Oil pressure is really low

[SCHRUMGMC]

I have noticed over the last few months that my pressure has slowly went down. Around 8 months ago, it was at 30 PSI and then slowly went to 25PSi and now it is at 16PSI. The engine gets extremely hot but the temp gauge shows it is at least 185 degrees


I have a feeling that the oil pump is going bad


Any ideas?

[OrrieG]

30 is normal when cold and running over 1500 RPM. 15 is not bad at idle. This assumes your gauge is accurate. Constant low means worn oil pump OR old main and rod bearings. Have you ever ran the compression on the engine? That is where I would start as a general indication of the age/condition. Also, since it has set for awhile I would get a few miles on it before tearing into any thing so things can tighten up. My 64 Chevelle had sat for years with occasional use. When I started driving it daily, especially at higher RPM, it smoked and leaked like crazy. After about two weeks the seals, rings and valves tightened up and it went strong for another 60K. What weight oil are us using?

[mr48chev]

What oil are you using in it. If you put a high detergent oil in it the detergent may have loosed up some of the crud in the engine and it may be plugging the pickup screen now.

It might be worth the price of a pan gasket to drop the pan and clean it and the screen on the oil pickup out and then pull a bearing cap or two and see what the bearings look like.

[Coach529]

I was always told as long as you have 10lbs of pressure for every 1K of RPM's life is good.

[SCHRUMGMC]

The pressure moves very high when the truck is accelerating. Could be the oil type that is being used, because it hasn't been changed in 3/4 years but it hasn't really gone anywhere

Alright, the temp gauge reads about 180 degrees but the engine is so damn hot that it is unbelievable. I have replaced the thermostat, the radiator is fine. The water pump is moving the fluid inside. So maybe it is just my imagination, it is venting excessively though

[OrrieG]

Pressure rising as you increase rpm is normal. 15# at idle is acceptable. Spend $20 on a cheap aftermarket temp gauge, your gauge might be reading way off, especially if it is the original stock. Mine started running hot and that is what I found out, it was the gauge. In you case if its spewing but only reading 180 something is wrong. What temp t stat are you running, 185 is standard? What pressure cap, 5 # is all you need. If someone put on a higher pressure cap it can cause problems. You might want to get an inexpensive probe type thermostat, run it up to what you think is hot, pull the cap a see what the temperature is. Are you using just water or coolant mix? Does it have a shroud, if the fan is not close to the radiator, might not be pulling enough air thru it.

[SCHRUMGMC]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Pressure rising as you increase rpm is normal. 15# at idle is acceptable. Spend $20 on a cheap aftermarket temp gauge, your gauge might be reading way off, especially if it is the original stock. Mine started running hot and that is what I found out, it was the gauge. In you case if its spewing but only reading 180 something is wrong. What temp t stat are you running, 185 is standard? What pressure cap, 5 # is all you need. If someone put on a higher pressure cap it can cause problems. You might want to get an inexpensive probe type thermostat, run it up to what you think is hot, pull the cap a see what the temperature is. Are you using just water or coolant mix? Does it have a shroud, if the fan is not close to the radiator, might not be pulling enough air thru it.

I just put a new Thermostat and Temp sending unit last year. Its spewing vapor every where. Last month I bought a Standard 7lb radiator cap. Radiator seems fine, the fluid is bright green. I think the Thermostat was like a 185 degree one, the truck gets hot as hell, but the heater doesn't work so that tells me that the heater core isn't good.. Also, my truck just now started spitting and sputtering out of no where. It ran fine last week, and I just put fresh gas in it. All new ignition parts, I did notice that the plugs had carbon on them. It pops out the carb a little while driving, and pops through exhaust, just now started doing this again

[OrrieG]

Bipass the heater core and check the hoses to it for blockage, that could be your part of your over heating issue. Sooty plugs is carb jetting issue, choke is staying partially shut making the mixture too rich or timing (fuel not getting completely burned). Yes I know you got a new carb, but that does not mean it was tuned for your engine. Backfiring thru carb AND exhaust means your timing is jumping from advance (carb) to retarded (exhaust). This will also affect the engine temp., retarded timing causes temperature to got up.

[SCHRUMGMC]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Bipass the heater core and check the hoses to it for blockage, that could be your part of your over heating issue. Sooty plugs is carb jetting issue, choke is staying partially shut making the mixture too rich or timing (fuel not getting completely burned). Yes I know you got a new carb, but that does not mean it was tuned for your engine. Backfiring thru carb AND exhaust means your timing is jumping from advance (carb) to retarded (exhaust). This will also affect the engine temp., retarded timing causes temperature to got up.

I haven't changed the plugs since putting the new carb on. I just wonder if I put a new set of plugs in, if it'll fix the problem. I am missing a piece of the carb that goes to open and shut the choke any way. I have looked around for the piece on the internet and have had no luck.. What could be causing the spitting and sputtering.

