oil pressure

[Crazyx4]

i have posted about this problem before but tried a few things and i still have a oil pressure problem. stock style oilling stage 2 4.1 .016 block. engine ran great for the first 200 miles.
took oil pan off. checked the pick tube for cracks, leaking, etc. resealed everything up.
filled with oil and new filter. 7.5 qt.
primed the pump
started the engine and had 75 psi at first, then it started dropping as it warmed up.
got down to about 20 psi and thought it was ok.
it stayed there about a minute and then dropped and the light came on 0 psi
shut it off before it hurt something i hope?
i can use a drill on the oil pump and the oil pressure will fluxuate from 50 psi and drops to 25 psi and back to 50psi. added oil to the engine 10 qts. total. same thing fluxuating pressure.
any help would be aprecated.

 

[getdowngranny]

Sounds like you have issues with your gauge. Try installing a different gauge to verify. Or, you might be getting air somewhere. Do you have an oil cooler? External filter? Who set up the pump? There are more knowledgable people here that will chime in. I would start the easy way and prime it again using a different gauge for reference.

 

[Crazyx4]

gauge is correct, no oil cooler, i set the pump up and put the engine together. it does act as if it were sucking air but the tech from melling said that if the pick-up is good(i have checked the tube three times) that it shouldn't get air anywhere alse.if the pump assy. was leaking it would pushing oil out. the only thing that i haven't checked is the front cover for a suction leak?

 

[RmvBfrFlght]

If you have a location to tap into the pressure side of the oil, can observe it for foam or air bubbles. This is easier if the oil cooler taps are there or even a remote filter. I would use the drill method for testing as it does show the issue.

A SWAG, it sounds like the pickup is too close to the bottom of the pan. Can't get oil into the pickup and things go South.

RemoveBeforeFlight

 

[wickedtt]

I would first take the oil filter off and cut it open and take a look .

 

[turbodave231]

Does your block have the oil pickup relocated to the #1 main bulkhead? I have had a similar problem with my s2 oil system sucking air around the o-ring. I doubled up on the o-ring and it solved the problem. I found the problem on the engine stand while trying to prime the engine.

 

[Crazyx4]

pick up is located at the #1 main, i tried 2 orings. same thing? if the gasket is leaking at the front cover where it seals to the pick up hole. the front and oil pump may be the next thing to try. may go with the duttweiler style system. i have cut one of the filters apart and it was ok. had the oil pan off twice and it was clean.still at a loss?

 

[Paul Lohr]

If you are saying there are 10 quarts of oil in the engine, I assume this is to cover the engine block to oil pickup tube interface with oil in case it is leaking?

This is just a guess, something to ponder. What if the pressure bypass slider intermittently gets caught on a ridge? A useful tool to check this might be a slider valve welded to a rod. This way the bore of the pressure relief passage could be checked for hang ups. Haven't heard of that much trouble with the pressure relief valve/bore so this might not be the case.

You may need to check the oil pan to pickup clearance next. You said the pan has been removed twice but not sure if you checked this clearance.

Good luck and God bless you,
Paul Lohr

 

[Crazyx4]

yes, 10 qts. is to cover the tube. rjc deep pan 7.5 qt. the clearance between the tube and pan is about inch.

 

[Crazyx4]

updating the oil pressure issue. talked to several people on this problem on here and local mechanic's. so i had to try something? saved up and ordered a new front cover and oil pump setup by ta performance. installed it this weekend.
primed very easy and after putting everything back together, it was time to give it a try. started the engine and the oil pressure was there. 75psi at cold and hot idle was 25psi. checked the car over,washed it, and went for a drive. a short drive just to see how it was going to do. ran well still 25psi at idle. so i went for a 60 mile trip. around 65psi at somewhat wot and still 25psi at idle. i'm very happy with this front cover assy. and would recommend it to everybody. thanks for the help.