oil problems

chesterpaul

hi everyone new guy here
just bought another vectra to add to my collection so i now have a 1998 saloon sri140 silver,2001 estate sri150 silver, 2001 hatchback sri150 satin red,maybe iam just greedy lol at least i have 1 of each now
anyway i bought the hatchback with suspected cam chain failure,but after removing rocker cover found the top end of the engine to be lacking any oil and very dry?cam chain still in place and in good condition,the condition of the oil is horrible as if it has never had a change in its life,i decided to bite the bullet and turn the engine of the key,it sounds as if it aint got any spark plugs in it and also no oil seem to be pumping up to the cams?does anyone know if the lifters empty of oil would it sound like this??
i was just going to take the head of but now plan to drop the oil, clean as much of the gunge of fit a new type feed nozzle and new chain tensioner ,and tow the car in gear to try and fill the lifters back up with oil before trying to fire it up on the key any advice would be a great help on if you think this a good idea
just wana add what a great site this is you all seem sound cheers.. cheers..

vocky

could be oil pump failure or a blocked oil pick up in the sump dunno..

drop the sump, have a clean, new oil + filter

ps: with the plugs removed you can crank the engine to 'pump up' the followers

chesterpaul

thanks for that mate quick update on it took plugs out and cranked it over also covering the head in oil as i did it and found a snapped cam shaft holder? if thats what its called?its what holds the cam shaft in place,anyway found it scored to death inside also on the camshaft itself, so took a couple more of and they where the same think its down to lack of oil changes coz the the oil was thick and black,so iam going to try and get a pair of cam shafts and lids and bolt them in also do what you said drop sump clean etc also chain cover off n clean while iam in there do you think i could get away with no damage to bottom end??? or is it worth taking the head off anyway?
p.s just goes to show you should always change your oil and filter on these engine i do my other 2.2 every 5000k dont know thats to much or not but at least i know its done

vocky

sounds like oil pump failure / blocked oil pick up pipe

chesterpaul

thats what iam thinking now,got the sump of now what a nightmare that was in its self,anyway pick up pipe clear as a bell so next job is to remove the chain cover and have a look at the pump,just one last quick question am i right in saying that where the cams sit in the head do they have shims for the cams to sit in?because iam thinking if the cams are very badly scored and also the caps that hold them to the head are also bad then the underneath side of them also will be badly scored which means the cylinder head has had it?unless them have shims that can be changed?ive got a second hand head on the way just in case thanks again for your time and reply

vocky

cams sit straight into the head, so the bearing is the head !