´74 Olds Delta 88 straight out of hibernation, troubleshooting and engine rebuild

Skimmed through the thread again.
Olds engines often used a back pressure activated EGR valve. If original AC Delco valve there would be an additional 'BP' stamped to indicate a back pressure valve, these valves cannot be tested unless the engine is running. There is a little check valve that closes when there is exhaust pressure, when vacuum is applied to the nipple with engine running the valve will open. With the engine off, or the valve removed, simply applying vacuum will not activate the valve.
A good valve may appear bad if not tested correctly.

350/403/307 Olds use EGR 'injectors' screwed in under the primaries of the QJet on the intake. Those can be removed to clean out, a drill bit makes easy work. Hardest part is cleaning out the passages inside the intake. Long hooked picks make the work easy, but there will still be many blessings given. Piano wire is an alternative. Not sure if the 455 used similiar setup.



Do you have more pictures of this oil cooler adapter and setup?
Does it have a part number on it?
May want to verify it is functional and not a flow inhibitor.
Front con rods/main are the last spot to get oiling.

 

Mike, I tested the EGR valve, and it does open when vacuum is applied, but it won´t be operable once the engine is rebuilt, I´m just gonna delete it. Same on the Oil cooler adapter, I didn´t check it for numbers, I will and take better pics, but I did check it for a thermostat and the is none. My best guess is , the open cooler circuit stole enough oilflow to starve the rotating assembly of oil. Why would someone need an oil cooler on a 4dr landyacht? I´m not going to put it back on. It does have an oil temp sensor brazed into the oilpan, that´s probably a good idea, but an ungoverned oil cooler circuit is just asking for trouble in my honest opinion, but I´m just a hairdresser,so what do I know, hahahaha

 

Diesels had oil coolers, maybe it used to be a diesel car? but that came later in the 70s

 

Hahaha, Jim, a good idea, but I don´t think so. That´s obviously an aftermarket item, looks a little cobbled in, zip ties, not something the factory would do. Not that cobbling things together is a bad thing, I may have done that myself occasionally....

 

I need to pick your brains once more. I just checked main bearing clearances and all were perfect at .002“. I lubed everything up , rolled the presoaked rope seals in and put the crank back. The more I thightend the caps the more resistance I got turning the crank, up to the point where it was locked up tighter than county jail. 120 ft-lbs wouldn‘t budge it. I loosened the rear main and it was free, but still to much drag for my taste . The ropes are perfectly seated and all caps on the right direction. The rope seals ride partly on this knurled area , and the knurling is thicker than the rest of the journal…. I’man idiot as I’ve already scrapped the old crank , so I‘ve no comparison. On one photo it also shows that the rear main bearing seems to be slightly tinted forward, like the rearside of the cap could not seat all the way.
… so I guess now I need to find out what the journal diameter on a GM 455 crank is. The Eagle crank measures 80.02 mm ( 3.15“) on the smooth side of the journal and 80.95mm ( 3.187“)on the knurled side.
I don‘t mind having this crank turned down a bit, but it sure would be great to know by how much

 

seems like I‘m not the first one to run into this..
would still be great to find out what the factory spec are…

 

AFAIK, Olds 455 cranks use a 3" main.
The fact you are getting .002" clearance is weird with 3.15" mains.

I'll dig around.

What is the cast numbers on the block next to the oil fill tube pad?
75/76 engines are slightly different than 70-74.

Did you have the block checked for line bore concentricity?

Verify the crank is true.

70-74 120ftlbs for mains
75/76 110ftlbs for mains.

.0005-.0021" clearance for mains 1-4
.0020-.0034" clearance for #5.
.004-.008" endplay

 

Mike, you´re right, mains are all 3", but the journal the rear main seal rides against is partly smooth and partly knurled as shown in the photo, and that journal is also bigger than the mains. I also verfied its a 74 Block.

 

Perusing the forums, seems the Eagle Olds 455 crank can use a bit of a cleanup out if the box according to a few users, your machine shop should be able to verify its dimensions.

455 mains need to be checked for egging, Hi-po guys say to run run .003" on #1-4 Main and .0035" on #5 main bearing clearance.

Blathering on Olds oiling.

Shim the pump relief and plug the filter bypass on the oil filter adapter.

HV pump can cause more issues by itself without improved drainback and oil capacity, it will suck the pan dry to fill the valve covers with oil.

Head to block drainback needs the lip on the block ground down. Can use the head or head gasket to mark out this area allowing faster oil return.

 

Btw, I just checked the numbers on the block, 396021F, and the partial VIN also matches the car. So it‘s certainly a 1974 455.

 

There are options to using the factory rope seal.
Some have used a 460 Ford 2 piece rear main seal in place of the rope seal.
Worth taking a look over on Classicoldsmobile.com for advice and a good part number.

 

Thanks for the heads up! I already ordered a 2 piece rear main seal for a 460 Ford to get rid of the rope seal...There´s a lot of good info on that site!