Make sure you change the oil filter asap as it will be clogged with the vaseline and any other assembly lube/greases

 

Fired it up and had 55psi at idle!!!

 

Got it hot, bleed the coolant and changed the oil. Found a huge mass of vasoline sitting on top of the filter. Wont be doing that again.

Took it for a short ride, get it the gas station and check the pressure and its like 5-7psi.

Bring it back to the shop, still 5-7 psi. Engine sounds great, has good power and pressure rises even barely touching the throttle.

So i shut it down and restart it like 4 mins later and the car has a steady 25psi at idle. I let the idle car idle for 10-15mins and the idle stayed consistent at 25psi at idle.

Not sure if its the guage or just more vasoline was messing with the pressure for a while, or whatever it was, but hopefully it stays at 25psi.

 

Glad you got it figured out. I was gonna mention the cam retainer plate gasket next.

 

Hmmm, I got a jar of Vaseline in my pool room I use to lube the filter housing o-ring. At our SETX ambient air temps, it's almost completely liquefied. I fail to see how there would be "a huge mass" of it after the engine got hot. I've used the stuff to pack the pump in my Buick turbo 6 with no problems...

 

Yeah guys, I don't know where or when in history it became "a thing" to pack an oil pump with Vaseline or grease but it's not a good thing nor does it help anything. An oil pump can't pump oil when there's some sort of grease in it. Imagine-a freshly built engine that can't get oil because of this stuff in the oil pump.

dburt86, now that you have good pressure and you're flushing the rest of that stuff into the second filter, time to perform one more oil change. Reach for a better filter such as Wix, Hastings, Mobil1 Extended or K&N.

 

I think the difference is these modern engines have gerotor type pumps and they're located outside and above the oil sump.

An old school spur gear pump submerged in the sump may be OK when packed with stuff.

I just never felt it was a good idea and I don't know an machine shop or motor building book I've seen over the years that recommends it.

 

I have used Vaseline in 100's of transmissions and 100's of engines and I never had any trouble with it either. Only trouble I ever ran into was using any type of assembly lube with moly in it blocking the oil filters. One of the reasons I started using Vaseline OR Lucas Synthetic oil treatment. I've always take a new oil pump and full it with clean oil, that should be all it needs.

 

Lucas Synthetic Oil Treatment foams up, the oil becomes air, discussed several times. It's 90 weight paraffin (soap). Add NOTHING to an oil that's been carefully balanced and blended by it's maker.

 

All I know is that when I took the filter down, there was a 1x1x3 mass of vasoline on top of the filter. Looked like a huge slug.

Paul, I think ur right. I'm gonna do one more change with good oil and good filter.

Any thoughts on the intermittent low pressure? If it's not the pick up oring, then what else could it be?

Thanks to all that chimed in. It was a stressful weekend for sure

 

The video above is NOT the Synthetic Lucas Oil Treatment. Millions of truckers using it can't be wrong, Lucas is a very successful company and stands behind their products 100%. I can tell you this take 1/2 qt of Synthetic Lucas Oil treatment and put it in a noisy clattering LS motor and you will be rewarded with QUIET and POWER.

I'm glad got your engine running but Vaseline had nothing to do with your problems. I used it 100's of times. If it was the cause of blocked filters 100's of transmissions would not work and 100's of engines would be damaged. This is from personal experience.

 

Vaseline may not be the ideal solution for newer engines? But it works perfectly fine in the older stuff for sure! I won't be using it in my new L92 build, but then again, it's alloys and tolerances are much better than my '87 Buick. Because the Buick pump is external and the suction passages are highly convoluted, it needs all the help it can get...

 

Personally, I just squirt some assembly lube in the oil pump to coat the gears and create suction when the motor spins.

 

Packing the pump with Valvoline should not be needed with any LS1 engine. If some folks have done it without issue, great. Obviously, there are times when it causes a problem. EG: The OP here wiped his bearings on motor #1 and had the same issue with motor #2. The LS gerotor pump will suck oil on first start up. Certainly soaking the pump in a container of oil first would help seal and aid in first start up suction.

But if you think it's good stuff and helpful, go ahead and do it for your own engines.

Lucas. Their stabilizers have a high percentage of paraffin. Good oils don't need any additive and any oil maker would advise against any additives. In some cases, the paraffin can cause problems down the road.

The bottom line: It's not needed with good oil. It changes how good oil performs. It can cause problems from foaming at higher crank speeds and paraffin build up.

But if you think it's good stuff and helpful, go ahead and do it for your own engines.

 

HAHAHA...Seriously? You do know there's a huge difference between the operating parameters of the diesel engines in those trucks and a high performance gasoline engine, right? The demands on the oil are much different between the two.

 

All I can say is you have misinformation, it has no Paraffin's in it. I can tell all you guyz do is a google search and what comes up is gospel. Use what you like but you shouldn't post up about things you know nothing about. Lucas has very good products. How can you give a opinion on ANYTHING you haven't used? I've used different Lucas products for years AND HAVE NEVER EXPEREINCED anything but excellent results.

I can post up honest 1-2 mpg increase using just 1/2 qt of Lucas Synthetic oil treatment, plus the engine revs quicker and sounds much quieter. If the Lucas was so bad like you all posted above HOW COULD I HAVE THESE RESULTS? Use what makes you feel fuzzy and warm inside but bashing some ones product without any real solid facts is poor. BOB is the oil guy says this or that, how do you know hes not full-0-crap? Think about it.

 

That’s an interesting point.

My brother is manager of a heavy truck repair shop. He’s somewhat of an experienced expert in automotive technologies, having worked as a designing engineer at Standard Motor Products back in the days of Blue Streak ignitions and carburetor Jiffy Kits-he has some awards and a full card of ASE certifications. He speaks of what he knows as fact, if he doesn’t know he stays quiet. I consulted him on this.

Trucks use specialized diesel oils such as Rotela or Mobil1 Delvac which should never have anything added to it. It’ll upset the balance and design of the oil. He goes on to say that truck manufacturers don’t recommend additives and that they may void warranties.

Heavy trucks today are more often maintained by proper shops that will follow the vehicle makers recommendations. The driver rarely gets involved with oil changes and such.

For his 1984 Eldorado with that crappy HT4100 engine with flat tappets, he uses Mobil1 15W50 oil that has high zinc OR he adds zinc to regular oils. He would never use any other additives.

 

By all means, post your findings!

How much quicker does it rev? 100RPM/sec? 200RPM/sec? What equipment was used to measure?

How much quieter? 1db? 10db? Again, what equipment was used to measure?

 

I was also thinking about RPM. Diesels operate at very low RPM whereas gasoline engines, especially high performance applications, operate 2-3 times higher. I would think an oil formulated for a gasoline engine have aeration and frothing effects to consider.

 

I just did a quick internet search about the Lucas additive. It's about 50/50 good and bad. It is heavily loaded with paraffin, proven from it foaming in high RPM use. This has been known and discussed for a long time, nothing new here.

I'll maintain that a quality oil doesn't need anything. If anybody feels their oil benefits from an additive, that's his or her choice, don't let other peoples opinions and/or experience sway you.