So I have been on a somewhat slow repair of a broken exhaust valve on my old 12. I pulled the head & sent it off for rebuild nearly 2 years ago. The blade sat in my shop with the head off, the rocker arms & push rods out & the oil drained with a sheet of plastic over the engine. Finally got it back together, got the pony running, and no oil pressure showing on the gauge after spinning the big motor for about 3 or 4 minutes. Also, no oil showing up on the top end either. Got scared and shut it down and pulled the cover off the right side of the oil pan, thinking maybe a mouse got in there and gummed up the intake screen. I haven't got the bell off yet to look at the screen, but from first impressing, it all looks pretty good. Anybody got any thoughts? From the book it looks like there is an intake screen at the rear of the motor, too, but can't get to that without pulling the engine, which I really don't want to do.

Hi Flatop27,
welcome to the BB.
depending up your Serial Number your engine will need 22 Qts. of oil for S/No 8T1 to 8T16360 and 26 Qts. for S/No's 8T16361 and up.
If you filled to the dipstick High Level mark then you will be short of oil.
Also be aware that the Oil Clutch, which is part of the engine oil system, can hold an amount of the engine oil when cold hence the need for warm/hot oil checks as layed out in your Operation and Maintenance Book

If you happen to be not aware that Cat dipsticks are checked with the engine running at Low Idle and with Hot OIL (checked at end of each days running)--usual pre-start check can show the oil overfull by an average of around 1" overfull.

Always include your S/No when asking about your machine as Cat constantly does upgrades during production and so we can give you incorrect and possibly damaging incorrect data.

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

Hi Flatop27,
welcome to the BB.
depending up your Serial Number your engine will need 22 Qts. of oil for S/No 8T1 to 8T16360 and 26 Qts. for S/No's 8T16361 and up.
If you filled to the dipstick High Level mark then you will be short of oil.
Also be aware that the Oil Clutch, which is part of the engine oil system, can hold an amount of the engine oil when cold hence the need for warm/hot oil checks as layed out in your grey Operation and Maintenance Instruction Book

If you happen to be not aware that Cat dipsticks are checked with the engine running at Low Idle and with Hot OIL (checked at end of each days running)--usual pre-start check can show the oil overfull by an average of around 1" overfull.

Always include your S/No when asking about your machine as Cat constantly does upgrades during production and so we can give you incorrect and possibly damaging incorrect data.

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

I agree, no oil to the top side, time to stop and recheck things.

I wonder if your pump tolerances are getting to the point that with time sitting the oil drained out and it can’t pick up the oil. Maybe you could prime the system with a couple quarts of oil using a hand pump or pressure pot plumbed into the external oil manifold.

You are probably refilling the oil cooler as well as the engine oil manifold, filters etc, so it’ll take a considerable volume of oil but that shouldn’t be a problem with that high volume oil pump once it picks up the oil.

"edb" wrote:

Hi Flatop27,
welcome to the BB.
depending up your Serial Number your engine will need 22 Qts. of oil for S/No 8T1 to 8T16360 and 26 Qts. for S/No's 8T16361 and up.
If you filled to the dipstick High Level mark then you will be short of oil.
Also be aware that the Oil Clutch, which is part of the engine oil system, can hold an amount of the engine oil when cold hence the need for warm/hot oil checks as layed out in your grey Operation and Maintenance Instruction Book

If you happen to be not aware that Cat dipsticks are checked with the engine running at Low Idle and with Hot OIL (checked at end of each days running)--usual pre-start check can show the oil overfull by an average of around 1" overfull.

Always include your S/No when asking about your machine as Cat constantly does upgrades during production and so we can give you incorrect and possibly damaging incorrect data.

