Input or advice from others on cam swap for 6.2L 2011 Yukon Denali

[swathdiver]

The melling kit I ordered on rockauto came with 2 O rings one for tapered (green) or one with a groove (black) pick up tubes. I have a orange one that came with the timing cover gasket kit that I could use. Does the diverter need to be changed too? Its freakin me out that i
Keep firing it up for a few seconds with no oil pressure, i think I should drop the pan to arrow and check it out…

Do you mean the relief valve that goes in the pan? I would change it if it were mine.

OK, I see that the Melling Green o-ring is the correct one also, thanks Dave!

 

[j91z28d1]

pump not holding prime can be from the o'ring leaking?

huh.

are you guys taking pumps apart to pack them with grease? I thought I heard from millings they don't want you taking their pumps apart?


I seem to remember there was some stuff in here, but it's an hour long and no one gives time stamps.

 

[JPS0284]

Do you mean the relief valve that goes in the pan? I would change it if it were mine.

OK, I see that the Melling Green o-ring is the correct one also, thanks Dave!

There’s a diverter behind the oil galley plug, the pressure relief was changed when I dropped the pan. The front diff isn’t hooked up yet so I guess the next step would be to drop the pan and pickup tube and check that o ring..

 

[JPS0284]

pump not holding prime can be from the o'ring leaking?

huh.

are you guys taking pumps apart to pack them with grease? I thought I heard from millings they don't want you taking their pumps apart?


I seem to remember there was some stuff in here, but it's an hour long and no one gives time stamps.

I seen that video too. Im running the oem pump and I don’t plan on using grease. A buddy came over and helped me get the oil galley plug out.

so heres my theory, we removed the accessory belt drive to reach the the plug. After getting the plug out we primed about a quart of oil into the system using a hand pump like for refilling differentials or boat lower units. less than a minute after that he plug back in and I fired it up without the belt on and that’s was the only time I had oil pressure. It didn’t buildup as fast as I thought (few seconds) and it reach low to mid 40 psi and let it run for about a minute ish. After shutting it down we re hooked up the accessory bracket and put the belt on, went to fire ut back up and no oil pressure again. Pulled everything to reprint the pump and put 1 1.5 quarts through it the same way and put ut back together same results. I’m no expert by any means but I feel like there’s got to be a air leak somewhere possibly the O ring? I did take the oil pump cover bolts off the pump because I thought I had too, which later I found out wasn’t necessary but I did torque everything to the recommended values. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated Im kind of freaking out a little because it’s my daily driver and I’ve had it tied up in the garage for nearly a week. Should I put a new pump on? Just try a new O ring? Thanks in advance

 

[swathdiver]

If you submerge the o-ring with 2 more quarts of oil and the pressure comes up you'll have your answer.

 

[JPS0284]

If you submerge the o-ring with 2 more quarts of oil and the pressure comes up you'll have your answer

I had it running with 40psi of oil pressure for a solid minute or two, wouldn’t that be enough time to maintain the prime? It only took maybe 10-15 mins to button up a few thing’s before trying again and it was back to no I’ll pressure. Im no expert but I do have a extensive professional hvac hydronic background and this situation feels like something isn’t making a good seal if it keeps draining back into the pan. Does the pump rotor need to be installed in a specific way?

 

[Geotrash]

are you guys taking pumps apart to pack them with grease? I thought I heard from millings they don't want you taking their pumps apart?

Just to be clear, I didn't "pack" it with grease. I only slathered a light coat on the side of the rotor to help promote better suction at startup. It was a method recommended by someone on the LS1 Tech forum. Worked great for me.

 

[JPS0284]

Just to be clear, I didn't "pack" it with grease. I only slathered a light coat on the side of the rotor to help promote better suction at startup. It was a method recommended by someone on the LS1 Tech forum. Worked great for me.

I didn’t mean to offend your technique that worked for you, your detailed walkthrough post was really helpful. Since at one point I had pressure for nearly 2 mins or so, what would you do if you were in my situation?

 

[swathdiver]

I had it running with 40psi of oil pressure for a solid minute or two, wouldn’t that be enough time to maintain the prime?

I don't know.

 

[Geotrash]

I didn’t mean to offend your technique that worked for you, your detailed walkthrough post was really helpful. Since at one point I had pressure for nearly 2 mins or so, what would you do if you were in my situation?

Oh my goodness! No offense taken in the slightest. Just trying to be clear about what I did for you and future readers.

If I were in your shoes, I would be very cautious about starting it without pressure, and find the root cause, which is exactly what you're doing. You could try James' trick of adding 2 extra quarts which should be enough to submerge the o-ring - especially if you can get the back end up on jack stands. If you do, crank it over by hand with a wrench a few times before you crank it.

But since you have the front diff out, I think I would drop the pan if I were in your shoes, and get a look around. Check that o-ring and make sure it's seated right and undamaged. Use clean motor oil on it when you put it back together. Also check the pickup tube and screen for any obstructions. If that doesn't solve it then I would suspect a defective pump.