thanks for your input but there is no need to check pressure when you can here the rattling of dry lifters, there may be some pressure but surely it's very low

 

I would think that the main causes of low oil pressure would be:

oil pressure relief valve stuck open on front timing cover,
oil filter bypass inside oil filter activated,
Walked cam bearing,
Worn cam, Main, or rod bearings,
Scored front timing cover,
Broken oil pump gears,
Cracked block.

 

Thank you for your input, that gives me some ideas to check, there would have been a substantial jar to the drive train when the front drive shaft took a chunk out of the transmission

 

Rebuilding the engine. Yikes, I'll save $500 (doesn't come easy) if I don't have to buy new cover. Thanks......Thumbs Up or Down (pics)

 

Maybe I need better pics?

 

Looks roughly OK to me. When you check your oil pressure after reinstalling the motor, you can always pull the front cover and replace with a new one if your oil pressure is less than desirable on restart.

You don't have to pull the motor again for that cover replacement.

...so maybe try saving the $500 initially, but if oil pressure is too low then drop the oil pan and replace the old with the new cover.




Low oil pressure ...from the front cover... isn't going to be so bad on your internals after just one start. Spending the $500 upfront might be wasting money. You might not need a new cover.

 

Can you feel grooves or ridges in the cover, where the gears sit?
It looks like it's rough in those pictures.
If you can hang a fingernail on it, chances are it's worn down.

 

New cover. Why mess around? Looks scored to me.

 

You need a new front cover. Mine looked better than the pictures and I had about 6 lbs at idle. Just enough to turn the light off, but not enough to properly lube this engine. The new cover got me up to around 15 lbs at idle.


As was stated, you may well have a #4 cam bearing that has shifted out of its bore.


Proper cam bearing clearance is key to the top end having the right oil pressure.

 

I decided to rebuild the 4.0 when the temporary fix for overheating quit working after 4years. The mains/rod bearings were somewhat scored. No oil presssure light was coming on. No clacky lifters. No rod knocking. Just lots of coolant pressure after 4 minutes running. I had crank ground .10. So now you understand why I'm on the fence regarding new timing cover.