Need help priming my 1st gen's oil pump

Ok, @mechmn1, my local O'Reilly's also loans tools just as yours does. The problem lies in the fact that O'Reilly's divides the country into approximately 1/2 with respect to loaner tools, so in the East (I live in Durham, NC) there is a totally different supplier and consequently a totally different set of tool numbers. I was able to reserve the same tool you pointed me to for pickup tomorrow, since they can cross between the two systems, luckily.

There is still a question as to whether there is an adapter that fits my 2000 Tacoma 2RZ-FE that comes along with that tool, and that would be a tapered pipe thread that goes by the name 1/8" - 28 BSPT. The O'Reilly guy could not tell me what fittings they have, and there are only two shown in the image you showed me. I am guessing I will be ok because you used that tool more than once, and I know you have a Tacoma. Am I correct?

I want to thank you for telling me about that tool because I know it will most likely do the trick, once I prove to myself that I have the oil pump set up correctly.

 

@mechmn1, and everyone who has contributed in this thread:

Bottom line, mechmn1 was correct in saying that the O'Reilly's loaner tool could prime my engine. It is a tank much like a small refrigerant tank that has a Shrader valve for compressed air used to push oil you have added into the tank through the hose and into the oil passages of the engine at whatever pressure you put on it using your air compressor, adjusting with a tire gauge to get the exact pressure you want. Using that tool, my 2000 Tacoma was finally able to gain oil pressure, and is now running. There is still an oil leak to chase, but it is running. Thanks so much for that particular bit of advice mechmn1.

I think it might be instructive for me to provide details I discovered when going through this process:

1) That O'Reilly's loaner "Pre-Lube" tool, with the part number given by mechmn1 was not available at my local O'Reilly's here in Durham, NC. He had gotten the tool from his local O'Reilly's out in California, all the way across the country. It turns out, O'Reilly's uses at least two different tool suppliers to implement their loaner tool program across the US. O'Reilly's loaner tools one can find in eastern US are different from those that can be found in western US, however, if you know of a tool that exists in their western loaner system, you can have O'Reilly's order it across systems. I do not know how you can on-line search either of those systems for a specific tool. My local O'Reilly's has a flat desk pad that advertises all of the loaner tools they can provide (with a different numbering system than the Western one).

2) When looking for YouTube videos about priming oil pumps, I found a couple of vids that discussed a principle use of tools, such as the tool I used, that "Pre-Lube" your engine after rebuilding them. Basically, after you rebuild an engine, some rebuilders will hook up one of these "oil pressure simulators" to their engine before reinstalling the valve cover and oil pan and when engaged it will pump oil under pressure into the block and through all of the oil passages in the engine. Visually, they can then check to verify that oil is able to reach each and every valve lifter, every bearing, and every place they expect to see oil flowing freely, to make absolutely sure that all oil passageways (galleries?) are unrestricted, BEFORE installing the engine and starting it running. That process "Pre-lubricates" all of the engine internals, giving the engine its best chance of running without starving anything of the oil it needs to achieve long life. The tool has a slight difference in name between what was advertised and the instructions that came with it, indicated on one hand "Pre-Lubrication" and on the other "Oil Pump Priming."

Following on with that Pre-Lubrication idea, there exist engine oil "Pre-lubing" systems mounted inside the engine compartment that do an initial pre-lube before each and every start, again, done to give the engine longer life.

3) In the context of my "heavy duty oil sludge" case, I had been working on my engine from the top, front, bottom and rear, without taking the engine out of the engine compartment, and when I could not get the oil pump to prime, I had already installed everything: valve cover, timing cover, oil pan, rear main seal, so did not want to take it all apart again before creating an oil pump prime, so based on mechmn1's advice, used the tool without removing the valve cover or oil pan, while imagining its effect in cleaning out any remaining restrictions to oil pathways, and keeping my fingers crossed. I did things with the tool that were not advised by the tool's instructions, just so you know. The instructions tell you to set the tool up, screw the hose connecting end to the oil pressure switch hole in the block, add up to 4 quarts of oil and air pressure, throw a ball switch to let the oil move into the hose thus connected, and wait for 3 seconds, then turn it off and disconnect the tool.

