98 L29 no oil to rockers. Help?

[98BBC2500]

My 98 K2500 454 has 40 psi cold idle on the mechanical gauge plumbed to the back of the block, but no oil flows to the rockers. I've replaced the roller lifters with all new aftermarkets (mistake?) to replace 4 collapsed units. The discs in the old 4 collapsed ones were sideways when I found them. Pushrods are super clean as are the rockers. The valley and the head tops were clean when I opened them, but maybe the pan has sludge from setting a lot between towings. The lifters are still noisy like they aren't getting enough oil. So I have a few questions. Can the aftermarket lifters cause this? Can a spun main bearing cause this, and if so, can I just replace it?? How difficult is it to remove the oil pan on a 2500 4x4?
It's got 140K on the clock but I've only put 42k on it since I bought it in 2003. The truck was always powerful and ran great. All I did was shut it off in a parking lot, restarted it, and this happens.

 

[Carlaisle]

Removing the oil pan in that truck is not fun. You can probably remove the engine in about the same amount of time and it's a far less frustrating experience. How have you verified that no oil is flowing to the rockers? Did you replace only the damaged lifters or all of them? "Aftermarket" is pretty broad. Did you put Crower in there or something made of chinesium? Did you clean the lifters before install? Did you verify oil flow to the lifters before installation? Apparently clean push rods may be internally blocked. Did you verify that they are clear? You said the lifters are still noisy, which implies they were noisy before your recent work. If this is true and the noise has not changed, whatever issue caused them to be noisy to begin with remains.

 

[Schurkey]

HOW LONG have those "new" lifters been run? Ten minutes? Ten weeks?

If a bearing spun, you'll need to remove the crank for regrinding, probably tear down the block so it can be align-honed. BIG job.

 

[yevgenievich]

You should be able to hear a spun main bearing on top of lifter noise. Dropping the front diff gets you to the oil pan. Lifters can take a bit of time to pump up

 

[pressureangle]

I had to pull the pan on my 6.5 diesel to check bearings and replace the oil pump. I didn't have an adequate hoist, so I did it on my back in the driveway. It wasn't bad at all, worst part was separating the steering ('94) to make room for the front diff to clear.
HOWEVER
If you have good bottom pressure and no rocker oil- and your 4 dead lifters tell me this isn't a new problem- you most likely have a spun bearing, most likely a main and possibly a cam bearing and you'll have to have the motor out in any case.

 

[Spareparts]

Depending on how long you have had it running it might need a little runtime.
Took mine a few hours to start oiling up top.

 

[98BBC2500]

Removing the oil pan in that truck is not fun. You can probably remove the engine in about the same amount of time and it's a far less frustrating experience. How have you verified that no oil is flowing to the rockers? Did you replace only the damaged lifters or all of them? "Aftermarket" is pretty broad. Did you put Crower in there or something made of chinesium? Did you clean the lifters before install? Did you verify oil flow to the lifters before installation? Apparently clean push rods may be internally blocked. Did you verify that they are clear? You said the lifters are still noisy, which implies they were noisy before your recent work. If this is true and the noise has not changed, whatever issue caused them to be noisy to begin with remains.

I have both rocker covers off . It's dry. It should be making a mess without the rocker oil clips. I replaced all the lifters instead of only 4. I don't know the manufacture origin but they were listed as replacements, even though they aren't exactly the same as OEM. I cleaned them of all machine oil and debris.The push rods got compressed air and a soak. I can see through them. I thought they were noisy before the change due to collapsed lifters. Maybe it was more than that.
I understand that the distributor on this engine doesn't have to seal the block to get pressure to the lifters like the early engines. I was hoping the distrib just wasn't seated, but this is not the case.

 

[98BBC2500]

Depending on how long you have had it running it might need a little runtime.
Took mine a few hours to start oiling up top.

I'd be so relieved if this is true of mine. Was yours noisy until pump up?

 

[98BBC2500]

HOW LONG have those "new" lifters been run? Ten minutes? Ten weeks?

If a bearing spun, you'll need to remove the crank for regrinding, probably tear down the block so it can be align-honed. BIG job.

Less than 1/2 hour. If it were 10 weeks I'd probably find out some way that a bearing has spun.
If the crank and mains are good, can I just go ahead and replace all the crank bearings?

 

[Schurkey]

they aren't exactly the same as OEM. I cleaned them of all machine oil and debris.

HOW are they not "exactly the same as OEM"?

You took them apart ONE AT A TIME for cleaning and inspection? Or did you take them all apart, and put the guts from one lifter into another--mix 'n' match style?

Did you put the metering valves back in correctly?

I understand that the distributor on this engine doesn't have to seal the block to get pressure to the lifters like the early engines. I was hoping the distrib just wasn't seated, but this is not the case.

I know the oiling system changed between Mark IV and Gen 5, and the Gen 5 system carried-over to Gen 6.

I never considered the distributor "sealing" or not "sealing" the oil gallery on the Gen 5/6 engines, though. I just assumed that that part of the oil circuit was the same as Mark IV. Hoping to learn something here.

Less than 1/2 hour.

Yeah, you "should" have oil to the rockers by half-an-hour. Ten minutes...maybe not.

But Spareparts says it took his engine multiple hours to get oil to the rockers...which I would not have expected. I guess I don't know everything. Does make me wonder about plugged lifter passages.

I won't install lifters without pressurizing them with ATF (flows readily at room temperature.) It allows me to check the leakdown rate, and it verifies that the lifter will pass oil to the pushrod seat.

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Having pressurized them, be careful and slow with setting lifter preload. The lifters need time to bleed-down as you adjust them.

If the crank and mains are good, can I just go ahead and replace all the crank bearings?

You could. Are you sure you need to?

I'd at least run it long enough to warm-up so I could see what the hot idle oil pressure was, in-gear if an automatic trans.

What weight oil are you using? Not 20W-50, or straight 40 wt, or other no-flowing syrup, I hope.