A friend of mine suggested possibly running the motor at 2500 rpm or so to work the lifters a little harder to get oil working through them...is that a good idea?

 

I can't see that hurting it, but I wouldn't do it until you knew for sure you had oil pressure. From the vid, it sounds like like it could be the rockers...but then again it kinda sounds like the fuel injectors as they make a tick as well. Like Craby said in the other post, I'd try adjusting everything first and then see how it does.

 

Does the oil pump rely on any signal that comes through the sending unit to operate? I know the plug would account for the gauge reading as it does. But other than that, would any operations be affected by the lack of a signal to the sending unit?

 

I don't believe so, but I honestly can't say for sure. That's one question I'll have to leave to someone else to verify.

 

No. The oil pump is purely mechanical, shaft driven off the cam gear in back.

 

That's what I thought. So do you agree with MK in that I should wait to try running anything more until I have the plug fixed and I can verify oil pressure?

 

Yeah, it wouldn't hurt to be able to monitor the engine. Although nothing should be wrong, it's good to have that extra reassurance.

 

Right. I'll take a look at fixing it as soon as I get back from work. Now, what do you think of the valve noise? Is that just because the lifters need to be filled with oil, or do you think it's an adjustment issue?

 

Probably a little of both. I would pop the valve covers off and run start the motor.

 

The lifters are getting oiled when the engine is running, they're not going to stay dry even if they started out that way. Although, you don't want them "dry" to begin with, at the very least pour oil over them before or after you install them. What lash adjustment procedure did you follow?