I've got some major problems on this '73 350 Automatic when I first started it up after years of sitting.

Most troubling is Indicated Oil Pressure. It's zero. The capillary oil line comes from the block in the area of the distributor to the gauge. I removed the line at the gauge, started the engine breifly, and observed a very weak flow of oil: more than steady drips, but in no way a steady stream. The oil's color coming from there was very dark, even after new oil (20w50) was put in the engine.

2. Power Steering control with the engine running is rock hard. The system was built from scratch: New power cylinder, new control valve, new hoses, a new pump, and almost a full quart of PS fluid was added to the system for a full Cold quantity indication. I will check for correct hose hookup again, but wondering if air in the system could be causing this.

I'm not going to start that engine again until I get some feedback from you guys on that oil pressure problem. This can't be normal. The dipstick is right at the ADD level. I wouldn't think it needs to be at the FULL mark to be picked up. I had no idea of what the condition of this engine was, but perhaps painfully learning about it now.

Thanks for your comments.

Steve

 

Did you bleed the power steering after install?
Start it up, and turn the wheel lock to lock a few times.
Best with front wheels off the ground.

As to the oil, could be the line is kinked.
Why not pull one of the valve covers and check for oil at the rockers while running as a first step to better help you narrow down the root cause of the low gauge reading.

 

Also for the oil pressure you could hook up a gauge were the line comes out of the block, is there any engine noise upper as a lifter making noise or lower noise as a rod or main bearing when you had the engine running

 

Much appreciated Fred.

Steve

 

That was my next inclination; take off the fitting and at least see if a geyser occurs on startup.

Thanks for the response.

 

Put a shop cloth over the disconnected oil pressure fitting....no sense in coating the engine in oil if a clog breaks free!



50wt oil is as thick as molasses.....why don't you drain it/change the oil filter and put 10w-30 oil in the engine...

then......

start the engine....if you don't hear clattering lifters/rocker arms/etc.......warm the engine to operating temperature for 10 minutes.

While the engines is running...rotate the steering left to right to work the air out of the system.....

Stop the engine...........Check the dipstick to see if the oil is still dark-colored---if it is, change the oil and filter again.

 

20W-50 is just a little too heavy, unless you live in Death Valley.
And as stated already, put a gauge at the port on the block, one that is specifically designed for oil pressure readings. Pull the valve covers off, are the heads wet with oil? Or are they dry looking, like they have not had any fresh oil in a long time?
Start the enginge and observe the gauge, (and) is there oil coming from the rockers? If there is no, or VERY low oil pressure and no, or VERY little oil at the rockers, shut it down! From here, you have two options, 1. pull the distributor and using a (cordless) drill, prime the engine to see if there is oil pressure and or flow at the rockers.
2. pull the oil pan, replace the oil pump.

 

If you have not started the engine in a long time and you have 20/50 in there i am sure your pump is not going to pick it up right away. Drain the old oil and put in some 10/30 or 40. Rotate the crank pulley by hand or pull the distrib and prime your system. Also pull your plugs to make it easier and squirt some oil in the cylinders.

 

Remove the distributor and prime the engine. Make a priming tool from an old dist or buy the tool. Then you can check for pressure without the mess. I would prime it any way considering it hasn't been run for a long time. As for the steering I would remove the belt and get the motor running to make sure it is in good condition. Then I would put the belt back on and work on the steering. One problem at a time.

 

All real good ideas. Thank you.

I didn't mention it, but I did have to buy a new distributor for this engine. I am under the impression a tange on the distributor drives the oil pump, and the distributor is driven by the worm gear on the cam.
Correct?

 

It's a relative quantity. Personally, I don't think it's very wet for running as much as it did.





You can see just a drop of dark oil pooled on maybe 2 or 3 spring retainers, but certainly not enough to be comfortable with.

 

Take that old distributor you have and make an engine primer out of it. You then can run the oil pump for as long as you want with a drill and not damage the engine. This way you can see if you are getting oil up to the rockers.

 

Food for thought....Around 1990 I bought this gt kit car had a 327 out of a vette, the engine had not ran since 70-71, the oil looked like coffee with too much cream, I changed it and put in 3 qt's oil 2 bottles marvel and primed it with a drill for a spell,
When I fired it up I had rocker clips on one side with the cover off and didnt notice the rotted plastic oil pressure line,
even with the clean oil and red marvel oil the eruption out of the pressure line was gross, it took a while to clear, and not till the second oil change did it start building good pressure.....days later the bad dried out seals all started leaking really badly.....

If you think you need a new dizzy and want one out of a 69, works good has tach drive, I will give you a great deal, how is that for pimping my part.....

 

you need to hook up a mechanical gage and prime that thing till you get good oil pressure and flow to the top.


I would not run it anymore until you find out what's really going on here.

Rule #1 believe your indications....until they are proven to be in error

 

No can do.

Car came without one.

 

I agree that problem one is that oil is too heavy. I would R&R it with 10W30 or even 5W30. And use a good oil free flowing filter-Wix or AC Delco. Forget Fram.
The oil primer tool that Jeg's sells is reasonably priced. You will probably need a 1/2" drill to spin it.

 

Good news Everyone,

I removed the tiny oil line from the block fitting near the distributor, and removed the other end from the gauge. I then took some compessed air and blew it out.



Pretty nasty.

I then removed both rocker covers and poured some of that MM snake oil on the rockers & springs, replaced the covers, and poured the rest of the quart into the engine. I now had a total of 4 qts of GTX 20w50 and 1 qt of Marvel Mystery Oil in the pan.

Then I screwed in an adapter or two so as to splice in an external pressure gauge at the block, fired it up, and after 3-5 seconds, it read 40 psi @ 2300 RPM, 50 psi @ 3200 RPM.
About all I could hope for, with the odometer reading 66,567 on it. A little blue smokey exhaust, but isn't that unexpected with an engine sitting for years? I'm pretty stoked about the whole thing now.

Power steering still dorked up. Turns left in a normal power-assisted way, but "locked" from turning to the right. ???

Off to get some lighter engine oil.

 

After cleaning out (with carb cleaner) the oil line fittings, blowing out the plastic line, and even cleaning out the gauge's fitting (and lightly exercising the gear movement), still not getting any indication of oil pressure. All this leads me to believe the problem now is with the gauge.
Is this how oil pressure gauges typically fail (just stop indicating)?

Thanks in advance.

Steve

P.S.: Engine oil is now 5W-20

 

Go to the junk yard and buy an old Dizzy for a Chevy take it all part, remove the gear on the end. So you should have a long shaft with a slot in the end. Remove you new Dizzy, place the shaft (slot end down) into the Dizzy hole with your drill attached prime the engine till the oil is coming out of the oil presser line, check under the valve covers to see if it is coming up. If that doesn't work, you may have a bad oil pump. Do not run engine till you figure out your oil problem. Hope this works for you.

 

Harris,

Troubleshot it down to the car's 40+ year old gauge.

Steve