Surely, there must be some Ford FE folks out there. The oil pressure is 60+ upon start up, after running for a while it will drop to 10 at idle. Then will be bacK to normal upon acceleration. I have been told by the brother-in-law, that the oil ports in the head are too big. Any thoughts, suggestion, after all, the brother-in-law doesn't lie
I knew a guy that had a 390 in a early 70's truck and he had the same problem.He blamed it on a worn oil pump and bearings.I would'nt worry about it as long as it stays at or above 10 psi or you start to hear the lifters pecking .Have you tried some STP?My Olds 350 runs 60 at start up idling and drops to about 18 when she is warmed up good.
This is common. The best cure is found in Pat Ganahl's book, "Ford Performance" still available from Amazon Basically, he says to enlarge the oil p***ages from the pump to the filter, and to the main gallery. Drill the pump p***age to 1/2" and chamfer the opening. Swap the oil filter adapter for the larger one with flared openings, PN C0AZ-6881-A. Use a good high volume/ high pressure pump, PN C9ZZ-6600-A (or TRW replacement). Also install the large rpickup tube, PN C0AZ-6622-E. He goes on to recommend restricting the oiling to the rockers: simply get a piece of round stock close to the of the oil p***age to the rockers (a slip fit); drill a 0.090 hole through it and slip into place. This will allow enough oil to lube the rockers yet not over-oil the upper end and starve the lower end. Cosmo
I've had two 429's and a 460 in my roadster and they have all had the same problem (not sure its really a problem). I don't worry about it much they seem to last forever oil pressure or not.
COSMO hit it perfect!!!!!! Plus enlarge the return drain holes, polish upper end for oil flow back down to the pan................OLDBEET
Holy ****. My 406 has 100 lbs except when hot at idle then it's 80 lbs. My buddys 406 is the same. Why the difference? Billy
This is the first thing any good F E rebuild guy does. Been doin it to mine for 40 years. Maybe have been done to yours?????..............OLDBEET
Also I think some of the early 390 HP engines and 406 blocks that originally came with solids weren"t drilled to oil the hydralic lifters. The 390 in my 69 crewcab seems to have the same problem. I am going to screw a mechanical guage in and see just what I have for psi, you can't trust Ford guages.
Not to stir any ****, but Ford engines seem to have their share of worn cam bearings. The oil p***age fix might be the cure, before the cam bearings get too worn.
Interesting- that'd help explain how I've met so many fellow FE'ers that recognized my lifter knock so well. Gotta look into doing this, when it's in the machine shop. To the original question: I had the same prob in oil press. drop when I was daily driving 'er, but not nearly the prob after swapping in a beefed-up oil pump (the necessary part was replacing the pump shaft, which had become slightly bent near the top and obstructing the distributor from being taken out).
Thanks to all the HAMB'ers with thier reply. As the current resident FNG , an old military term, this info was great. Dan
I didn't think FNG was an old term, but that's probably because I was an FNG once. I guess the 60s were a long time ago. On ypour FE its just getting loose. If your going to do the oil pump thing it will take a complete teardown, might as well redo the lower end while your inthere. They run a long time after they loosen up so I'd just start saveing the cash to go through it and do the oil pump thing then.
My 390 FE has 428 heads with bored oil ports so she pushes 80+ psi when you get on the throttle and idles at about 60 psi. One thing I've noticed is that my engine burns oil.... A lot of oil. When it gets low like that you should check your oil level before starting her for the day. When my psi started dropping I was confused too and could hear the Valves ticking a bit so I checked to see what the problem was and sure enough I was very low on oil. Put a few quarts in her and problem solved. I carry an extra quart with my all the time now just to be safe.
The reason the psi is still strong when starting and getting on the throttle is because it forces the oil you have to immediately circulate producing what seems to be normal psi levels. It drops when it gets to idle because although you may have some oil you don't have enough for proper circulation. If your engine seems to be running very hot it's because of low oil or radiator problems but we're ***uming you have a fine radiator so the psi is probably an easy fix. Check your oil level, if it's low put a couple quarts in and the psi should return to Normal. If not than you have something really bad going on.
I suppose it would be impolite of me to point out that when this guy was having problems, you were in the second grade. But I'm sure he appreciates your advice anyway. So welcome to the HAMB, just think about checking the dates on the posts before you respond to them.
I don't think oil p***age size is you problem that would effect times of high volume as in high rpm. You most likely have a big clearance some where. Cam and main bearings have a big effect and oil pump. If the hydraulic lifters stay pumped up at an idle and the pressure comes up with rpm I wouldn't worry to much.
I kind of like it when these old posts are brought back. Some are a lot more interesting than the current ones. Well maybe not this one so much but its all good.
I vote for first swapping out the sending unit. On several Fords of mine I found that the sending unit diaphragm gets plugged up over time and it behaves sluggishly. It will spike ok with plenty of pressure but with moderate pressure it doesn't action very well to register on the gauge. It's a cheap enough thing to rule in or out.
FE's like to run hot, 180 190 thermostat . Put a good external oil cooler on it and watch for a 20 lb gain with the extra quart and cooler. carrol Shelby or hoolman moody ever built an engine without an oil cooler worked for me !!!
The Jalopy Journal
