94 3.4L changed oil, now no pressure

[Revver]

Ok, I warm up the engine before changing the oil. 45-60 psi depending on RPMs.

Let the oil drain for about 30 minutes while I cool off inside my house in the A/C.
Reinstall drain plug, add 4 quarts of oil, check dipstick, reads FULL. Did not change the Fram oil filter

Start engine, no oil pressure. Idle for about 30 seconds and the gauge still reads 0.
Now what? Did the pump lose it's prime? Do I need to remove the oil pan & replace the pump? Or something else?

It's a 94 3.4 L V-6 with 152K miles. Oil has been changed every 3k miles since new.

[Joe 1320]

I would think that if you indeed lost all oil pressure, that motor would be making a ton of noise. Verify the oil pressure by removing the sending unit and using a mechanical gauge. If you have pressure, then the sending unit is bad. Maybe the wire came off the sending unit?

[Revver]

I thought the oil in the filter may be acting as a barrier to the air in the pump.

Replaced the Fram with an AC PF47
Removed injector fuses so that the engine would not start.
Cranked engine with starter for 15 seconds of which towards the very end the oil pressure gage needle leaped off of "0".
Replaced the fuses
Started engine
Approx 50 psi at idle.

Posted this same question on the Fiero Forum at about the same time as I posted it here. Got 5 replys.

Check it out:
http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/110136.html

[Joe 1320]

OK..........

Not sure what the point is but glad you fixed it. 99% on here are V8 people, only a couple have v6s. Perhaps that's why all the responses on the Fiero forum. They are mostly v6 owners.

But...... Never seen one lose prime like that. Still makes me wonder though. These engines have hydraulic lifters. If you have no oil pressure, the lifters will collapse and you'll have a ton of noise. Interesting.

[Rob B (shoebox)]

You should not be using a Fram filter in the first place (poor performers) and there is little point in changing the oil without the filter. (I now see the same things were said in the Fiero forum) If you had changed the filter like most people do, you probably would not have ever had to askt the question.

It's been a while since I have seen a person come on a board and then complain about the response. If you have not noticed, this board is pretty slow these days. I would imagine the Fiero people know you, since that is what you drive and have over 3500 posts there.