking for? i'm not at the shop to look at the block

Sounds like a front galley plug is missing. If they were there, you should have a load of drill bogging pressure at rear of block, despite cam bearing situation.

do you have a pic of that so i can visualize what you're speaking of? i'd think it's there, but picture might bring a memory of what mine looks like.


if there was more pressure in the oil passageways, maybe it would make it up to the heads? cam bearing oil hole was the only think i could think of - i made sure to check for the rear galley plugs since i had read where someone had missed putting those in.


should it look like this? pic of hemi block from tech archive...

mk, looked at pics i took of my block and i do have the front galley plug (if there's only one?)

You might nab a helper & have him(w a breaker bar) turn the crank over slowly as you (up top) run the drill until he hits the spots where the rockers get oiled & go from there & w no missing oil passage plugs & the pump primed as said you'll know/feel it at the drill when the psi is up & guys have burned up 3/8 drills priming them

There are two front gallery plugs, one is along side the cam and points straight forward, the other (most often missed) is pointing down towards the pan. If you look straight into the front of the block, locate the boss that the fuel pump pushrod slides into then look for the boss that extends downward from it and that's where the second plug goes.

Here is a little better shot of where the two front plugs go on my 383. (440 same) One faces front, and one down as stated above.

Not sure what size off the top of my head, but all four plugs are the same.

i got it tore down...it is missing that lower plug. i got pictures and will be talking with the machine shop. i would think i'm owed at least new gaskets in addition to the plug, since they're no good now.

DOH!

Well, the good thing is at least you found the problem!

Thank god for pre oiling!!

he tried that as soon as he found out i had a problem - told me he made absolutely sure the cam bearings were installed correctly and all the plugs were in place...well, apparently not, as he used some type of black loctite-type product on the other galley plugs - i couldn't even begin to try to take them out, they're so tight. i guess it's not a huge deal if i have to buy a head gasket, timing cover, and water pump housing gaskets, but i shouldn't have to imo.


the other thing that ticks me off is that someone else with a 440 that spent some big bucks there may have the same problem and he'll probably try to snake his way out of that one too...hope not, i really hope he's an honest guy that can admit he's wrong and learn a lesson from this - shouldn't just be the customers that think a machine shop would check for these things that learn a lesson.

The shop I use for machining has been known to leave a galley plug out rarely. I guess these days, it's a good idea to look around a bit when you pick things up at shop. I take every last plug out of block whenever I get machining done, that way they just have to get the bore straight and thats it. You are using your noggin, by not firing that thing up.

As long as you don't use a Milodon pickup you should be in good shape.