Yesterday I was driving normally when I noticed a slight tick...hmm thats strange... as I drive home it gets worse and was clacking loud and chugging at idle. Checked the oil and it was within normal range.

The clacking sounded like rockers so I pulled the drivers valve cover off. The one valve that was closed had a bunch of slop in it. Took atleast one full turn to get to zero lash. So I started the engine and adjusted them all to 3/4 past 0 lash. After that I could still hear slight ticks on the other bank but wanted to drive it to see if anything changed. After about 60 seconds the clacking got way worse and felt like it lost some power. I LOOK DOWN AT MY OIL PRESSURE AND ITS AT 15 PSI AT IDLE! Normally its at 30 minimum.

So...

1. Cam whiped and the metal dust is clogging passages?

2. Lifter(s) collapsed resulting in clacking, loose rockers, low oil pressure?

3. Possible rocker studs started pulling out?

I am going to dig into it tonight and see what I find.

Any suggestions?

 

A bad lifter wont cause low oil pressure on the gauge/bottom end.

Your gauge may be bad and the lifter may have failed around the same time. But I think it sounds like you lost a lobe and it's wreaking havoc on your bottom end bearings. Since you caught it early you may be able to just disassemble, clean, and replace the bearings and gaskets and put it back together. But it may be a good chance to improve your combo.

 

Lost multiple lobes if not all, metal dust is everywhere which is clearly why oil pressure dropped. I will be doing exactly that. Bigger cam, performer rpm, holley dp. Starting a new thread to gain some advice on a cam and any other performance suggestions.

Thanks