Hot Rods "New" small block oil pressure

For a NEW engine, even with just the dyno time, unless it was assembled in unclean conditions, NO. Lots of dirt streaks and imbedded material? Are there divots in the bearing or is it just oil drops? Snap the bearing shell out of the cap, and tell us what the bearing size is, that'll give an idea of what, if anything, has been done to the crank.. Might as well get the casting number off the crank while you're under there, just to make sure it is what it's supposed to be. Sometimes, the undersize will be wrote in paint on the front crank counterweight, or stamped in. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

what he said--lots of dirt in bearing-are those nicks/dents?

 

Bearing surface should be a dull grey, not shiny. That looks polished.

Here's 1 bearing failure analysis document, there are a lot out there, each one has additional pictures of more conditions. http://www.advantageengineparts.com/pdfs/Bearingfailure.pdf

 

that bearing is junk, what does the crank surface look like? if you can feel ridges with your fingernail its also junk.

 

Plasti-gague it, it'll tell you clearance for a quick check. Take your time. This is a great time to learn somthing new. It's just a chevy. Thankfully your not going through the same thing with some high dollar exotic twin cammed motor.

 

If that came out of your "new" motor, it looks like the hone grit wasn't cleaned out of the cylinders before assembly

 

That does not look good. Give us the backstory on this motor. How did you find it, what all do you know about it, what has the seller been telling you about the build ? Is this an engine builder or an individual ?

We've all bought stuff that was supposed to be one thing and ended up not as described.

Don

 

From the looks of that bearing, you may as well figure on a complete teardown & inspection. Sumthin' ain't addin' up...
Fresh rebuild, no paper work, low oil pressure, junk bearing...it's starting to look like you got bent over.

 

Unless it's a good friend or a reputable build you never know what you got. The whole thing seems fishy. Really it is hard to tell from the picture condition of the bearing. Take a piece of green scotch bright to it and see if any scratches can be felt. Plasti-gauge will tell you what's up with clearance. It's quick, cheap, and easy to do without ripping the whole motor out. Anytime I buy "rebuilt" stuff I presume I'm buying a good core, then make all the necessary inspections. But it is what it is. Like was said, we have all done it at least once.

 

Just run the thing Drew, it will last until it dies.

 

first off you got an autozone gauge and have no idea how accurate it is, even if it was a brand new S/W you would not know how accurate it is.

I have owned many a small block that held 7 at idle hot and 20-30 on the highway, they will run forever like that.

You oil pressure even on a new motor small block or ford side oiler depends on the build and the pump in question. If your motor was set up loose ( like I like 'em) and you were running a stockish pump it wouldn't hold much pressure. Or if it were set up middle of the road and running a high volume pump it may blow the babbit off the inserts. There are a lot of variables here.

 

Like I posted earlier, that bearing already looks polished, I suspect he's already done some wiping with something.

When we're doing an engine tear down and inspection, wiping the bearings with anything remotely resembling Scotchbrite pad is a big no-no. Not even supposed to use a rag. Spray 'em off with brake clean and let them dry. 1 lower bearing shell tells you very little about the overall conditions. We will typically pull all bearings and lay all of the uppers together in order and all the lowers together in order, taped together on the backs. This is straight from Caterpillar's school of failure analysis. I realize that is difficult to do with the engine in-frame, but you can leave the front and rear and pull others and roll the top shells out as well. With all the bearings laid out in order you can start to see patterns that give you clues as to what happened or what's going on. Based on the condition of that 1 shell it wouldn't be a bad idea to pull the rest. Plastic gauging them would be good too, considering the original complaint of low oil pressure.

 

You nailed it there, bro-ham. It's the inner-webs!

 

I wasnt going to say anything more here, but thats fragged. Like torana says, you need to have someone look at the crank, and see if it needs to be turned, this isnt something you can generally tell looking at photos on the internet unless its REAL BAD, it needs an inspection first-hand, by someone who knows what they are doing.
This thing wasnt cleaned properly before it was assembled. It needs to be completely torn down by someone who knows what they are doing, everything needs to be cleaned VERY thoroughly, all the parts need to be inspected for damage, and at the VERY LEAST, the bearings need to be changed. Hopefully the crank isn't scored, I would take a very close look at the skirts and cylinder walls and cam bearings for sure. Just a stab, probably honing grit, cylinder walls weren't cleaned properly prior to assembly. There is probably honing grit embedded in the skirts, and there will probably be similar scratches in the skirts and walls.

