Problems swapping a d16y3 in my 91 rt 4wd wagon

Hello everyone, my name is Ross and I have a 91 RT4wd Wagovan.

The car had a d16a6 originally that was super super tired and eventually just completely gave out. I decided to swap a new engine into the wagovan so I started talking with some local import shops (mass whosale ebay sellers) that on a regular basis imported Japanese and Euro engines into the US. There was a guy in Vegas that had several d series engines that would work for my car with the half shaft bolt up and the whole nine yards. He had a d16y3 (Euro engine) in and it had the exact same block and head as my d16a6 however this engine made a little more power and revved a bit higher. Anyways.. I bought the engine and brought it back, and proceeded to go through with the swap with a mechanic buddy of mine.

The engine swap went great, and I had to take the oil pan off of my a6 to put on my y3 for the clearance of certain components etc.. But the issue that I'm running into is that the engine isn't circulating oil. The engine turned over like a brand new car and we proceeded to run the engine for around 30-40 seconds and realized that there was no oil pressure. So I called a buddy of mine that knows d series engines really well and he suggested that I should try more oil in the engine because the oil feed line is shorter on the y3 and the fact that we're using the deeper a6 oil pan means that there is a possibility that the line was sitting in the air and wasn't sucking new oil up. Anyway's we tried more oil, 1 - 1 1/2 more QT's and still no oil pressure. We also took the oil filter off to see if it had any oil in it and there was nothing at all, it was just like we just put it on! Correct me if I'm wrong but I would think that the oil filter should be completely filled up with oil in a few seconds after turning the engine over, let alone almost a minute.

I don't know if this is a messed up oil line or a bad oil pump. But this engine supposedly has around 25k original miles and shows it.. We took the valve cover off when we changed the timing belt and the head was like it was brand new from the factory.

Anyways if you have any suggestions OR if you've had the same issue and you have some input. PLEASE PLEASE let me know!

Thanks!(:

Comments

  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    You MUST use the d16a6 pickup tube along with the a6 oil pan. I'm not familiar with the y3 engine, but this is definitely the case with the d16z6 swap. look in engine quicklinks for a thread about the z6 swap.
  • andys91andys91 Band Wagon
    I'm sure someone else will say this but....did you use the a6 pickup?
    If not, you need to use the pickup that matches the pan.
    I remember reading that here on this forum.
  • andys91andys91 Band Wagon
    OOOPS sorry bam-bam I took too long to post that
  • RaccoonRaccoon Band Wagon
    bam-bam wrote: »
    You MUST use the d16a6 pickup tube along with the a6 oil pan. I'm not familiar with the y3 engine, but this is definitely the case with the d16z6 swap. look in engine quicklinks for a thread about the z6 swap.


    What is the primary difference with the a6 oil pickup? Also what would keep the other one from working?
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    it's shorter, to match the pan. If the pickup is pushed against the pan floor it cannot pick up oil.
  • RaccoonRaccoon Band Wagon
    bam-bam wrote: »
    it's shorter, to match the pan. If the pickup is pushed against the pan floor it cannot pick up oil.

    Thank you sir! I'll try this soon and I'll post a reply on what I found out!
  • andys91andys91 Band Wagon
    Did you have any luck with the pan/pickup?
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