I added two full quarts of oil (after being sure I had drained enough oil from the sump to let the engine accommodate), and I first left the oil ball switch on for 3 seconds, as recommended, but since my original problem was terrible oil sludge, and my biggest fear was a restriction in an oil passage I could never have cleaned by hand, I though to myself that I had best use the tool a lot longer than 3 seconds. So, then I left it on for like 10 seconds, then again another 10 seconds, ending up almost leaving it on. At a certain point in that process, the tone of the tool changed in such a way that I thought the oil output had sprung a leak, because of the sound, and from where it came, near where it connected to the tool. What really happened is that all 2 quarts of oil had entirely been pushed into my engine. I released the remaining air pressure and opened the tank and even turned it over upside down over the garage floor (brave me) and NOTHING dripped out of the tank, NADA! Every drop of oil had been shoved into the engine, which was quite different from how I received the tool, as then when I turned it over, a fair residual amount of oil came out. It gave me a good feeling to imagine 2 quarts of oil flowing through all of the oil passages where it should have gone. To prove that using the tool in the way I described worked to actually develop a prime of the oil pump, I removed the tool hose from the block, reinstalled the oil pressure gauge and ran the gauge up to the driver's window and started the engine. Sure enough, there was oil pressure for the first time.

There was at least one indication that initially there was a stubborn restriction that was not fully corrected by the tool. When I again started the engine to get it up to operating temperature, and thus ready for an engine flush with Liqui-Molly, the oil pressure shot up to above 70 psi, the max pressure specified. As things progressed, the oil pressure came back down to more reasonable values. The result of the Liqui-Molly engine flush also tell some of that tale. I did my absolute best in hand scrubbing all the vast amount of oil sludge from the engine, yet after 15 minutes of running at operating temperature with one can of Liqui-Molly in the oil, this is the way the brand new oil looked:



Now, that is far from what it might have looked like if the engine had been full of oil sludge, but nonetheless, the oil is dirty enough for me to believe most of it had come from cleaned out oil passageways.

4) Another thing I should mention is that the tool did not come with the proper adapter that would let it mate with the hole in my 2000 Tacoma block. It needed to have a 1/8" - 27 NPT F to 1/8" - 28 BSPT M adapter, the very same adapter that I had needed when I purchased the Oil Pressure Test Kit from HF, so I was lucky in that I had already obtained that adapter, and just had to move it from the Gauge to the Pre-Lube, and was good to go, saving me a lot of time.

5) After the major surgeries I have done to the engine over the past year, I was encouraged to see the oil pump develop a prime, to see the engine start and run, and to see that nothing major had happened to the engine and system. And, considering how many linear feet of oil seals I had to either replace of manipulate, the fact that there is at least one oil leak to fix, I still feel a relieved sense of accomplishment. I don't yet know for certain, but I am thinking that I have likely saved my engine from a condition for which most (sane) people would have used to justify buying a new vehicle.

Many thanks to everyone who helped volunteer ideas and information that helped me get passed this sticking point.

 

Still finding and fixing leaks. I have restored the oil filter bracket, adding a new O-ring and gasket to the union bolt to fix a leak in that assembly that seemed to be coming from under the head of the 24 mm hex headed union bolt. Here's a photo of it.



Notice the missing metal that runs around about 35 degrees of the milled out channel where the gasket and head of the bolt hold the oil filter bracket tightly to the side of the block (51 ft-lbs)? All the rest of the circular surface has a 90 degree aluminum side-wall that would help the gasket contain any oil that might want to escape from underneath the head of the union bolt.

Can anybody tell me what the function of that missing metal might be? I didn't have a lot of time to do an exhaustive search, sorry.

That bolt head does look dry, so perhaps that is not where the leaking oil is coming from. What I found was an oil drop that formed on the bottom of the oil filter, just like the drop that formed before I took out the union bolt and installed new O-ring and gasket, but then there was oily wetness around the head of the bolt, as well as an oil line from there to the filter below. Just not sure where the oil came from this time, and wondered if that 35 degree place where the metal is missing might have squirted oil the last time I started the engine, like maybe high oil pressure might have done that, and I don't seem to have my normal patience.

 

You mentioned Oring and gasket RR’d

I found this
Shows 2 Orings 1 gasket



Any help for you?

