MustangMuncher

Well I built my 355 last fall and noticed that when I get on the brakes hard for a light that just turned the oil pressure drops to 0 I mean nothing.....and yes it has plenty of oil in it, and when it is level again the oil pressure is at 30 or above. I built this motor and my only thinking is that maybe the baffel in the oil pan is not right and its flowing away from the pump. Does anyone know exactly why it would say I am losing oil pressure when braking but return fine when I am accelerating or standing still???

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

hmmm.. sounds like the pickup is being exposed. Is your dipstick correct? Id check to see that it shows the correct ammount of oil in the pan.

Odyssey

Nah.. the pickup isn't exposed. There IS no pickup! I'm 99% positive your oil pickup fell off the oil pump. Did you weld it to the pump when you built the engine ?

p.s. I should know.. it happened to me TWICE. Now I learned my lesson and I bought the moroso bolt on pickup!

Odyssey

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Odyssey

By the way dimented24x7...

I fixed up your signature picture if you want to use it....

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

ohhh... duh... i dint see that you fixed the shadow on it. Thanks... ill go into photoshop later and mess around with it.

MustangMuncher

That would have been my assumption as well, but we did spot weld the pickup and it was one son of a b*tch to get into the pump to begin with. I had to use a mallot and a little persuation! haha.....any more guesses?

RB83L69

The oil is definitely running away from the pickup. Most commonly, the fallen-off pickup is the cause. Regardless of how well you put it on there, there's still a chance that it has come off, and when you brake hard, the hole it came out of is uncovered by the oil sloshing forward. Don't dismiss the obvious just because on a personal level it seems unpleasant to accept.

"The simplest explanation that fits all the facts is usually the right one."
— Occam, ancient Grek philosopher, from the days of non-pressurized (dipper) oil systems

What pan are you using? Does it have a baffle at the front of the sump to keep the oil from sloshing up to the very front of the motor? Do you have a windage tray?

MustangMuncher

Yeah you have a valid point.....do you think when I change the oil next time it is possible I could see it floating around? Exactly how hard is it to take the oil pan off?? I know the motor would have to be jacked up off its mounts and what else? The tranny dropped and the flywheel removed so I could take the pan off??

MustangMuncher

The pan is an aftermarket with a baffle and an extension into the sump area....It looked like an OEM replacement pan but only chrome.

RB83L69

I don't know if you could see it or not... of course if you can, like if it's sitting there in front of the drain plug, then you'd have your answer; but just because you don't see it, doesn't mean everything is still alright.

It's pretty much a hassle to get the pan off in one of these cars. I've never tried it myself, always seemed easier to me to just yank it out, but it is said to be possible.

Without seeing the pan I couldn't guess how effective its baffling is.

You might want to try running an extra quart and see if that helps. I'd do just about anything to keep from getting into obvious oil starvation, until I could find out the actual cause of the problem. Whatever problems a little too much oil might cause, no oil is bound to be worse.

Hulk0202

Did you use a new oil pressure sending unit. I had the same problem, and this fixed it. Don't always skip over the easy problems. Not that you did, but it may be the problem.

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

you could try sticking a bent up coat hanger in through the drain plug and probe around for the pickup. Its not as good as visually verifying that the pickup is still attached but it might give you soem idea of whats going on in there.