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So F***ing pissed rant. RUNNING WOO HOOOOO Q??

Isn't it bad to run open headers regardless b/c it will burn up your valves?

I remember someone once saying you could get away with it if you ran stainless valves... just curious on this one.
 
talked with my uncle today and he brought up a good point,
When I put my intake manifold on wrong the first time, I had a lot of coolant leak into the oil valley and down into the pan. Like 3 quarts or so. I wonder if that had an impact on the oil pump. It sat with coolant in the bottom for a week probably. I pulled the intake and dumped a quart of oil into the valley to clean out the coolant. I then dumped the pan. Filled the engine with oil again, then dumped it again....trying to get any remaining coolant out.

I put a mechanical gauge on this morning. $18 from Orielly's. As soon as it's running, it sits at 55psi. Not until the engine is at temp, does it show 20-25. If I let it go longer (I didn't this time) it will drop farther. He said it should be between 30-35psi. I'm hoping the oil pump spring is just gummed up and will work itself loose, or I have to go through the pan to fix it. I do get a small change in PSI when it's revved, so I'm not sure.
 
I know you are dealing with the low oil pressure biz right now, but on your video you posted, looking at how far the distributor is turned looked a little extreme. I know you said yourself it looked like it was turned too much when you put it in and timed it.

AFA the not running under 900 rpm. My friend had the same thing on a 454 we were working on. It would great about 800-900, then it would just shut off like someone turned the key off. Turned out the brand new distributor was doing it. It was an ACCEL brand, but we tried a known good dizzy, and it fixed it. We caught it while timing it.

We would play with the carb while using a timing light and suddenly right when the engine would cut off the light quit flashing. Just something to keep an eye out for. I know this is frustrating when good help is absent, but just take your time and ask what you need to ask. There are sooo many good knowledgable people here willing to help!
 
I've got it idling good but I have to shut it down once it dips to 25psi. Hopefully I'm not doing damage. I've only had it running 4 times.

Does the low oil pressure come from me sanding the dizzy? I'm truthfull, it was only a tiny bit and it still fits tight. Dunno
 
Shouldn't have an effect at all, the only effect you might notice is a slight oil leak at the distributor base I'd think.

Pressure is flow being restricted. Think of putting your thumb over the end of a garden hose. Remove your thumb and the volume doesn't change, but the pressure is low. Put your thumb back and the volume hasn't changed but the pressure is high(er)

The bearing clearances in an engine are the restriction needed to generate pressure. As an engine ages and the bearings wear there is less and less of a restriction and oil pressure goes down. Also, as it ages an oil pump is able to move less and less volume against the restriction of the bearings.

OP can be a crucial diagnostic tool, which is why it is so important if you see OP that isn't ideal to double check with a known good mech gauge.

Rene
 
I got a super cheap mechanical gauge and it's showing the same thing. I hope to have my cousin come down today, he said he would, but I never know. Should be able to get to the bottom of this.
I don't think my uncle (with 45-50 years of experience) would screw up bearing clearances. **** happens though and it would fit right in with this project. This truck has bad karma.
 
Did the engine run at all with the coolant in the oil that you described a few posts up?
 
I have been folowing this thread since it started and can say IMHO your uncle isn't doing you any favors if how you describe his help is accurate. First if i remember correctly it took him awhile to build it. Then once it was done he didn't really give any tips or specs on the engine until you pressed him for them. Then when you asked for some advice on the manifold issue and distributor not meshing he was vague and only offered help on the phone. Now with the coolant being inside the pan and whatnot he is saying that could be the reason for the low OP. I don't know if i would trust his opinion anymore than i would a guy at autozone. I could be 100% wrong and i hope i am but i think they just slapped that engine together and gave it to you. I would hate to see that happen to anyone but especially a fellow K5'er. I think combined with the fact your just starting out and the issues you have had thus far i would say that I couldn't sleep without pulling it out and tearing it down and double checking everything. I had to do that in my chevelle when i rebuilt the 402/396 and it was a pain but that engine was rock solid and after i had peace of mind and the complete knowledge of assembling a short block. Now the next engine that went in there i took to a very knowledgable builder and not only was he very helpful in picking a cam, and heads but i he also helped with any questions i had and was willing to put it on his dyno after he built it. It had a few good pulls on it and i knew it ran and ran well when i installed it.
 
Trust me, anybody, with any amount of experience can screw up bearing clearances.
Or any other part of the job.
That much experience just means it is very very unlikely that he did.