 

Great Q about missing “channel” 2 o’clock by the 24mm union bolt
I would definitely like to know that answer

window to show the gasket seats correct?
Dunno

 

Thanks, Steven. Yes, it is helpful, though I have the FSM and realize what you are asking. That large O-ring between the oil filter bracket and the block seemed (visually) that it had enough life left in it, so I didn't buy a replacement. My bad. Maybe I was in a hurry? That's not my normal way of working. Usually, whenever the manual shows the black diamond, I make sure to buy a replacement part, and I think that is for good reason, and this, as you rightly pointed out, might be a case. I haven't seen any oil on the side of the block under that connection. . . yet. But really, I ought to put a new large O-ring on my tobuy list. It can't be very expensive, and only requires a phone call and I can pick it up locally within a day or so. Thanks for pointing that out.

And, your point reminds me that I need some new crush washers to put under the oil drain plug, so double thanks.

And, that reminds me that I need to double check the oil levels at the transmission and differential, after driving the Tacoma around a bit. There could have been trapped air, who knows. Your one comment has led me to several new things to do.

Really, my focus at the moment is the brutalized copper hot water tube that sends water into the heater core. I smashed it almost flat when removing the hose, and still haven't figured out the best way to make it round again. Looking at the possibility of using a mandrel (tapered shaft like a ring sizer mandrel) of the right size (if I can find one), or a "re-rounding tool," or trying a plumber's trick using a crescent wrench set to the size of the original round and carefully running it around the pipe, slowly going closer to the damage till I get it close enough to put the hose on. Maybe it would be best for me to search this site because SOMEBODY MUST have done that when removing the heater hose. I cannot have been the only idiot.

Yeah, Steven, it would be nice to know that answer. I had thought that cutout might be a place where overpressure in the oil system might get released, but in the timing cover there is an "oil relief valve" that has a piston and spring held in with a snap ring. Maybe should that designated over pressure "oil relief valve" in the timing cover fail, the Toyota engineers conceivably might have designed in an alternative failure point (that cutout -- only a guess), just in case, since correct oil pressure is so important to the life of the engine. That's all about the oil overpressure condition, but there is also the oil under pressure condition that needs to be considered.

Not being an automotive engineer, I would still think that something ought to be done immediately should the oil pressure drop to zero, so the engine doesn't continue to run to destruction. But, then again, my Tacoma has a simple oil pressure switch that someone told me is wired directly to the oil pressure light on the dash. So, that oil pressure light turns on whenever the oil pressure drops to zero AND the switch is actually functioning. But, there is no testing of that switch going on to prove it is functioning, so who knows if it is functioning or not when an oil failure occurs? Do those switches just go bad after some number of years? Mine is 25 years old already. It's on my list of "to be learned"; does my oil pressure switch actually function right now? And if it does work right now, how much more life does it have after I test it? Then, even if I replace it just because it is old, I had better test it first to make sure it actually works before I trust it enough to use it, right?

That someone also told me that the signal from that switch does NOT go to the computer, meaning that low oil pressure does nothing proactively to protect the engine, other than to warn the driver, and we know the intelligence of many drivers is unlikely to give enough significance to that light coming on.

You know the saying "If something sounds too good to be true, it isn't"? How about "If something sounds too bad to be true, it isn't"? That's how I began feeling as I wrote down as clearly as possible what I thought I knew about the oil pressure switch. I am recognizing that I am surely missing something.

 

Awesome!
Very glad that helped you

let everyone know about end results!!!!

 

Well, this is not an end result, but more good information about the oil pressure switch, as well as a means to test it. I could not find a test of the oil pressure switch in the FSM:

Oil Pressure Switch on my 2000 Tacoma


“The oil pressure switch is a normally closed switch. One end is connected to ground and the other lead comes from the Combination meter. When the engine is running and Oil Pressure is proper, the switch opens [Removing the ground used to turn on the oil can light].

With the engine off, the switch should read a short between the terminals of the switch [Part 1 of the switch test]. With the engine running, the switch should read open between the terminals on the switch [Part 2 of the switch test; a good switch will pass both parts of the switch test].

That is why it doesn't light up when it is disconnected. If you short the two wires in the plug the Oil LED will light. Your system seems to be operating normally.

