Hi all, I am new here, please excuse/advise if I am not posting correctly.

I am the owner of an X type 2004 Model.
I need help after rebuilding the engine on my X type. When I turn the engine by hand just to get some lubrication going, I do not see any oil flowing out from the head?
I haven't re - installed the tappet covers and the timing chain covers. But the engine is very stiff and I am not sure why oil is not flowing through the engine when im turning it by hand.
If I fit a hose in the hole where the oil pump out flow and blow into the block, I can hear the air coming out at the head just behind the chains.

Any help will be appreciated.

 

Hello, It sounds like your oil pump may need to be primed, especially since the tappet and timing chain covers are off. Check for blockages in the oil passages and ensure the oil pressure relief valve is correctly installed. If oil still isn’t flowing, try manually priming the pump or inspecting it for any issues.

 

Hi partmasterhub
Thank you for the suggestion. I dont know how to prime the pump, but I am sure I will find something on google.

Will let you know how it goes.

 

Normally you "prime" any pump by making sure that the pump contains fluid (as a fluid pump cannot pump air) - the fluid in this case is oil.

And here a very stupid idea - just because I have just seem a you-tube clip, where a car engine destroyed itself after just having been in a "professional" garage for a head-gasket swap:
The Brainiacs in the garage inserted the new head gaskets incorrectly (180° twisted or something), to the effect that the new gasket blocked now the oil channel and blocked any oil from entering the cam-area - this was about a totally different car - not even a Jaguar - so, I do not know, if an X-Type head-gasket can be insert incorrectly...

 

Every engine I rebuild or install I always pack the oil pump with Vaseline to pre-prime it. Not sure it's necessary anymore but it does no harm and the thick Vaseline will force the pump to suck the liquid oil up thru the pickup and screen assembly immediately upon engine start.

Otherwise I have to crank and crank the engine until I get oil pressure on a gauge before I start it.
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Thank you.

Yeah I want to see oil flowing before putting the engine back in the car, so I stripped the heads off again to make sure the oil hole isn't blocked. I tried to fill up the oil pump with oil and then turn the engine over using a big drilling machine with a socket on the crank shaft , but the oil just runs straight back to the oil pan through the pump before anything gets pumped. Even with the heads off, the oil doesn't reach the top of the block. I understand that it won't pump air, not really sure how to get the oil going though.

 

Well what you saw is exactly why I use and recommend Vaseline? Others have used grease but I can't pack the pump as easy as I can with the Vaseline.
You simply don't have the oil pump primed and it won't pump anything until it is.

Now let me explain this a bit as people may not understand what I am saying? You will need to take the cover off the pump to expose the gears inside. This cavity MUST be packed full of a high viscosity fluid of some kind. Either grease or Vaseline otherwise as you stated it just all runs back into the oil pan. So you can't just pack the pump externally you need to get to the actual pump gears.

Now a more high end solution is a priming system and there are many especially when you get to high performance and racing engines. As these are torn down and rebuilt regularly so this is a common task and you can get as fancy and expensive as you want!

Summit carries at least a half a dozen variations/brands.
Engine Oil Primers
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I will definitely give that a try.