If you did not follow my instructions, which from your post I can't tell if you did or not, I can't help you. "Short bursts" can be 1 second long for all I know. It takes quite some time of cranking to get oil pressure, hence my 7-10 second recommendation.

a crappy starter, like a crappy battery, will not allow you to get the oil pressure you need at crankover.

I should add one more thing to my list after you've checked the pressure relieve valve and then backfed oil into the engine by force (versus just gravity) : turn the motor over by starter with the plugs removed when trying to obtain oil pressure.

I pulled my oil cooler line and put it back into the engine. I was able to stuff a small amount of oil at a time into a funnel plugged in the end. I would say 2 to 3 cups worth of oil was sucked in total.

I turned over the motor for several bursts and got nothing. Then the starter acted up and I found the brushes are worn. Of course.

I really think something else is up with the oil pump. I can try to stuff more oil in the line but it feels like I'm missing something.

The last thing I need to check is the pressure valve. I pulled the nut and spring but can't seem to get the bullet out. Any tips on that one?

Spank's points about the pressure relief valve are important, and considering the recent history of the drivetrain I had thought of posting on that topic, since the oprv likely saw a lot of material from the failing bearings, gears, shafts and castings.

I had a funnel that had been screwed into the oil output, but now use a banjo bolt that has been drilled through and had a sleeve pushed in to it that accepts a hose and funnel. It is quite tidy. 

I still spill oil all over everything.

I'm with mur, and I've experiencd what cheleker has mentioned as well.

Do not pull the motor until you have fed a good 1/4 qt of oil into your oil pump through the banjo bolt hole.
I've been able to do this by taking a harbor freight funnel and trimming the pointy end until it will actually bite and start to thread into the block holding itself and sealing.

Pre-step1: charge your battery fully. Don't just say, "oh it cranks fine"-- go and make absolutely sure it is as strong as it can be. Don't ask me why I know this is impt for getting oil pressure. just don't. It's embarrassing.

step 1, check your oil pressure relief valve. Pull out the spring and plunger. Don't fret over the outside scratches it will likely have on the barrel of the plunger-- just smooth out the high spots on the side with very light sand paper on a hard surface if needed. The sealing surface is the tapered face of it. And you can actually lap it in if the tapered face is buggered, but that's a different post. Just make sure the plunger will slide in and out and there's no debris in the bore.

Step 2, reinstall the plunger, spring, and cap.

step 3, jack up JUST THE US PASSENGER SIDE (clutch side) FRONT WHEEL by putting a low jack under the bottom suspension arm and jacking up there until it's off the ground (chock the other wheels/set the handbrake). Make sure you don't lift too high and that the drivers side front wheel is still in healthy contact with the ground.

step 4 put your car in a forward gear like 2nd or 4th.

step 5 remove the oil cooler line from the block (or for others w/o an oil cooler the oil pipe banjo bolt and loosen the oil line fitting at the oil filter housing and swivel the oil line out of the way).

step 5 thread the funnel into the block and fill it with oil.

step 6, grab the passenger / clutch side tire that's jacked into the air and rotate it backwards so your motor spins backwards (watch the fan-- it'll spin anti-clockwise as your viewing it from the passenger / clutch side with your chin on the fender.

step 7, feed a good 1/4-1/2 qt of fresh motor oil into it and keep rotating the motor backwards. If after you've rotated the wheel and engine backwards a good 20 wheel revolutions you should have seen the oil level in the funnel start to drop accordingly with each rotation. If you haven't, do it another 20 times. Make sure you're good and frustrated and tired from rotating the engine backwards by hand and via the wheel before you proceed to pulling the motor.

After you've gotten the oil to suck into the block via the method described above,

Step B1 reconnect the oil cooler line into the block but make sure it is not connected to your oil cooler itself. (for others, reconnect the oil line banjo fitting and retighten the line at the filter head).

B2 stick the dangling oil cooler line into a oil catch pan (or for others with the metal oil pipe reconnected to filter head, unthread the spin on filter until it is completely removed from the filter head).

B3 with the oil cooler line stuck into a drain pan (or filter removed and a catch pan underneath the filter head), get into the car, take it out of gear making sure it is in neutral, foot off the clutch, then crank it over in 7-10 second bursts until you've got a partner or friend to verify that you've missed your catch pan completely and you've now got oil running all over your workspace floor.

If after you've backfed 1/2 a qt of oil into your block and all the other things I described above and you STILL cant get oil to come pumping out of the oil cooler hose (not the cooler, just the hose from block to bucket or filter head with no filter on it) then, yea, go ahead and pull your motor.

But if oil DOES come pumping out each time you crank it, then connect the cooler line back up to your oil cooler and unthread the oil filter completely and move your catch pan to under the filter head and crank it some more until you've confirmed oil can pass through your cooler. Once you've got confirmation that oil will pump out of your filter head, go ahead and put your oil filter up there again and crank in bursts until you've got pressure on your gauge (or you can remove the oil pressure fitting from the block and crank until someone says you have oil coming out of your block at the gauge fitting).

Once you've confirmed pressure everywhere, we'll wait for your next thread that's titled, "Got Oil Pressure, But It Won't Start. Now What?"

CTR. I hear what you are saying and I understand your frustration. I am dealing with my situation as I see fit. I was able to purchase used parts and get the car back together for what may be temporary, and may be for a long time. When I mentioned the .006 on 'both sides" I mean the fore and aft of the idle shaft on the same face of the thrust washer. Meaning it is square to the transmission. Everything was replaced except the transmisson case.

