oil pressure issues

[Kyle]

the other day i started noticing massive drop in oil pressure on my way home. found out it was leaking, checked it, it looks like it was comin from the passenger side valve cover. ok no big deal, pulled the cover off put some silicone along with the gasket back on cuz it was a rubber one and let it sit for 5 hours then drove it to work, which is only a 15 minute drive and then it was leaking from both sides of the motor, again, lookin like it was from the valve covers! got some brand new gakets, rubber with the steel inserts and siliconed em all and let em sit over night to dry and set up. drove it to work the next day, oil was droppin again and it was all comin out just the drivers side now. and i was like wtf, so i pulled the breathers off and just put rubber hoses thinkin maybe with the cold weather the breathers were icing up. now its not really lookin like its leaking but ive got way low pressure still. at cold itll be 40+ but warmed up itll be round 5-7 at best but if im driving itll go up to bout 15-20.... but i have a high volume pump and i never had this issue before!!! i mean sometimes when its idling with low pressure it sounds like the oil pump may be pingin a lil but its hard to tell, but it does have oil with it

this is the 400 in my dd truck. fresh rebuild and just changed the oil bout 2 weeks ago and ive put round 1k miles on it. ive only put it up in the higher rpms a couple times under hard throttle testing out the carb to get it tuned.....

ive looked and checked and felt around the top back of the botor and it doesnt seem to be the pressure sensor at the block either

[ToughBowtieTruck]

Is it the intake-to-block gap seal leaking?

Almost sounds like blow-by problems . . .

[Kyle]

Is it the intake-to-block gap seal leaking?

Almost sounds like blow-by problems . . .

thats why i changed out the breathers for tubs, so i wouldnt have that issue. cuz the intake to block has a rubber gaskets just with a lil silicone added to it, not just silicone

would that cause low oil pressure tho?

[ToughBowtieTruck]

No, that's probably rod/main bearings. At minimum you want 10 psi for every 1,000 rpms.

Changing the breathers doesn't eliminate blow-by. The factory PCV/breather pipe going into the engine was for emissions so the engine can burn the gas fumes out of the oil. This also allowed oil to last longer.

The only way to fix blow-by is with new piston rings, provided the block isn't worn out.


Did you do a proper engine break-in ?

[Kyle]

did what the machine shop told me. its a roller cam so i didnt have to do a cam break in process. everything was machined and honed. all i did was run it half our first startup, changed the oil(head gaskets went bad after that change so i had to redo the top end) changed the oil with the new top end, ran it a week, changed it again, ran it bout 100 miles, changed it, 500 changed it, and just a couple weeks ago changed it at 1k and this issue just started after i was driving around for an hour a couple days ago

how could it be blow by if its not burning the oil, it just has really low pressure

[ToughBowtieTruck]

did what the machine shop told me. its a roller cam so i didnt have to do a cam break in process. everything was machined and honed. all i did was run it half our first startup, changed the oil(head gaskets went bad after that change so i had to redo the top end)

how could it be blow by if its not burning the oil, it just has really low pressure

Because the oil gets burned when it's blown into the air cleaner. Or through the PCV. But you put tubes on it. So it won't get burned.

I'm suspicious of that engine, head gaskets going bad during break-in? If any coolant found its way to the oil that could have set the bearings up for failure.

Something isn't right. Low oil pressure yet it keeps leaking oil . . .

[Kyle]

did what the machine shop told me. its a roller cam so i didnt have to do a cam break in process. everything was machined and honed. all i did was run it half our first startup, changed the oil(head gaskets went bad after that change so i had to redo the top end)

how could it be blow by if its not burning the oil, it just has really low pressure

Because the oil gets burned when it's blown into the air cleaner. Or through the PCV. But you put tubes on it. So it won't get burned.

I'm suspicious of that engine, head gaskets going bad during break-in? If any coolant found its way to the oil that could have set the bearings up for failure.

