bob w
Still crazy after all these years!
You may remember my thread about the erratic oil pressure problem with Big Dodge.
One of the RRR members suggested adding a couple quarts of oil to see if the pickup had fallen off the oil pump. I did just that a week ago. When I tried to start the engine it wouldn't turn over and terrible noises came from it as it made a few jerky attempts to turn over. I figured that the pickup or maybe even the pump had broken free and got caught up in a crank counterweight.
Today I cut the engine crossmember out of the way and dropped the pan. Darn, everything looked perfect. The pickup was welded to the pump in the right position. The pump internals looked like new. I put the remote starter button on and turned the engine over with the pan off. A few drops of water dripped down the cylinders! Holy cow! I thought it had a cracked block or at least blown head gaskets. 6 plugs were wet with water when I pulled them. I spun the engine over and water sprayed out the cylinders, then stopped. So, most likely no cracks or blown gaskets. Big Dodge had sat outside for a few weeks, and apparently the air cleaner acted like a funnel gathering rainwater and letting it run down the center hole in to the cylinders. So when I tried to start it after adding the oil, it was hydrolocked.
This 350 SBC came out of Leo's van and was rebuilt and had very few miles on it. I took the engine out of the van, set it in the corner and put it in Big Dodge. Since the dipstick and tube in the van were 4 feet long, I had thrown them away. I didn't have a SBC dipstick and tube so I grabbed a 292 Chev 6 cyl dipstick and stuck it directly into the hole in the block. When I pulled it out it showed oil up about 2 inches. I assumed this would be the "full" mark on the substitute dipstick.
As I continued to investigate, I realized the dipstick reached the bottom of the pan and what I had taken for the "full" level was really no more than 1-1/2 quarts of oil in the pan, maybe less! All this happened because I assumed the engine was full when I took it out of the van. And, I didn't change oil when I put it in the Dodge. I planned to change oil after a few short neighborhood trips. Never got that far. The problem would have been discovered with the addition of the 2 quarts of oil as suggested by the RRR member,but the water in the cylinders problem stiffled that attempt.
I haven't put everything back together so this isn't for sure. But the erratic oil pressure is the same behavior that I had in my youth with oil sucking beaters that I would let run too low. So, I'm quite sure this it it.
I am ready to turn in my RRR membership for such slipshod hot rod building efforts. Hoping you all will give me another chance, however!
Moral of the story: NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING, like the crankcase being full. CHECK EVERYTHING and DON"T LEAVE 'EM OUT IN THE RAIN!
One of the RRR members suggested adding a couple quarts of oil to see if the pickup had fallen off the oil pump. I did just that a week ago. When I tried to start the engine it wouldn't turn over and terrible noises came from it as it made a few jerky attempts to turn over. I figured that the pickup or maybe even the pump had broken free and got caught up in a crank counterweight.
Today I cut the engine crossmember out of the way and dropped the pan. Darn, everything looked perfect. The pickup was welded to the pump in the right position. The pump internals looked like new. I put the remote starter button on and turned the engine over with the pan off. A few drops of water dripped down the cylinders! Holy cow! I thought it had a cracked block or at least blown head gaskets. 6 plugs were wet with water when I pulled them. I spun the engine over and water sprayed out the cylinders, then stopped. So, most likely no cracks or blown gaskets. Big Dodge had sat outside for a few weeks, and apparently the air cleaner acted like a funnel gathering rainwater and letting it run down the center hole in to the cylinders. So when I tried to start it after adding the oil, it was hydrolocked.
This 350 SBC came out of Leo's van and was rebuilt and had very few miles on it. I took the engine out of the van, set it in the corner and put it in Big Dodge. Since the dipstick and tube in the van were 4 feet long, I had thrown them away. I didn't have a SBC dipstick and tube so I grabbed a 292 Chev 6 cyl dipstick and stuck it directly into the hole in the block. When I pulled it out it showed oil up about 2 inches. I assumed this would be the "full" mark on the substitute dipstick.
As I continued to investigate, I realized the dipstick reached the bottom of the pan and what I had taken for the "full" level was really no more than 1-1/2 quarts of oil in the pan, maybe less! All this happened because I assumed the engine was full when I took it out of the van. And, I didn't change oil when I put it in the Dodge. I planned to change oil after a few short neighborhood trips. Never got that far. The problem would have been discovered with the addition of the 2 quarts of oil as suggested by the RRR member,but the water in the cylinders problem stiffled that attempt.
I haven't put everything back together so this isn't for sure. But the erratic oil pressure is the same behavior that I had in my youth with oil sucking beaters that I would let run too low. So, I'm quite sure this it it.
I am ready to turn in my RRR membership for such slipshod hot rod building efforts. Hoping you all will give me another chance, however!
Moral of the story: NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING, like the crankcase being full. CHECK EVERYTHING and DON"T LEAVE 'EM OUT IN THE RAIN!
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. Imagine that. A low/fluxuating oil pressure reading actually meant that the car was low on oil. Who woulda thunk it
