Question on factory oil cooler

[aaauto]

Hi all, this is my 1st post here so please be gentle. I would just like to know if it is at all possible for the oil cooler adapter (behind the filter) to make noise? Are there any moving parts in these?

Here is the situation. I recently installed a new Alradco radiator and also replaced the oil cooler lines and fittings (that screw into the adapter) with NOS from NOS4GN.

Upon starting the car for the 1st time today after doing the work I am getting a "chattering" noise from that general area. I have removed the accessory drive belt to rule out any noise coming from any of those.

Please forgive me if this is a stupid question I was a mustang guy for a long time and just recently got a TR. This is the 1st time I have ever had a car with a factory oil cooler.

 

[BlackBandit]

If you hear a chattering after working on the oil system I would be inclined to pull the cam sensor and prime the engine. There aren't any moving parts in the sandwich adapter.

 

[SHADOWII]

Welcome pilgrim!

Glad to have you on the best buick board on the net.

What Black Bandit said. You may have lost your oil pumps prime and were running the engine w/o oil pressure! (if it started up)
Before doing too much in the way of changes, please take the time to read up on the care of these vehicles. you will find it most rewarding. Go to
gnttype.org and vortexbuicks.com and ask a lot of questions on here. there is no such thing as a stupid question, we've all been there. some much earlier than others.:biggrin:

 

[TurboBuRick]

Yep, sounds like the oil pump lost prime. Do you have a op gauge?

The cam sensor drives the pump. If you pull it out, you can manually prime the pump with a drill and a oil pump prime tool. A sbc tool will work.

HTH

 

[aaauto]

Thanks for the responses. I should have given more info. The car has good oil pressure at idle about 80 psi. The background is that the car has been sitting 4 about 6 months without being started. Prior to this it was fine. All that was done was adding the radiator and new lines. It was also my understanding from reading up on oil coolers that there is a check valve inside? Last night I disconnected both lines from the cooler. This morning there is still oil visible at the top of the holes. Shoulnt this have drained back into the pan? I will take your advice and prime the pump as well.

 

[1fast6]

80 psi at idle sounds like a lot on a stock engine.

 

[turbofabricator]

Check the clearance on the crank sensor. It may have come in contact eith the interruptor ring, making the chattering noise. If not that, could be an issue with the oil pump, but with 80psi, I would think not. Could be a cam sensor or timing chain issue, too.

 

[aaauto]

Update: I removed the oil cooler and primed the oil pump. Made no difference at all. Will check the crank sensor clearance tomorrow. Thanks again everyone for all of the suggestions.

 

[aaauto]

Ok so it definately is the crank sensor hitting the reluctor wheel because it would seem that the reluctor is bent.

Pretty sure what happened is that I had unplugged the connector from the crank sensor to re tape the harness and when I plugged it back in it must have knocked the sensor out of alignment so when I started the car it instantly struck the wheel and bent one of the rings pretty badly. Still trying to figure out why the crank sensor was the early 86 style and the car is an 87

Anyhow I will have a new (used) balancer tomorrow and was wondering if anyone can tell me if this is just a straight forward swap or not? Is it just a matter of removing the old one and putting the new one on or is there more to it then that? Like do I have to bring the engine to TDC or will this affect timing or something? I will also be replacing the sensor with an 87 style one.

 

[3.8L V-8 eater]

The balancer and reluctor ring is all one piece and slides on the crank shaft via a key way, so should be straight forward.. I set my crank sensor clearance by using feeler gauges. Put on the new sensor and pull it tight against one side of the reluctor ring and use the feeler gauges to see how much of a gap you have. If it is .060 then split the difference and go .030 and you will have even clearance on both sides. HTH