Rebuilt fwd 87 3.8 and low oil pressure

[frank_ster]

few months ago my crank broke due to bad machining ( welded and ground flat with no chamfered corners )
I had a new block and crank freshly machined and put it all back together.

After getting it running the oil pressure is low, when hot it's down to about 8lbs at idle when it used to be 25-30 with the same 0w20 oil. On top of that I have the by pass blocked on my oil filter mount since 4 years . But now the oil filters are folding flat on them selves and blocking oil flow also.

It seems I have a large leak some where after the oil filter. Which is making the oil filter the restriction in the system,

I hope it's something stupid like the gasket between front cover and block.
But wondering if the machine shop messed up on something like the cam bearing.

I can pull the oil pan on my car with out taking the engine out , so I hope to have a look .
I m thinking about using a electric pump to pressurize the oil system and see if I can track down this leak.
I hope the main and rod bearings are fine. But dam when the crank was broken i had more oil pressure than I do now!

Has anyone ever run into this kind of thing before ?

 

[The Radius Kid]

I have seen that when the wrong size bearings were put in on rebuild.

 

[earlbrown]

If you're squishing filters, that's your problem. Perhaps you got away with the blocked bypass when the engine was worn but not that it's night you can't get away with it.

 

[frank_ster]

It was tight before also . The only way for the oil filters to crush like that is excessive flow .

Yea makes sence the bearings could be the wrong size but rod bearingns shurely would be making noise if there was .010"-.020" clearance
I have about 350 miles on it.
Not sure how the mains would act if there was that much clearance i would think the rods would be starved and not last very long .

 

[frank_ster]

Yea its probably wrong undersize bearing size. And the one time i didnt check them it has rod noise at cold start up and goes away with oil pressure coming up

 

[delcowizzid]

Someone forget an oil gallery plug somewhere

Sent from my LT26w using Tapatalk

 

[frank_ster]

What plug ? Im not sure if there are any inside the crank case . Perhaps behind the timming gear ?

 

[delcowizzid]

Probably at least two plugs by the cam in the front cover they can blow out or be forgotten to be installed all together after block gets hot tanked.

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[frank_ster]

here is hoping , pulling it apart now ... AGAIN !!!!

 

[frank_ster]

so the mains are .020 turned with a .010 bearing.. fml

the crank mains are in rough shape , the rod journals are fine. \

so do i pull everything and replace / turn crank , or just change the bearings ? the rods will be fine but the mains may not be so happy.

good thing i had no bypass oil filters other wise the filters would of blocked and i woudn't of even known and then everything else would be scrap .

 

[The Radius Kid]

so the mains are .020 turned with a .010 bearing.. fml

the crank mains are in rough shape , the rod journals are fine. \

so do i pull everything and replace / turn crank , or just change the bearings ? the rods will be fine but the mains may not be so happy.

good thing i had no bypass oil filters other wise the filters would of blocked and i woudn't of even known and then everything else would be scrap .

Got any pics of the mains?

 

[frank_ster]

I didnt take any .
What are you interested in ?

Ill take some when i pull the engne

 

[The Radius Kid]

I didnt take any .
What are you interested in ?

Ill take some when i pull the engne

I'm just curious how bad it is.
You *might* get away with just a polish and fresh bearings.

 

[frank_ster]

Yea i know i have gotten away with worse
Its been a daily driver for 4 years and there is always something small that is wrong with it .

But the mains are quite rough as you will see. Ill just re do it again.

And for what ever reason the other problem with the car is the torque converter seal just keeps leaking no matter what i do i guess ill put my other trans in .

 

[The Radius Kid]

Yea i know i have gotten away with worse
Its been a daily driver for 4 years and there is always something small that is wrong with it .

But the mains are quite rough as you will see. Ill just re do it again.

And for what ever reason the other problem with the car is the torque converter seal just keeps leaking no matter what i do i guess ill put my other trans in .

Where's the seal leaking from?
Trans case or converter snout?

 

[frank_ster]

Converter snout seal. Fyi its a 5 speed auto awd

I had a flex plate break and the converter flopped around . Since then its been leaking

I have tried another converter and same deal.

I think it may be the bushing inside the snout cant realy change it with out dismanteling the tranny

 

[BMR]

Not familiar with FWD, but is there a bushing in the pump like a rwd trans that supports the tc?

 

[frank_ster]

There is a pilot of the tc that i made a brass bushing for that sits in the end of a crank like a manual trans or a typical auto.

The other side of the torque converter is like a gm there is a i guesss a babbit ring and then oil seal supporting the trans side of the tc. But unlike the gm trans i cant pull the pump and stator spline out of the case.
I dont know if you have seen the pics of my car in the hybrid section . Its a front wheel drive engine that i turned to sit like a rwd car and bolts to the subaru auto tranny .

 

[BMR]

It may be possible to change the bushing in the pump without disassembly...if it has one. I have changed them in TH350 and 400s without removing the pump.

 

[frank_ster]

What do you use as a tool to pull them out ?
Hook on a slide hammer ?