351 oil pressure problems

[dondol]

My 93' bronco has been sitting for about 6 weeks while I did some front end work

(ball joints, front drive shaft u-joints). When I got everything finished I started the

engine to let it run a little while before taking it to get inspected, after about 3-4 minutes

I started hearing the valves clicking and looked inside and saw that the oil pressure was nil.

I turned the engine off and let it set for about 10 minutes and re-started it and the pressure was normal,

3-4 minutes later it bottomed out again. I talked with my brother who used to work for ford and he told me

that the pick-up on the oil pump was probably clogged. He recommended taking out the distributor and

inserting an oil pump priming tool and running it in reverse of the normal rotation to blow/pump the debris

away from the pick-up. Then he told me to drain the oil and replace it with a new filter. Has anyone heard

of this and mostly has anyone done this?

 

[Justshootme84]

It's true that the clogged pick-up tube for the oil pump is a common problem. I've always recommended to drop the oilpan, remove the tube and clean it that way. You can also inspect the inside-bottom of the pan for pieces of metal or sludge build-up. I've seen some engines get to the point where the sludge buildup is so bad that it gets to the level of the pick-up tube, and that quickie cleaning method won't do you much good. You can remove the pan while the engine is still in the Bronco, although you barely have enough room to work underneath and drop the oil pump in order to pull the pan out from between the motor and crossmember. JSM84