seldon

i just finished building a ls/vtec, b18 block b16 head, i just got it back from the exhaust shop, started it up, it ran fine for about 10 seconds then started knocking really loud so i shut it down, i drained all the oil and took the oil filter off.

when i took the oil filter off it had no oil in it, but when i took the valve cover off there was plenty of oil in the head, any ideas?

killerpenguin21

we need more details.

how do you have the oil feed to the head setup

street dreams

sounds like u are about to tare the motor apart aka rod knock

DonF

What was the oil pressure when you cranked over with out plugs and fuel before you started it, and then the pressure when you did start it?

98vtec

and what were the clearances of the engine?

seldon

ok i have a sandwich (sp) plate on the back of the block, with a stainless steel braided line feeding oil to the head, there is no problem with the oil getting into the head, i can't figure out why if oil was going to the head how come it didn't go to the crank. i drained the oil and there is lots of big metal shavings in the oil and when i roll the engine over i can hear a loud squeeking noise.
so i think it's safe to say the rod bearings are shot, and possibly the crank. but has anyone ever had that problem before, don't make sense to me how the head can be gettin oil but not the block.
as far as the clearances i don't remember now what they are cause i been building this motor for quite some time. but i do remember everything was within spec

98vtec

what filter did you use? I would cut that bitch open. I had a friend of mine who lost a fresh bottom end because of a faulty FRAM.

seldon

it was a cheap "wix" filter from canadian tire, when i took the filter off there was no oil in it at all, as clean as the day i put it on, thing is the motor ran fine for a total of about 20mins over the past week

seldon

right away you would think the oil pump is gone, but without a oil pump i don't see how oil would get into the head

98vtec

since you have to anyway...take the pump out and remove the cover. Also, remove the oil pick up and see if there is any clogging going on other than the metal you likely now have in there.

C_Rock77

Really no such thing as a "cheap WIX"....they make good products. I probably use them more than any other brand filter.

seldon

ok well my bad. i don't know much about "WIX". it was just one of the cheaper filters, i figured i was ok to use a cheaper filter for my first start up since i was just gonna run it for a few miles then change it

seldon

can someone correct me if i'm wrong but the oil comes up through the pick up tube into the oil pump, from there goes through a passage in the block to the oil filter. so wouldn't it make sense my only problem can be the oil pump, or the passage from the pump to the filter.

Conan the Destroyer

sounds to me like a rod cap might be on backwards, and it grabbed the crank before the oil pump even had time to prime, which is why there is confusion about the lack of oil. sounds stupid, i know, but did you check that?

Farmer89511

Well i have a wrist pins back out of my ls vtec and lets just say there was alot of metal and i found when my motor gave up that i had no metal in the filter but most of it stopped at the oil pick up or it was in the oil pump but it never made it to the filter

seldon

anythings possible, next chance i get i'm gonna get out there, take the oil pan off, the oil pick up and oil pump, and pull the rod caps off, something in there should tell the story hopefully, i just don't wanna put it all back together with fresh bearings till i find out what the heck happened

seldon

ya i'm not even getting oil to the filter

Farmer89511

yeah well you going to have to motor apart i would not reuse the oil pump but i would get it hot tanked to make sure there is no more metal in the block

seldon

what all should be done? all new bearings, new oil pump, take block all apart have it cleaned and take the head apart and have it cleaned, should i basically start over and clean everything since there is chunks of metal all through the engine now

Farmer89511

well to be honest i can't tell over the internet so replace the parts that need to replace...yeah and you said that there is metal all over the motor?

AMG

EEK! In for the results.

98vtec

worse comes to worse you will need to replace the crank and rods. The block mains will need to be inspected and possibly line honed.

street dreams

is this a stock ls block or is it built, and when i say built does it have aftermarket rods and pistons or did u just use the ls rods and some b16 pistons

DonF

I do not want to sound harsh, but I do not want you to this again. The reason the head had oil in it was because you just put 4.5 quarts in it. You never primed or lubed the oil pump, it was cavatating. The filter should have had oil in it because you allways 1/2 fill it when you put it on an engine. You did NOT pull the plugs and ECU fuse to see if you had pressure while cranking it on the starter. No guage, remove the cam cover and crank it over until oil comes out the cam rails, you did not do this. You ran the engine with no oil pressure, do not do that again. If you do not know how to prime an oil pump, ask someone. Metal in the pan, a squeek, means new crank and rods at a minimum. Sorry for your loss.

seldon

thanks DonF and everyone else that gave advice, what don said makes perfect sense, i'm gonna try and get at the block tommorow, i'll let ya's know what i find