Trouble is, there is a lot of other stuff in the oil circuit that can cause what you are seeing.
If the cam was replaced, they could have nicked or damaged a cam bearing when putting it in.
One of the rod or main bearings could be defective.
If the coolant got into the oil circuit, it could have corroded the bearings or journals.

Heck, I once saw a rebuilt engine that would run fine for a little while, then would start smoking slightly and gradually lose oil pressure.
Turned out a shop rag either fell in or got left in under one of the valve covers.
It stopped up enough of the return holes that oil would slowly build up under that side until it started running down around the valve stems and what have you while the rest of the engine would start starving for oil.

Plus, I assume you used a name brand oil. There are some oils out there that are not up to code.
I had a company change the oil in my old truck with about 90K on the engine.
They used the same brand and weight that I used, but it came out of a bulk tank with no name on it.
20 miles later, the engine was blowing smoke and had low oil pressure.
I changed it again, the pressure came back and it did not burn any oil for the next 100K.
Dunno what they put in, but I never went back.
 
scottsdale86 said:
I have been folowing this thread since it started and can say IMHO your uncle isn't doing you any favors if how you describe his help is accurate. First if i remember correctly it took him awhile to build it. Then once it was done he didn't really give any tips or specs on the engine until you pressed him for them. Then when you asked for some advice on the manifold issue and distributor not meshing he was vague and only offered help on the phone. Now with the coolant being inside the pan and whatnot he is saying that could be the reason for the low OP. I don't know if i would trust his opinion anymore than i would a guy at autozone. I could be 100% wrong and i hope i am but i think they just slapped that engine together and gave it to you. I would hate to see that happen to anyone but especially a fellow K5'er. I think combined with the fact your just starting out and the issues you have had thus far i would say that I couldn't sleep without pulling it out and tearing it down and double checking everything. I had to do that in my chevelle when i rebuilt the 402/396 and it was a pain but that engine was rock solid and after i had peace of mind and the complete knowledge of assembling a short block. Now the next engine that went in there i took to a very knowledgable builder and not only was he very helpful in picking a cam, and heads but i he also helped with any questions i had and was willing to put it on his dyno after he built it. It had a few good pulls on it and i knew it ran and ran well when i installed it.
Click to expand...

Good point...any time you get a motor that was "built" by someone else other than a profession source, you should check it out for yourself instead of just going with it.
I'd tear it down and check everything out too.
Last time I got a motor from someone, it was supposedly a crate motor with less that 20,000 miles on it. I tore it down and checked everything and put it back together. In my case, it seems like the guy was truthful...but you never know.
 
Who is to say the Uncle is the one who actually assembled the engine? Don't quote me on this but didnt the OP say his cousin also helped or works with the uncle? Not trying to play the blame game just trying to figure out who to ask as far as what they may or may not have done when putting this thing together. You are right could be something simple or it could be a phone rang when the were installing the bearings or running it through their QC checks. My point is $hiz happens now what does K85 need to do to fix it and what can we do to help a brother out.
 
quick defensive reply
my uncle does dealer work for all Honda, Porsche, Jag, MB, BMW, Audi, and a few domestic dealerships in the Pasadena area. He does numbers matching motors, British cars, classics, motorcycles, and drag cars. Just had an old 2 cylinder gas tractor engine come through that would start by grabbing the flywheel and turning it lol. He gets other shops fukups:doah:So it would be very unfortunate if it was something wrong in the building process, but I take a lot of pride knowing he did the work. Pushing 70, he's got the knowledge. :bow:

But like I said, sh1t happens and OMG I could fill the truck with the amount of sh1t thus far.:doah:

I pulled the manifold off that he put on BTW. I replaced it and screwed up:doah::doah: And it's my cousin that's the flake (also with 30 years experience, but doesn't work in the field anymore, he's a machinist for the city's power generation), my uncle can be difficult to deal with some times but he's helped with my questions.

Just defending. Sorry, I still love you guys. Group hug:sign9::waytogo:
 
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haha, dunno. When my cousin was there he was very prideful of not having comebacks. Only people who forgot to put oil in the engine before start up lol

and I know diagnosing something over the internet is damn near impossible if it's not something simple. I hope to have more answers tonight after some physical help.

I haven't re-ordered my subscription for CK5, I guess I did two years right off the bat :) Sweet, a jail inmate smuggling sigs up his ass could tell you it's worth it.
 
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