The only thing that the switch does is illuminate the little oil can LED in the dash. It doesn't go anywhere else.

12 VDC to Combination Meter to Oil LED to Pressure Switch to Ground.”


The quoted text was posted to TW by Jimmyh on thread: “Connector disconnected around oil filter” on 2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015) started by Northerncanuck, July 25, 2018.

I have edited @Jimmyh's posting, to add emphasis, but not to change any words of his well constructed description. Bill

 

Great stuff. You're really putting in the work and sharing nice detailed account of all you have done. Been a pleasure to read.

 

Don't know why I didn't start a thread beginning with the initial problem (so my story could be like, a story), which was massive oil sludge throughout the engine, which caused me to begin removing the sludge at the valve cover, but then my sludge cleaning activity led me to clean behind the timing cover and then the oil pan, and eventually to removing the transmission to get to the rear main seal, in an "oh, while I am at this point so far into the engine, why not. . ." kind of project direction. But notice, ALL of that work was done by hand without removing the engine, when if I had it to do all over again, certainly yanking the engine/trans first would have been way easier, especially because my manual transmission rests on a cross member that is WELDED to the frame and cannot be taken out to make removing the transmission much easier. Well, I didn't tell that story as I went along, but. . .

After getting everything sealed back up so there were no more leaks (about a year's work), and after driving the truck about 1,500 miles, without fixing the last residual problem, namely the starter was only starting every other time, and I would just pop the clutch to get it going whenever the starter would not start the engine (I was under a lot of pressure to keep using the truck, so was taking another short cut), I think the abuse to the transmission was too much for it.

Now, the transmission is back out and laying, torn apart, on my garage floor, and I am trying to decide what to do with it.

The problems that we noticed that led to taking the transmission back out were:

1) the clutch seemed to be slipping (not good when all that clutch stuff is brand new and with only 1,500 miles)

2) my wife and I both experienced an inability to get the shifter to move trans into a certain gear (don't remember which)

3) both of us, at different times while the truck was sitting in the driveway after we had noticed the slipping clutch, each had been letting the truck idle in neutral while we were listening to a slight high frequency noise, like a soft whine (whenever foot was off the clutch pedal) that we were thinking might be related to the throw out bearing, when all of a sudden we heard a loud metallic bashing kind of sound. We each observed the sound independently, but said the same things about its nature. I remember when it happened to me, I was startled and got out of the cab and knelt down on the driveway to look under the truck where the sound seemed to be coming from, and then it stopped as suddenly as it had begun. That loud banging, knocking, thrashing sound lasted maybe 10 to 15 seconds, then stopped.

It was number 3 that forced my hand and got me under the truck to take apart the connection between the block and transmission bell housing, thinking (hoping) the noise might be indicative of a busted spring on the friction plate. Once the transmission was separated from the block, and I got the clutch cover and friction disc taken out, I was surprised that I could not find anything that looked wrong with either of those two components. Of course, I am not an expert, so what I think is perfectly fine just might have some problem I missed, but once I saw nothing wrong there, I knew that whatever it was had to be inside the transmission.

Now the transmission is in parts on the floor of my garage, and I am thinking through what my next step should be. I began reading through the information in the FSM about doing a transmission rebuild, and one early observation was a measure of the "thrust clearance" between the "counter 5th gear" and the bearing next to it. According to the FSM, that clearance (measured with a feeler guage) should never exceed 0.46 mm, and I was able to get the 0.55 mm feeler guage in the clearance slot, meaning this problem MUST be taken care of before using the transmission again.

If I do it myself, it requires a press that I don't have. The cost of the rebuild kit ($300 something) plus the cost of the press ($200?) is less than the cost of the rebuilt transmission I see on Martin Crawler $1,349, but I need the truck to pick up the press from Harbor Freight. Or maybe I have some friend with a truck?

Anyone that has been through the W59 transmission rebuild activity, whatever suggestions you may have would be appreciated. I have to keep digging because I know the thing needs a rebuild, and I need to get this truck back on the road asap.

 

About the thrust clearance... I am sure that this is a selective snap ring, if so, order all of them, nothing will piss you off more that you are trying to assemble this and you didnt want to spend $30 on selective snap rings and now you have to stop, order the right one and wait.