Got a carb turbo torn apart and

[Freddie's Buick]

....Unfortunatly its not the guage. I hooked up a cheepo one I used to check the oil pressure on the 455 and it still showed 2 psi at idle!! I ruled out the pressure relief valve when I pulled the pump cover off so that shouldnt be the problem. Really makes me mad that on a fresh rebuild I have low oil pressure.....

The sweet spot for good oil pressure on the Buick engines lies within the main bearing seals and rod bearing seals. The tolerances must be super tight. Maybe you got the wrong sized bearings, or maybe the crank was overcut, (if at all).

Forget the oil pump, filter and springs. Thats just for tweaking. I know for sure that on the stock V6 3.8 it is 6-lbs at about 1100 rpms. 3-lbs is the minumum before the oil idiot light goes on. Probably not much differant for the bigger block.

 

[MNcarbturbo]

Got the problem solved I think. There was 2 small soft plugs by the front cam berring that never got put in. I know I didnt take them out, so either the machine shop took them out or they were never got put in from the factory or the soft plug ferries stopped by. Whatever happened they didnt get put in and I didnt know that untill the motor was running. Another 2 hours and it should be running again. If its still got low pressure, its time to check berring clearences.

 

[charlief1]

DOH!!! Next time let the shop put the plugs in. lol

 

[MNcarbturbo]

DOH!!! Next time let the shop put the plugs in. lol

EXACTLY my thoughts hahaha! DOH is the best way to explain it.

 

[Freddie's Buick]

Got the problem solved I think. There was 2 small soft plugs by the front cam berring that never got put in. I know I didnt take them out, so either the machine shop took them out or they were never got put in from the factory or the soft plug ferries stopped by. Whatever happened they didnt get put in and I didnt know that untill the motor was running. Another 2 hours and it should be running again. If its still got low pressure, its time to check berring clearences.

OMG! Lol!!:biggrin:

I got a story for you from a few years ago, (similar). Picked up the block, crank, heads and all the other stuff from the machine shop. Put everything back together myself except the cam bearings, I had the shop do that for me.

Started her up and she ruled!! But there was this god awful oil leak coming out from the rear main seal. Took it apart and could see nothing wrong the job I did was perfect. Still leaked... I decided to re-do the seal again thinking perhaps I goofed. After 3 times I gave up. It had to be something else. I feared the worst and was ready to take on the machine shop.

Once I gathered my nerves and calmed down I decided to remove the entire engine and start peeling her apart to locate were I might of gone wrong.

What I did find really pissed me off because I somehow missed it. The rear cam plug was missing!

So it turned out to be an error on the part of myself and the machine shop.
The shop neglected to pop it in after replacing the cam bearings, and me for not catching it after I slipped in the cam.

I was too embaressed to face the shop and tell them of my nightmare and no thanks to their slip-up. I settled down after she turned over like a champ and no oil leak. I learned my lesson.

 

[charlief1]

LOL Freddie, say it aint so. You and I know NEVER completely trust the shop guys or you'll get bit in the @ss. Glad you got it figured out.

 

[Freddie's Buick]

...You and I know NEVER completely trust the shop guys or you'll get bit in the @ss. Glad you got it figured out.

Yeah I learned. But I was mostly mad at myself from not catching it the first time. Ahhhh...The war stories we can share!

 

[charlief1]

Just to make you 2 feel better

My first engine was a vega 140 cid and it did great, but it was the second one that got me.

I had the Vega and my Skyhawk so I decided I wanted to build the bird into an SCCA street legal car. Did all my homework, ported the snot out of the heads, KH Hbody headers, studed top and bottom, ect.
This was in the days of the the Indy motor Buicks. Rhere and Morrison did the machine work for Buick and they were in Arlington so they did the block for me. Had everything together and running Just before New Years Eve so I drove her to my buddies party and everyone wanted a ride. Four of us piled into her and I didn't have a back seat in it so I put a cage in it.
Well every thing went well until I decided to do a burn out with everyone in the car. The burn out was beautiful, so I deceded to see how fast she would go. At around 100 I blew a hose off of the top and had to pull over. We had no water and cell phones were something that the rich had at the time. We were in the middle of nowhere, 3 of them were drunk and I'd had a couple myself so we were stuck. I got the hose back on but still needed some water to get her back and there was only one solution I could think of. You never realize how much beer can get backed up with 3 drunk guys. That's right, we all pissed in the radiator.:redface:

This little bit of stupidity caused me to pull the engine back out because I warped the heads and the block.:biggrin: I learned to keep at least 1 gallon of water in any car I drove after that, so like I said guys, don't feel bad.:tongue:

 

[MNcarbturbo]

It is officially alive this time! WITH oil pressure! Took it out for a little drive. Runs good, fixed a few oil leeks but the secondaries stick open when you smash the throttle. I dont know if its in the carb or if the plates are hitting the gasket or what. Have to take the carb off. Got up to 5psi. Dont really want to go any higher without the knock retard box but the motor should last as long as I stay off the boost. Now comes the tuning part!

 

[charlief1]

Congrats. You might want to mix some 93 octain with some E-85 (50/50) for better control of detonation. You can also use an MSD BTM to help with keeping detonation away.

 

[usetaboost]

I would disable the actuator so you don't have to worry about accidentally boosting it. Who knows, you could have knock at 5psi. I've heard of them knocking at 7psi and never been touched so you never know. Don't wanna ruin all that time put into the project!

 

[MNcarbturbo]

Well I reallized why I cant get the throttle all the way open. The stock NA throttle cable is too long so it can only go 80% throttle. Should be too big of a deal though. I washed the cutlass today for the 3rd time to get all the dirt off of it and I think its clean now. Theres some stuff in the engine bay thats a little messy (plug wires too long or short, wires everywhere ect) but its a runner so Im happy. I gotta get these whitewalls reversed too yuck!

 

[charlief1]

Leave the white walls like they are. It gives you a sleeper look so no one knows what it's capable of. Good looking car.

 

[LilSpann601]

Leave the white walls like they are. It gives you a sleeper look so no one knows what it's capable of. Good looking car.

did your motor overheat without the fan?

 

[usetaboost]

Good job man! Spend a little more time on it and iron out the kinks and get the retard box you'll be good to go

 

[MNcarbturbo]

did your motor overheat without the fan?

Nope! Got a mistery nissan electric fan from the 455 rad on there along with a mistery radior stuck in the back seat when I got the cutlass. The new radiator had a leak when it had water in it, but it doesnt leak in the car. No idea why....

 

[LilSpann601]

Nope! Got a mistery nissan electric fan from the 455 rad on there along with a mistery radior stuck in the back seat when I got the cutlass. The new radiator had a leak when it had water in it, but it doesnt leak in the car. No idea why....

how does it run ...can u spin the tires while holding the brakes???

 

[usetaboost]

It should. Mine broke loose with less than 5psi

 

[MNcarbturbo]

I havnt even tried to brake boost yet. Untill I get the retard box I dont want to beat up on the engine yet. Im going to try and get it soon though.

 

[charlief1]

Just do a 50/50 mix of 93 and E-85. It should give you about 105 octane and keep you safe. Then you can try it some.