my oil pressure gauge reads 20 when i start the car at idle in park . when the car heats up when im sittin the lifts tick on and off the reads 8 to 10 psi
Can you tell us some history? High mileage, or a rebuild? What viscosity oil are you running? Has it always been this way, gotten gradually worse, or happened all of a sudden? The more you tell us, the more we can help. There's no such thing as "too much info". Is the gauge electrical or mechanical? Have you tried another gauge and if electrical, another sender too? Devon
With that series engine , when the mains get loose there will be a deep sounding clunk, clunk, clunk, when the engine is first started up,,, i had a 68 riv that did that , using straight 30 wt. oil , when the car was just 6 months old... the dealer refused to fix it... so I put the stage 1 pump relief spring in the pump and that fixed it.... two things really affect oil pressure the most,,, bearing clearance and bearing clearance.... main and rod bearings and cam bearings.... :Smarty:
Good start with the info. Is the gauge electrical or mechanical? Have you tried another gauge and if electrical, another sender too? Did the gauge read differently with the previous engine? Devon
Lots of buick 455 motors can survive on low idling pressure. What is the pressure at 2k rpms, 4k rpms? Rule of thumb is 10 psi for every 1000 rpm.
Ahhh - that's nothing. I drove a couple thousand miles with a shot thrust bearing. I could litterally grab the crank pulley and slide it back and forth an eighth inch. When parked on a hill the crank would go "thunk" as I shut off the engine. Could feel it right through the chassis. Had plenty of oil pressure though.
Sounds like a bad timing cover...in other words the oil pump is no good. Common problem on those engines up here in Canada because of cold starts. (Really cold starts, -40 when the oil is butter does wonders for the pump as the gears heat up and tear the clearances out of the aluminum!) Check the clearances in the oil pump, if the case is scored, replace it. I know the guys here on this board hate the hi-volume, high pressure pumps, but I was able to save a worn engine and run it for a while further with one. With out the mods recommended, I'd only consider this if you're going to be tearing it down again in a little while.
You know,,, I had a idea,,, what if a man took a stock tg cover and machined the gear cavity out enough to make a ''steel insert'' gear housing.... that would not wear as easy as the aluminum one....naturally it would have to be press fit...
Like a 440 ? Would it have to be cast iron? Or some type of metal that wouldn't expand and crack the cover?
Probably not a bad idea; - it's just that the coefficient of expansion for steel and aluminum are pretty different, wonder what the chances of the sleeve either slipping out or cracking the housing are?
