[ROVERNET - UK] P6B oil pump troubles

[Alan Gale]

Dennis -
There was a lot on this a while back, and it has cropped up a couple of 
times before that.  I am sure others will be able to give a more 
comprehensive answer, but here is a quick and dirty version:
The petroleum jelly method is the book version, but very messy and time 
consuming and conjures up all sorts of innuendo-laden images. "Why is 
daddy going into the garage with big jar of vaseline, mummy?".
The simplest priming method is to destroy a large screwdriver by 
removing the handle, putting the shaft into an electric drill, remove 
the distributor (making sure its position is noted) and then insert the 
screwdriver blade in the slot of the oil pump and press the trigger.  
The pump should prime itself and then start pumping oil into the engine 
galley ways.  You will soon tell once the pump primes - the revs drop 
and the drill really works hard.
I vouch for this rather bush mechanic solution and others on the list 
will too.  If after doing this there is still no oil pressure, then you 
obviously have an a more complex issue.

Has the car been standing still for a long period of time?
Had you previously removed the oil pump?
Maybe the intake strainer in the sump is clogged?  - I know when i 
rebuilt my P6 i was surprised at how clogged with crud mine was.  It was 
a wonder any was getting through at all - perhaps that's why the rebuild 
was needed.

Hope this helps -

Alan G.