I'll see what I can find tonight, but I'm not in any dire hurry. Honestly I have a midget in pieces, a mini in pieces and a Lotus with the trans at a shop (which is coincidentally toast). I am doing this all in a single stall of our main garage. I'm out of room. I don't want everything or anything to get mixed up. I'm a shade tree mechanic with experience. I'm not a race car driver and I don't do work for others. I do however enjoy repairing everything I can. I make mistakes. I pay the price for those mistakes.

Don Racine, DK Lawson, Mike Guido, and several more have been priceless help to the enjoyment of my driving and family experiences. Thank you for that. Hopefully my handle "HelpMyMini" is a good indicator of where I stand as far as a member here.

I ask because I want to learn. I may not always take your advice, but I listen to all of it.

I run a small business by myself and juggle it with 3 teenage girls and a wife. If I don't get back to an email, please understand.

Steve: P.S. The Lotus Trans was likely DOA so shipping it anywhere would have cost me money that could be better spent on one of the other cars.

Seconding what Cheleker has said, there was a batch of oil pumps a few years ago that had the spade drive machined wrong - it removed all the end float from the cam, and when it was all tightened up, the pump back warped and lost pressure.

Did you remove the oil pressure relief valve and clean it ?

Idler gear end float should be .003" to .008" total movement - what do you mean by .006" on both sides ?

Did you cut away the excess paper gasket around the o-ring or leave it in place ?

I normally prime a pump with about a pint of oil by backfilling it through the banjo bolt while turning the engine backwards by hand.  Pushing the car back in fourth can easily see you losing the column of oil into the sump and losing prime again.

From dklawsons post: " Did you make sure all the pump mounting bolts were tightened during installation." There's a sneaky corollary to that one. A couple of times I've found that the old bolts that held the original oil pump in place bottomed out in the block putting a new (and narrower, it turned out) pump in. They tightened up perfectly, but the pump wasn't tight in the block. Sorry, I don't remember the block/pump type.

I'm with Mur on this one. Having watched your post for years I'm over it. Helpmymini is clearly something you expect of others as well as give away parts. I'd say it not having oil pressure is the cars way of telling you enough is enough. Six thou. on each side that's twice the max and 4 times what I'd shot for via thrusts, select fitting gaskets and even machining the clutch housing. I'd say it won't be long before we revisit this issue. 

You contacted me about rebuilding your tranny. I replied asking for pictures so I could see if it was worth shipping the parts. Your reply was can you do my Lotus tranny as well. No pictures no follow up. You started a thread looking for drop gear parts awhile back. I noticed you failed to reply to that one once people started calling you out for damage you keep laying on what could be a very special car in caring hands. Sorry if this does not make you happy. I have been biting my tongue for years. Good luck with that. Steve (CTR)

The trans will pop out of second, and the thrust washer face was scored but since the bearing had lost it's needles the idler cocked sideways 1/16th leaving 1/16th of a lip to keep the new thrust bearing flat. I got .006" end float on both sides.

I'll try to suck additional oil into the block later today. Hopefully that will be the solution. I really don't want to have to pull the engine again but I'm getting good at it.

The oil pump I had showed scoring from debris so I replaced it with a new 'normal' 50 psi pump.

Wasn't that gearbox a complete wreck? Maybe the oil pump already picked up a bit of junk and seized up solid, shearing the drive.

Your brief description of trying to backfeed the pump makes me wonder, as Doug suggested, if you did that enough. If you remove the line TO the oil cooler and pour oil into the gallery you will see the oil level rise and eventually, if you overfill, leak out. If the relief valve is not fully closed it will not fill, as the oil will go to the sump that way. Once full you should be able to see the oil level drop as the pump is turned backwards by pushing the car backwards in a forward gear, or by turning the engine the wrong way via the fan.

If the oil does not rise when you pump it in, or if it does not get drawn into the pump, then you have problems.

Did you pack the new pump with assembly lube or Vaseline?  If using a spin-on filter, did you fill it with oil before screwing it onto the filter head?  Did you make sure all the pump mounting bolts were tightened during installation.  Not knowing which pump/cam combination you have... are all the pump drive components in place?  When you had the engine and gearbox separated, you didn't remove the oil pickup tube did you?  A number of people have said that it takes more than one attempt to backfill the system like you tried rolling the car.  Maybe try a few times.

Out of curiosity, why do you think the turbo pump was related to the primary gear issue?  100 PSI is high, maybe it would have helped to cut some coils off the relief spring and/or fit an adjustable relief valve. 

I pulled my engine out about a month ago when I had a whining idler gear. I since replaced several parts (primary, idler, idler bearings, drop down gear cover and OIL PUMP). I had a turbo pump with a consistent 100 psi before so after the blown idler gear bearing I figured I'd go back to a 'normal' oil pump. The engine is back on the trans, cover and wok are back on and the lump is in the car. I turned it over (never started it) for 100s of times but can't get the oil pressure gauge to rise off zero.

the gaskets are new, the O ring is in place between the case and block, and it's full of oil. Any help?

I even tried to pour oil in the cooler line going into the block and push the car backwards in 4th. Nothing.

This ain't my first time putting the engine in. It ran great with great pressure when pulled. What did I do wrong?