Need help A.S.A.P. No oil circulation.

[Black95Z28]

O.K. So..... 95 Z28, stock....
I replaced the head gaskets on my camaro, put everything back together, started it up, and it runs awesome. The only problem is that I am getting almost NO oil circulation. I think I hooked up my oil pressure gauge incorrectly, or didn't hook up part of it, so I can't go off my gauge, but I popped both valve covers, and I am only getting oil coming out of the 3rd pushrod back (from front) on the drivers side. Piston #3 intake if i remember correctly.

I let the car run on 3 of 4 occassions for anywhere between 30-60sec at a time, and those were the results. Ther is no knocking, so I believe the bottom end is being oiled. I also added some sea foam to the oil which is supposed to help break up deposits, and free moving parts, but still the same results. The rocker/lifters are quiet, and set correctly. I cleaned out all the pushrods before putting them back in.

Any ideas??? I'm stumped, and i'm so close to having it driving. It was sitting for 2 years. Ideas?? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. I am going to hook up a manual oil pressure gauge ASAP and see what it's reading.

[wnmech]

I know this is probably a dumb question to ask but did you compare the old and new head gaskets to make sure they were both the same? What was the reason for removing the heads? I would find the spot where the transmitter reads the oil pressure and hook up A direct reading gauge.

[jag42420]

I am going to hook up a manual oil pressure gauge ASAP and see what it's reading.

I assume you've already double checked the oil level, and put the head gaskets on correct (they are labeleld this side up and front). Did you lube the valvetrain by pouring oil on it before starting for the first time? Sounds like the lifters were dry. Before installing hydraulic lifters they should be soaked in oil overnight (or at least a couple hours) to allow them to totally fill before startup. It takes the oil a while to get through the lifters and pushrod. I always save a quart of oil to pour over the heads prior to replacing the valve covers and starting up.

[Eagle]

4 different starts for no less than 30 seconds should have been plenty to get oil into the lifters.

You need to figure out your actual oil pressure, determine if your head gaskets are installed correctly (although I don't believe they impact oil flow at all as last I knew oil doesn't traverse the LT1 head gaskets), most importantly check valve lash.

HTH,
-Eagle