VFilms
Well-Known Member
I need some help with an oil pressure problem on my 318A engine.
Last week while priming my POLY with a drill and priming tool I initially got 50 lbs pressure but quickly dropped off to about 20 lbs then down to about 10 lbs. I also found I had very little oil to the top end. Gary Pavlovich spent an hour on the phone with me and we ran down some of the possibilities. We looked at the galley plug in the distributor area just above the cam gear and it was installed. But after running down a check list we determined that as some oil was getting up to the rocker shafts the oil galleys were open and I would probably be okay. Perhaps the drill I was using to prime the system just wasn't rotating at a high enough speed.
The engine has sat for 5 years after a complete rebuild, and new cam, while I built the car. Finally, I fired it up yesterday and found I had little to no oil pressure. Aside from the obvious chattering of the rockers there was no lower end noise and the engine ran smoothly. But showing no pressure I quickly shut it down.
Here are the particulars and I'm hoping someone can make sense of all the inconsistencies.
- Initially I installed an electric Autometer pressure gauge. Thinking the gauge may be faulty I installed a mechanical gauge. Started the engine and barely got 5 lbs pressure on the mechanical gauge.
- There seemed to be air pockets in the clear plastic tubing going to the gauge and not a steady stream of oil in the tube.
- I removed the oil filter and it was half full of oil. I filled it and reinstalled it. I had already replaced the oil filter plate gasket with a newer thicker gasket as the original gasket was leaking.
- Started the engine and no improvement.
- I pulled the distributor and intermediate shaft.
- Primed the engine with a drill and still very little pressure and still what looks like air in the gauge tube that move back and forth in the tube.
- Removed the tube from the gauge and primed the engine hoping to bleed the tube. Still have what looks like air pockets in the clear plastic tube and the oil just dripped from the tube into the cup I was using to catch the oil. No steady stream.
- Reinstalled the tube to the gauge and ran the drill. The oil pressure went up to 40 lbs but quickly dropped to about 20 lbs. Still saw air in the tube.
- Ran the drill for about a minute and kept about 20 lbs BUT the needle would fluctuate slightly - bounced between 20 and 25 lbs. Still there seems to be air in the tube that moves back and forth.
- I have not removed the valve covers to check for oil to the rockers.
- I have not reinstalled the distributor as I do not want to restart the engine to break in the cam and lifters until I get this figured out. Any and all thoughts are welcome and appreciated.
Last week while priming my POLY with a drill and priming tool I initially got 50 lbs pressure but quickly dropped off to about 20 lbs then down to about 10 lbs. I also found I had very little oil to the top end. Gary Pavlovich spent an hour on the phone with me and we ran down some of the possibilities. We looked at the galley plug in the distributor area just above the cam gear and it was installed. But after running down a check list we determined that as some oil was getting up to the rocker shafts the oil galleys were open and I would probably be okay. Perhaps the drill I was using to prime the system just wasn't rotating at a high enough speed.
The engine has sat for 5 years after a complete rebuild, and new cam, while I built the car. Finally, I fired it up yesterday and found I had little to no oil pressure. Aside from the obvious chattering of the rockers there was no lower end noise and the engine ran smoothly. But showing no pressure I quickly shut it down.
Here are the particulars and I'm hoping someone can make sense of all the inconsistencies.
- Initially I installed an electric Autometer pressure gauge. Thinking the gauge may be faulty I installed a mechanical gauge. Started the engine and barely got 5 lbs pressure on the mechanical gauge.
- There seemed to be air pockets in the clear plastic tubing going to the gauge and not a steady stream of oil in the tube.
- I removed the oil filter and it was half full of oil. I filled it and reinstalled it. I had already replaced the oil filter plate gasket with a newer thicker gasket as the original gasket was leaking.
- Started the engine and no improvement.
- I pulled the distributor and intermediate shaft.
- Primed the engine with a drill and still very little pressure and still what looks like air in the gauge tube that move back and forth in the tube.
- Removed the tube from the gauge and primed the engine hoping to bleed the tube. Still have what looks like air pockets in the clear plastic tube and the oil just dripped from the tube into the cup I was using to catch the oil. No steady stream.
- Reinstalled the tube to the gauge and ran the drill. The oil pressure went up to 40 lbs but quickly dropped to about 20 lbs. Still saw air in the tube.
- Ran the drill for about a minute and kept about 20 lbs BUT the needle would fluctuate slightly - bounced between 20 and 25 lbs. Still there seems to be air in the tube that moves back and forth.
- I have not removed the valve covers to check for oil to the rockers.
- I have not reinstalled the distributor as I do not want to restart the engine to break in the cam and lifters until I get this figured out. Any and all thoughts are welcome and appreciated.
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really does sound like your oil is trapped up top. Or the oil is in your bellhousing inspection cover if one of the rear oil galley plugs were left out it would dump right in there.