Something isn't right. Low oil pressure yet it keeps leaking oil . . .

head gaskets were due to a head with a bad plug in it and being warped like crazy(theyre iron eagles). and the only reason i knwo it was bad is cuz it had a crapload bein burnt outta one of the cylinders, so if any got in there it was very little, and it was changed before bein run again

and im not entirely sure if its leakin oil anymores since i added the tubes. more worried bout why its low pressure and why its doing it NOW and not way before

[rangerwheelinmike]

maybe someting pluging the oilpick up screen

[ToughBowtieTruck]

maybe someting pluging the oilpick up screen

Silicone gasket maker is infamous for doing that. Good point . . .

[rangerwheelinmike]

maybe someting pluging the oilpick up screen

Silicone gasket maker is infamous for doing that. Good point . . .

thats what i was thinking it hapend to my 351 screen was coverd in pices of rtv if you put to much on when puting intake on it runs out it also runs in then brakes up and ends up in the oil

[Kyle]

maybe someting pluging the oilpick up screen

Silicone gasket maker is infamous for doing that. Good point . . .

that is a good point... but can it really plug it up that much? its not very small screen by any means, and i have good pressure cold, just the warmer it gets, the worse it gets

[rangerwheelinmike]

maybe someting pluging the oilpick up screen

Silicone gasket maker is infamous for doing that. Good point . . .

that is a good point... but can it really plug it up that much? its not very small screen by any means, and i have good pressure cold, just the warmer it gets, the worse it gets

it can plug it if theres enuff of it my 351w had 70-80 then ended up with 10-20 becouse of that

[ToughBowtieTruck]

maybe someting pluging the oilpick up screen

Silicone gasket maker is infamous for doing that. Good point . . .

that is a good point... but can it really plug it up that much? its not very small screen by any means, and i have good pressure cold, just the warmer it gets, the worse it gets

What's "good" pressure? 60 psi + ?

[73chevytruck]

I've also have known people having this problem with oil filters. I've had problems with fram oil filters Causeing low oil pressure. Possibly try changing the filter and see what happens.

[Kyle]

I've also have known people having this problem with oil filters. I've had problems with fram oil filters Causeing low oil pressure. Possibly try changing the filter and see what happens.

im running a k&n one right now, thats all ive used on this motor so far...

[rangerwheelinmike]

I've also have known people having this problem with oil filters. I've had problems with fram oil filters Causeing low oil pressure. Possibly try changing the filter and see what happens.

i have heard abought this they come apart inside and block oil flow

[gator82]

maybe someting pluging the oilpick up screen

have you changed the oil yet? being so fresh it might need it. Also it could possibly be a faulty oil pump even if it its not that old. I blew up my parents Astro van one time sittin at a light, light turned green, went to take off and that fast locked up tighter than a drum cause the pump died and there never was a sign of any problems. I also had a dodge that ran great pressure and one day it dropped from 40psi to 18 psi and would bounce up and down. Replaced the pump and took care of the problem.

[Kyle]

maybe someting pluging the oilpick up screen

have you changed the oil yet? being so fresh it might need it. Also it could possibly be a faulty oil pump even if it its not that old. I blew up my parents Astro van one time sittin at a light, light turned green, went to take off and that fast locked up tighter than a drum cause the pump died and there never was a sign of any problems. I also had a dodge that ran great pressure and one day it dropped from 40psi to 18 psi and would bounce up and down. Replaced the pump and took care of the problem.

its been changed multiple times since the rebuild, if anything i did it too much. last one was a couple weeks ago

[gator82]

Not too sure, I have had problems with either a bad gauge,sensor, or like I said oil pump. What sucks is not know if its the pump and changing it for no reason. Hit or miss, you might want to look up econobox from hell on here and p.m. him. If I remember right he is a master mechanic with lots of years experience and might be able to throw some options your way.

[rangerwheelinmike]

yea you think there could be something wrong with your guage