I believe Pete does it that way. I'm just speculating on possible causes of WTF is going on. But it seems air bound.

 

Two things come to mind with the low ICP pressure. An HPOP suction leak, and an IPR valve that is failing to close at all. I know you have a good IPR valve, so I wonder about the signal to the valve. Two things you can do there - if you have a spare connector, you can apply 12 volts from the battery and crank for a bit (just to watch the pressure) and you can also ground the IPR at the PCM connector and see if the power and ground are there at the IPR connector.

Thoughts?

Edit - I have also heard of people cranking w/ the ICP sensor removed, but that can sure shoot the oil out! I'd hate to see that done on your beautiful engine!

Just trying to think of some tests that could be done before having to disassemble things.

 

You have to remove the oil filter standpipe and dump it down that hole (or at least that is the best way to do it).

 

I still say that it's air bound. Get a hose that fits the ICP fitting and crank it till it pumps oil out real steady.

 

Tomorrow afternoon I will drain a gallon out of the pan and pour it down the standpipe hole with standpipe removed. There is a video demonstrating this with HPOP off and he fills through the standpipe hole and it comes out the HPOP suction hole.
I have not been this discouraged in a while. I have never had this much trouble priming the HPO system! This is my first rebuild so I guess everything couldn’t go perfectly. I’m done for the night. Thanks for the positive suggestions guys, that’s what this forum is supposed to be for.

 

If you put a hose in the ICP opening, be careful it can be "whipped around" if the pressure is even a moderate pressure.

 

I’m very familiar pressure and hoses, I’m in the oil and gas industry and operate a bunch of oil wells in the Eagleford Shale. I use a lot of braided stainless and stainless hard tubing to plumb high pressure and low pressure equipment. I should have had this engine primed and cranked in no time...

 

Just a thought. The first time I did head gaskets on my 2003 I didn't have one of my braided high pressure oil lines fully connected (quick connect on stand pipe). I didn't have any way to monitor it (the icp pressure) at the time, so I don't know if it built any pressure at all. It would try to fire on WD40 but I only tried a little before I tore back into it. Like I said just a thought....I wish you Good Luck.

 

even if you forgot to fill the oil gallery before installing the oil cooler, it should be filled now. I assume you have base oil pressure? Then the gallery is filled automatically. When things seem as magical as they are now with your motor, I am a friend of the " hard things". With the tool on the picture you can manually switch your IPR when a second person crank the engine (switch only briefly at first).



Instead of the ICP you screw in a gauge (0-4000psi) and check how the oil pressure reacts when your IPR will be switched. Electronic measurements (such as those taken by software) often have a time offset, therefore the "hard method".

If I may give you a hint about the software: forget the versions with XP and the virtual machine. That took me many hours and did not work.
I bought this one after that:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Newest-SVCI-...72.m2749.l2649

((the first one was directly from china, i couldn't rate anything. On ebay they depend on good ratings (yes they come also directly from china) and take the stuff back/give money back if it doesn't work))

Chris ( CTroxtell ) has supported me very much with the setup, I would like to thank him again here .

But I also bought last year Autoenginuity with the Ford bundle, so I use AE and IDS. Both has its advantages and disadvantages.

Brother, we get it to run! ;-) If you weren't living 6000mls away from me, I'd be at your door a long time ago :-)

(Please excuse me if I ask things that may have been answered already, but I'm still working on my English).

 

Mark he does have a working VCM2 and IDS.

Just an odd ball thought.
I wonder if using a vacuum on the oil rail would
help prime the pump. If you then have a good prime
and it then goes away that would point to a suction
leak to the pump.

 

I can reach the IPR from underneath, I unplugged and plugged it back in twice yesterday evening. If pouring a couple gallons of oil down the standpipe hole doesn’t prime it I will run an air test through the IPR port tool and pinpoint any leaks so I’m not tearing into things blind if there is a HPO leak. I was meticulous about o-ring placement on the HPOP and making sure the o-rings on the new standpipes were in good shape and the NEW braided lines were connected before I buttoned it up. That’s not to say there isn’t an issue caused by me but anything is possible. There is also a slight chance the HPOP is bad but I wouldn’t think it would just crap out when it was putting out 4500psi when I removed it.
We will see this evening!

 

We don’t really know if it is an oil starving issue, but I don’t think a vac on the rail side would draw through. My thoughts were to fill both the draw and pressure sides before final assembly, easy to do on the stands. Mac was excited to put the motor together and humanly skipped the oil fill. Prelubing I don’t think will fill the sump, I think you have to do the Pete oil filter canister fill. I never paid attention to the detail of it, I glad Mark mentioned pulling the standpipe.

I hope that’s it, if not, we move elsewhere.

 

I skipped oil fill because I thought filling through the filter housing would get oil into the sump. (That’s what I get for thinking). I primed oil rails by removing the allen plugs and leaving braided lines off to allow oil in easier. I made sure o rings on plugs were good and that the new braided Motorcraft hoses were seated in the rails and standpipes.

 

That’s what I’m going to do too, Mac. I don’t have the standpipe installed right now so it would have been ignorant bliss.

 

I recall someone that had a no start issue and it turned out to be cracked
quick couplers on the rails where the hose connects.