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

Thanks, sorry about that, the serial # is 8T 12795 SP. It has the dry clutch, but for sure needs to fill the oil cooler and filters. Think I will put it back together and fill it a little fuller. I didn't actually time how long I had it spinning, when I didn't see any pressure on the gauge, my heart kind of skipped a beat. It has always pegged the oil pressure needle pretty quickly when I would spin it before I left it set. Thanks for the response

"Flatop27" wrote:

Thanks, sorry about that, the serial # is 8T 12795 SP. It has the dry clutch, but for sure needs to fill the oil cooler and filters. Think I will put it back together and fill it a little fuller. I didn't actually time how long I had it spinning, when I didn't see any pressure on the gauge, my heart kind of skipped a beat. It has always pegged the oil pressure needle pretty quickly when I would spin it before I left it set. Thanks for the response

Thought I would give an update on my project. I opened up the oil filter canisters - no oil. I poured a bit in, then disconnected the line from the exterior main bearing oil tube to the pressure gauge. I rigged up a line from the oil tube to a funnel, and was able to get about a quart and a half into the oil tube. The schematic looked like that should lead right to the pump. Put everything back together and fired up the pony. Within about 20 seconds, it pegged the oil pressure gauge, oil started flowing onto the top end. I bled the fuel lines and it started up pretty good. I reset the lifters, and will retorque the head & hopefully, be on my way for getting her back into the dirt. Forgot to mention, a did add a bit more oil, up to about 1 inch over the full mark without the diesel running. It is showing a bit overfull, but guess I'll just run it that way. I will use a little anyway.

Flattop, you are probably still a little low on oil. You said oil level was about 1 inch

above full mark with engine stopped. Oil level should be checked before you shut

engine down. ( engine warmed up and at a low idle ) Usually check before shutting

down at end of day

Good luck

Claney

Hi Team,
well done there and thanks for the update--we always pre-lubed dry engines at the Dealer so, what you have done is the correct thing if the oil pump was very dry after sitting--can happen when drained HOT and then left for a period.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

I had something similar happen recently, went and started my 2 Ton and noticed immediately there was no pressure showing on the gauge, this tractor has a fully rebuilt engine, new Stewart Warner oil gauge, oil was full, in fact slightly overfull, and I was sure the tractor had been driven in the last 12 months.

Thinking it was a gauge issue I shut her down, then restarted her, as I've never had this happen before, same thing happens, no oil pressure, so shut her down again, luckily Andrew Kennedy from Qld was visiting so I dragged the 2 Ton out of the shed with his help on another tractor, pulled the spark plugs out of the 2 Ton and quietly pulled her in 3rd gear for 20 or 30 yards to see if the oil gauge would kick into life, it didn't, so we pulled the 2 Ton to the workshop and removed the oil pump, thinking maybe a drive key had sheared off, but no, the gears were working, there was just no oil in it!!

So we lubed the oil pump, refitted it, added some oil to the engine and once again dragged her quietly in gear with the spark plugs out, and within a few yards the oil pressure gauge jumped to life, what a relief, but also what a surprise. In the 13 years of owning a pair of 2 Ton tractors, and starting them up once a year at least, I've never had one go dry, but just to be on the safe side I now keep a log book of the old Cats, of when I drive them, and what I do to them, because it might seem it was only a few months ago I drove one, but it might have been a year, or more.
Mike

Hi Team,
it is a known problem with the 2 Ton engines due to the oil pump being above the crankcase oil level--it is the reason why so many 2 Ton engines have" kicked a leg out of bed"==thrown a conrod or run their bearings which due to the close tolerances between the conrod big end and the crankcase wall she will start knocking and quickly progress to a chunk out of the sump rail at No 4.

When they have sat a while, my recommended starting procedure is to remove an oil gallery plug and squirt some clean engine oil in with your clean and trusty pump action oil can until no more will go in--replace the plug and quickly start her up all the while checking the oil pressure gauge.

I warn everyone I come across but sometimes this gets forgotten when you have not started your unit for a while--if as Mike says, keep an eye on your oil pressure gauge and if in 20-30 seconds you still have no pressure--STOP the engine and prime the system as described above.

I think the air gets into the oil pump and lines when the pump shaft bearing areas get worn, also from memory the idler gear shaft is not a tight fit in its housing and so wears too and lets air in and so there is no longer a vacuum there to hold the oil in place--it slowly drains back and leaves the pump and lines un-primed.
The oil lines also are swagged into the sump casting and may also leak air if they have had a hard time
The fun never ends Boys.
Cheers,
Eddie B.