This engine only has 4k on the clock... sigh...

This is what you get when you try to skip a step and fire an engine that has been sitting dry for too long!

Time for a "freshening up" haha.

Crank got a little hot as well:



And one more:




Next time I'll remember to remove the distributor and run the oil pump before I fire anything up!

 

Sucky

 

Tell me about it... i just put that engine in the car last month (after it sitting for a long time). Wish I would have known before I went to all that work!
Lack of oil pressure kind of clued me in, but I stubbornly went in to denial.

 

i understand your pain man my new motor has mabey 1500 miles on it and ive had so many problems already and now im having some funky oil pressure readings not low but gauge drops when i come to a stop then goes back up i think when i go to replace my leaky rear main seal and rebuild my transmission that the motor did manage to kill in such a short time i might pul off the pan and check everything out. mabey ill luck out and mabey the pickup fell off for the oil pump or the gauge be bad

 

What was your oil pressure like after initial start up and then driving around for a while?

 

I would think the initial lube (or lack thereof) wouldn't cause that much havoc....
Do you know what you bearing clearances were? Your oil pump was new? No missing plugs or anything funny?

 

Sonix I bought that engine in 2000, completely overhauled. I have no idea what the clearances were at the time. It sat in the garage for three years before I needed it. It sat again for another 3 years, after about 3 months of use, when I tore the car down. I got a new car, and installed this engine. The oil pressure threw me off, due to a bad sending unit. It would read 0 at idle, and peg at 60 PSI the second I touched the throttle. I assumed it was just the gauge being quirky. It was only when I replaced the sending unit, and saw consistently low readings that I raised an eyebrow. I plugged in a mechanical gauge, and it verified the readings to my dismay. The engine was a complete setup, everything was already installed. We did change the cam before initial startup, but that was it.

Screamin86, if your pickup fell off, you would have zero oil pressure regardless of RPM. The oil pump itself doesn't sit far enough in the pan to pick up any decent volume of oil, so for your sake I hope it's just a quirky gauge.

 

oooohhhhh, 6 years... Yea, ok, that'll do it...
Think you just need the crank polished, and new bearings, or...?

 

Well, according to the bearings, the crank's already .010 under, so i'm taking it to the machine shop tomorrow. The crank's "iffy", i'm not sure if I can polish it or not. The grooves in the journals are "just" enough to catch a fingernail. So we'll see. I'm going to change the main, rod, and cam bearings while I'm at it, there's no point in doing a half-job, ya know?

Everything else in the engine is in good shape, there's no signs of premature wear anywhere else.

 

well man that sucks hope it turns out ok for ya. if i do have a prob in the bottom end i hope to get it soon before it starts realy tearing stuff up. im hoping its just the gauge mine got a new sending unit and holds good pressure until i go to stop and it is full of oil. well good luck

 

Thanks, it just needs the new bearings, and maybe a new crank, which is no biggie in the long run.

What kind of pressure readings are you getting?

 

well about 50-60 start up and 40-45 cruise and at idle about 25 but when i go to stop sign or to stop in general it goes to 0 then back up to 20-25

 

20-25... what's the RPM that shows that PSI?

Typically, these engines will show 25 PSI at hot idle.

 

that is hot idle @ about 800-900rpm its set a lil hight right now. ive told everythign is normal except the gauge dropping to zero then back up

 

Then I'd say you just have a quirky gauge or a bad sending unit, if everything else is normal.... hook a mechanical gauge up to your engine to verify the reading.

 

That is a sure sign that the pick up fell off the oil pump. BTDT.

RBob.

 

ill take a look to see mabey when i pull the tranny for rebuild ill pull the pan to fix that too.

 

I didn't think it would be possible to have any oil pressure without a pickup. Although I cant say from experience, just what a few "old-timers" have told me.

 

well if you think about it the stock pickup hangs just a tad lower than the pump itself if any but that only leaves a small hole in side of pump to get oil and if it shifts to frontof pan there is less near it same at high rpm when more is being pumped through motor

 

Indeed. I take it the pickup wasn't welded on to the pump?

 

nope

 

You'll have to keep us posted with what you find out... another reason I don't think it's the pickup is, the oil pressure would fluctuate, as more or less oil was near the pump entry by sloshing around in the pan or inertia, and if I'm not mistaken, you have very consistent readings, correct? it's always zero when you come to a stop?

Either way, let us know what you find!

 

yea im cona see if i can getunder it sometime in the next day or so and check it out. i moved it the other day and it is facing down hill now and when i first pulled in it went to zero but if i go out right now and start it it runs at like 45-50 w/ nose down hill

 

if the pickup were off the pump, I don't think it would be able to do that, but I'm not saying it can't happen haha.

 

unless its a lil low on il but i just changed it and put mabey at the most 25miles on it. i need a new dipstick the one on there is crimped and i cant get an acurate reading no one has one for the pass side. i can get one from summit but i dunno if i should get the stock style thats chrome or the more expensive billet flexable one

 

If you do get the billet, I would advise test-fitting. A buddy of mine tried that with a 96 block and it drilled a hole into the side of his pan.