[SCHRUMGMC]

I meant to ask, since that I am using the Ballast resistor on the firewall and a Coil made for it. However, I am using a petronix ignition kit. Do I need to buy an internal resistor coil or just leave it the way it is? It's been doing fine until now, since it is sputtering again with no power

Since i got rid of the points wire, I guess that put the ballast resistor pretty much useless. The coil is still an old style coil meaning its used for the ballast resistor. Do I need
to buy an internal coil or is it fine? I know that i will need to buy some more plugs due to the old carb causing most of the problems

It was running so good last week and now it will hardly run and I tried going up a small hill and it wouldn't even budge...Hmmmm

[OrrieG]

What does the Pertronics installation paperwork or website say to use? Should also have info on the ballast?? I know nothing about Pertronics. If you have factory windshield wipers they are powered off of the side of the resistor (ballast) that comes from the ignition switch.

[SCHRUMGMC]

It never said anything about that

[mr48chev]

Go back and read your instruction sheet for that particular ignition and pay very close attention to the "wiring instructions. Especially part 2 A. The part that says that "we recommend".

[SCHRUMGMC]

http://www.pertronix.com/support/man...itor12vpos.pdf

Here is all it states

[OrrieG]

I looked at this one, seems to have more information and shows the wiring for the ballast.
http://www.pertronix.com/docs/instru...heets/1141.pdf

It appears that you can use a stock coil, assuming it is in good shape and meets the requirements. Here is an article on their site for testing your coil to see if it will work.

http://www.pertronix.com/support/tips/default.aspx#a2

They also have a troubleshooting section that discusses reasons for poor engine performance, troubleshooting, and fixes.

[SCHRUMGMC]

Yeah, I bet it is probably the plugs and last time I checked they ere black

[Coupeguy2001]

Oil temp sounds like it is high.
Hot, hot oil will thin out and give low pressure readings.
Here's what I recommend:
1. take the vacuum hose off the distributor and retime the engine to 0 degrees.
That will be a bit retarded, but should eliminate any unheard pinging that it may have, driving up the temperature due to cheap gas, improper timing etc. drive it a little, and see if the temp goes down. If not, return to your settings.

2 One of the fastest ways to make an engine hot is to lean it out.
Check your fuel filter, reset your floats, and make sure your fuel pump is pumping enough fuel.

3. If all that checks out, get a meat thermometer, or a digital hand held thermometer, and point or put the thermometer at the upper hose, lower hose, radiator tanks, oil pan, and exhaust manifold. Oil should never get to 400 degrees, and with a 180 water temp, you should see about 220 oil temp.
180 degree water should leave the engine in the upper hose at about 180-190 degrees, and re-enter the engine at the bottom hose around 140-160.
Rev up the engine, and look at the lower radiator hose. If the spring is no good or missing in the lower hose, it will collapse the hose if you rev it, shutting off the cool water.

4. you might have an exhaust restriction.
If you have dual pipes without an X pipe or H pipe, feel the tail pipes. they should be equally hot, and then get a stiff piece of paper, and hold the paper at the end of the pipe where the exhaust comes out.
The paper should flutter at each pipe the same as the other. If you have an h pipe or x pipe, is one tail pipe without any exhaust?

5. Check your heat riser if you still have it.
If that is stuck, use some W-40 and soak it overnight and use a small hammer, gently tap it back and forth. Then wire it open.

6. You said the oil is old.
Old oil with low time only gains an acidic quality.
What it will do is begin to erode the bearings and other soft metals in the engine.

7. The best thing to do is run it weekly, get it up to temperature and get it hot enough to make any condensation evaporate.

8. Years ago, I could not get my 57 chevy truck to cool in 115 degree Phoenix heat.
What I did was add an oil cooler and an aluminum radiator.
With the cooler, the radiator wasn't necessary, but I was driving it 50 miles a day to work and back, and it was just insurance.
Good luck with your troubleshooting.
P,S.
Backfiring through the carb usually means that an intake valve is hanging open when it should be closed.
Try adjusting the valves to see if it will go away.
If your valves are out of adjustment, you could be getting the thing hot by not opening the exhaust valves far enough, getting the exhaust out.
BTW, the exhaust manifolds should be the same temp front to back, and for V8, side to side.

Also, make sure the coil wire from the key is positive, and the pertronix wire goes to negative.
You need the resistor sometimes.
For electronic ignition you might clip a jumper across the ballast resistor for a couple minutes and see if things change. If the coil is a problem, borrow one, or buy one. If it doesn't fix the problem, take it back. Just don't scratch it and mess it up.
Usually, you can't take back opened electrical items.
They think you let the smoke out of the part.

I have MSD ignition in my 57, and I use the ballast resistor with the resistor jumpered permanently as a terminal board to run things when the ignition is on. Sort of looks stock sitting up there on the firewall, but gotta get rid of it soon though.

[SCHRUMGMC]

Thank you for the information man. I checked the temp with a radiator thermeter or something in that nature. It was around 180 I believe, i'll check it again. It spits and sputters now so its hard to drive...it will idle though

I'll check out things when I get time

[SCHRUMGMC]

I think I've found out why it was so hot. I adjusted the timing and the oil pressure went up a little, and the engine didn't get as hot