I just installed a new GM 350 crate engine part # 10067353.

When I first got it going I used Comp Cams 10w30 break in oil and after running it an hour or so changed the oil with 10w30 with rislone zinc booster.

At first my oil pressure was good, 25-30 lbs at a hot idle.

After about 10 days of driving and probably 200 miles on the car it only carries 14 lbs at hot idle.

This seems awful low for a new engine, what do you guy think?

 

That is awfully low for a new motor. Anything I've ever rebuilt using even a stock replacement pump has had 25-30lbs on 5w-30.

 

Seems a little low to me to. Oil have gas in it? sending unit or gauge wonky? I'd be ok with 14 lbs on an old motor at 600 RPM, but would like to see more on a fresh rebuild. Does pressure build with rpm? what pressure at 2k?

 

No gas in oil, even changed oil and still same pressure. Idle is about 650 in drive.
I verified the pressure with a good sunpro mechanical gauge.
Pressure rises fine with rpm, usually have around 40 cruising at 2000 rpm or so.

 

Sounds perfectly fine to me, for what it is... a STOCK GM replacement phone company van motor. It's not a racer.

Put your mind to rest. Drive it. Enjoy it for what it is (dependable transportation), don't worry about what it isn't (performance).

 

Yea, if it gets to 40 by 2k RPM, it's good. I'd like more but thats within range. I'd grumble to myself once or twice then get over it and drive it for the next 150 k miles.

 

I bought the engine from JEG's. I emailed one of their tech experts.
He said that seems a little low but within the acceptable range.
He said to cut open my filters and if there is alot of metal in there I may have a problem.

Supposedly these engines come stock with a high volume pump so that really makes me nervous. The 305 in my truck with 180k on it and a high volume pump holds almost 25 psi at idle.

 

That is low but if it increases well at higher rpms then there should be a problem, considering youll probably be driving more than idling.

 

Not going to be as nice as Sofa was.LOOK-these crate engines are the lowest detonator of mixed low dollar parts found on God's green earth.BTW Jeg's,Summit,GM,don't build a damm thing.They use a jobber.QC is a bad joke!!!. Like the oil pressure doesn't have too much to do with the oil pump as much as the bearing clearances do.Many are a make fit build.Plain truth.

 

Sounds normal for that engine.

 

Inspect filter and oil after draining. Magnet on drain plug

If no issue there then good to go. These things arent blueprinted i dont think so clearances can be all over the place. 14 at hot idle is low but can be ok. What matters is normal cruise and wot rpms, if you got atleast 10 psi per 1000 rpm you are ok by most standards. 40 by 2000 is great. I wouldnt be alarmed. High volume doesnt always mean high pressure

Also keep a eye on temps. Hotter oil will give low pressure. It may need heavier oil or oul cooler if too hot. I'd say 200-230 deg oil temps are fine, higher could explain why so low on pressure

 

Well, I figured out part of the problem. The tack on my dash was not accurate. A friend stopped by with a good timing light with a built in tach. Idle was a bit low. Once idle was set to the correct spec, oil pressure at hot idle was 20 psi. I'm much more happy with that.
By the way, my "phone company van" motor has a good cam, intake and headers. Chevy High performance magazine built a similar engine that made over 300 hp.
I think it would surprise a lot of people.

 

woohoo, glad to hear, I'd be happier once seeing that

 

Never take magazine articles as anything close to the facts.They are selling parts.

 

I am by no means an expert like some of the guys on here but I have been driving chevy's all my life my ex father-in-law has been a chevrolet mechanic for over 30 years and according to him a 350 is good as long as you have a minimum of 8 psi oil pressure no I am of the same mind as the others on here if mine drops below 25-30 psi on an older engine I go into cardiac arrest until I get it straightened out and back to what I consider normal operating range lol

 

The good old rule of thumb is 10 psi min for every 1,000 rpm.

High volume and high pressure pumps are two different thing.

Those cheaper crate engines are service replacement engines.. Yes they can be made to have more power with cam, head, intake, etc changes but they are built as a replacement not a race engine.. So bearing clearances will not be as spot on as a true blueprinted performance build would be.

It's been so long since I looked a the factory range specs but IIRC bearing clearances for stock or jobber type rebuild is in the..
Rod .0011" to .0035
Main .0015" to .0038"

For a performance build you stick with
Rod .002" to .0025"
Main .002" to .003"

 

Thats a good engine for what it is - reliable, cheap transportation. It should serve you well for 300k miles. It's a low compression 350 with low compression heads with ports that emphasize torque over power. The dished low compression pistons are going to severely limit any performance gains you might get with a cam/head swap later on. They're just not really performance engines, but they're not bad for what they are. The 290hp version of the Goodwrench 350 is much, much worse. That's truly a terrible engine. That 290hp number is magical fairy nonsense and that engine is an embarassment to engines.

There's a lot of misleading things about those magazine numbers.... they're not directly comparable to the way the factory rates horsepower these days. They are, in a sense, different units of power being used. At least, the testing methodology is much looser. If you pay attention to what parts they use, they are can be compared to other magazine numbers. But they are not real world numbers. It's true mags are trying to sell parts, but mags are also trying to sell mags. If they put out an article that says "Cheap 350 can be upgraded to make 275hp with a 2000 RPM power band!"... or "Hot junkyard 305 makes 225hp!".... that's not going to sell mags. You tweak the standards in your favor to get the most embellished number you can get, and then you publish that number. They're not lying, they're just being a little evasive. But in the real world you'll need to subtract at least 30 percent of that magazine number off of it to get something closer to a real world fwhp number with bolt ons.

 

That is very true. It's gross vs net ratings really. Back in the 50's, 60's and early 70's the big 3 use to do the same thing. Look at the power on a '73 350 and same RPO coded engine in '73. They power dropped off by over 50 HP.

They use to rate them at gross power meaning dyno exhaust, no acc. drives, no belts, no air filter.

Then they changed to net. The power was still measured at the crank but engine was as installed in car.. Car exhaust, alt, water pump, power steering pump, air cleaner housing, etc

The car mags does that little gross rated thing alot. Look at the pictures or vids of the engine on dyno. It has headers, elec. water pump, no alt., no power steering pump, etc.