 

which will be measured in months, not years, and virtually nothing will be savable if you take that approach.

 

Might be the beginning of a flat lobe or 2 or 3 or>>>

 

Looks likes a case of some one not cleaning the oil passages in the crank after it was ground. Grinder grit in crank passages and head ports have messed up many rebuilds. Don't assume the machine shop cleaned them.

 

I've seen rebuilt heads with blast media falling out of the ports. Gives you that warm and fuzzy... not! Gotta check everything 10x when assembling anything critical.

 

Guys I am done. Totally done. I am working on cordially reversing the transaction and starting over. Getting a used motor to get me buy until I have $1,000s to blow on new stuff. In full disclosure I am honestly filled with grieving disappointment and need to walk away for a bit

I do appreciate everyone's help but this thing has to go

 

Guys you all sound like doom and gloom. No wonder he is ready to give up. I have built a lot of engines and I don't think I can honestly say that bearing is junk without mic ing it. Or plasti gauging it. Fucking bearings never look absolutely new after even a short run time no matter how careful you are rebuilding. Hell if the rod and mains check out ok it may just need a different bypass spring or a washer stacked on it. If the engine and pan are clean inside and the crank journals look good I would jack the pressure to where I liked it and run the crap out of it. And I still say 10 lbs at idle is crap for oil pressure. I'd say 30 at idle HOT is ok. JMO Lippy

 

Brand new pump, still 10psi.

The oil looks suspicious as well. I am simply past the point where I could ever have confidence in this motor. I don't want to build an engine, either, I want to build a car.

I do truly appreciate all who helped.

 

Drew, IMO, you are making the right decision. Something is just not right about that motor. Look, you aren't the first guy to have issues like this, my own Son had 3 Olds 455's in his rpu before he got one that wouldn't suck oil into the cylinders. He was about ready to turn the car into a planter.

The good thing is, there are a zillion sbc motors out there. I have even pulled one out of a wreck and ran it forever. Also consider a crate motor. I paid $ 1349.00 for a long block delivered to my door from Jegs.

If this was easy, anyone could do it. Just work through it and things will improve. You just have to keep telling yourself that this isn't a car you are depending on to get to work, it is a hobby, and you have to keep that in perspective.

Don

 

Could you stretch the spring a little bit? Wouldn't this create an increase in the oil pressure before it recycled the oil internally? This worked on the flatties. Just a thought.

 

Melling sells multiple different springs, i actually posted a chart on here, you just buy another spring. And stretching a by-pass spring doesnt really do anything. You could put a shim behind it, but with a pack of 5 springs being well under $10 from Melling, why?

 

To each their own, but there IS debris embedded in that bearing shell, and this is SUPPOSED to be a fresh engine. It came from somewhere, and just speaking for myself, I would want to be 100% sure there isnt anymore left in there.
Your approach may be different. That may have a lot to do with why I dont trust anyone but myself to assemble an engine I am going to run.

 

if the air is bothering you , crack the fitting and bleed it off at the gauge.

 

Yeah, don't like the looks of those bearings. A friend of mine bought a rebuilt 351C from another friend years ago. Fresh, zero miles. My brother started looking it over... dirt and grit in the valley, pulled the pan and they decided on the spot to pull it apart, check and clean everything. It looked like it was assembled in a sand storm. Once they got it cleaned and back together, it ran fine.

 

Just to update you guys

The transaction has been reversed. The guy has back the carb, transmission, and smallblock. It went smoothly there was no hostility really. I did loose $200 cash that was on top of the trade, and lost all I spent on gaskets/filters. The biggest thing I lost was my enthusiasm.


I talked to the engine builder that tested it and "fixed" the broken oil pump spring. He is reputable. Wouldn't recommend him simply based on how rude and arrogant he is (even before the details of this were explained). He indicated perhaps the guy I got it from made a mistake, but insisted it left his shop tested, adjusted, running and making 40lbs. I think it was an issue with bearing clearance AND machining particles in the motor that just tore up the bearings. Sad. Very nice motor. It was the high nickel block. Fuelie heads.

My uncle got me a 350. I heard it run. No noise, great oil pressure. 1985 motor so I'll use my preformer intake and a normal Holley/carter carb. Have to delete all the emissions crap. That motor will be here mid week.

Thanks to all you who were supportive through this.

 

cool beans! good luck.

 

Good to hear,
now take a lesson learned from this (you got off cheap)
and go forward.
Enjoy your car, and best of luck with it.