oil pump problem
 

Replaced oil pan gasket on 71 Mach 1 351C 2V
removed and cleaned oil pump and filled with oil. After filling crankcase w/oil, started up. pump is not pumping oil to heads, lots of noise that didn't stop. shut off engine. any suggestions?

Tom:
Before you try starting the engine again, pull the distributor and get an oil pump priming rod and turn the pump with a drill. This will allow you to try to see if pump is doing anything without damaging the engine.
Sounds as if a gasket may be missing in the pump and it is sucking air? But just a wild guess. By the way if you are in for that much labor, why not just get a new pump. They are pretty cheap, and if I was in that far wouldn't hesitate to get a new one and since it is a cleveland, I would go with a high volume unit to put some more oil over those mains.

Replace the oil pump, they are cheap. Don't risk it.

Thanks. It was a new high-performance pump. Didn't know about using the dist shaft to pre-oil. Replace with old, works fine now. but I now hear valve clatter. Hope I didn't lunch the motor!