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I'm new here and a big thanks for a community of LS (GM) related members who help out and share knowledge. I have read quite a few posts on here and acquired a plethora of knowhow and applied to to my build.
Thank You!
I have recently taken a 67 Camaro and converted it back to a street car (from drag).
History - I purchased this car from Puyallup Wa a few years ago (during Covid) and as soon as I got it home I drove it to taco tuesdays with my son for a summer. I contacted a friend of mine and asked where I could get an LS motor for a swap. He said that he had one and I could pick it tomorrow (WOW - so cool). Went and picked it up and got it home and found out that it was ~2008+ L92. Other than that - there is ZERO information on this motor. I tore it down to the block and rotating assembly and everything looked good inside, I left the pistons and crank in it feeling confident everything was good there. I proceeded to install the following new items:
Cam (mild), rocker bearings, valve springs, timing chain (dual), dog bone (oil thingy), rear main seal, pan, radiator, oil pump (melling), plugs & wires, power steering box, brake booster, front disc brakes, painless wiring harness.
Holley LS Swap kit
water pump, power steering pump, AC pump, harmonic balancer, motor mounts, tranny mount, headers,
4L60 (local builder)
rebuild on my junk yard 4L60 with Hughes TC (2400 stall)
Fired it up and everything runs good given that it needs tuning. Tranny works, brakes work, no leaks (minor rad juice leak), Oil pressure 60 PSI. I was very happy!
The Problem
I started with short drives around the block to test on everything and see what (if anything) was happening. Being very nervous and cautious not to rev it or do anything that might jeopardize the cam break in. All less than 40 mph.Then it happened. I noticed that my oil pressure went down to 10 PSI - OUCH. Drove it home and decided to install a different electrical oil pressure gauge (kit w/new sender) just in case. Started it up again (after install of new gauge) and it was 60 PSI again and it stayed there after warm up. I then drove it around a bit (less than a mile and no highway) and it dropped to 0 PSI (OMG - NOOOOO). Drove it home and I then installed a mechanical oil gauge under the hood and tied it into the oil filter location. I found that both gauges were reading the same and I gave it another test run. So driving it around less than 40 mph, the oil pressure begins to drop again, However, it only goes down to about 20 PSI. Doing some research I found that some LS motors (probably heavy miles) can operate around 20 PSI and be ok. So I drove it like that - starting at roughly 60 PSI (cold) and eventually getting down to 40 PSI (maybe after 20 min or so - driving it). Then down to 10-20 PSI. UGH!!!! I decided to take it on the highway one day and drove it about 15 miles to Deer Park, there I believe the oil pressure got down to 10-20 PSI again. I was at the parts store for a minute and not letting it cool down much, and drove it back home. When I could hear the motor again at about 30 mph I could hear "tick tick tick tick tick tick", like the oil pressures was low (LOL). Oil pressure was at 5 PSI. AHHHHHH!
Conclusion
I'm hoping someone here and help me understand what the issue could be. I think the melling oil ring on the pickup tube might be the issue which means I have to pull the motor out to replace it. Maybe I tore it or installed the wrong one (green & black are the options). I don't know any of the history of this motor, so I can't make and deductions there either. Talked to a couple of mechanics and some friends about it - but not much to go on there.
Any insight is greatly appreciated.
Michael
Last edited by shreddoctor; 05-27-2024 at 07:44 PM.
I'm new here and a big thanks for a community of LS (GM) related members who help out and share knowledge. I have read quite a few posts on here and acquired a plethora of knowhow and applied to to my build.
Thanks You!
I have recently taken a 67 Camaro and converted it back to a street car (from drag).
History - I purchased this car from Puyallup Wa a few years ago (during Covid) and as soon as I got it home I drove it to taco tuesdays with my son for a summer. I contacted a friend of mine and asked where I could get an LS motor for a swap. He said that he had one and I could pick it tomorrow (WOW - so cool). Went and picked it up and got it home and found out that it was ~2008+ L92. Other than that - there is ZERO information on this motor. I tore it down to the block and rotating assembly and everything looked good inside, I left the pistons and crank in it feeling confident everything was good there. I proceeded to install the following new items:
Cam (mild), rocker bearings, valve springs, timing chain (dual), dog bone (oil thingy), rear main seal, pan, radiator, oil pump (melling), plugs & wires, power steering box, brake booster, front disc brakes, painless wiring harness.
Holley LS Swap kit
water pump, power steering pump, AC pump, harmonic balancer, motor mounts, tranny mount, headers,
4L60 (local builder)
rebuild on my junk yard 4L60 with Hughes TC (2400 stall)
Fired it up and everything runs good given that it needs tuning. Tranny works, brakes work, no leaks (minor rad juice leak), Oil pressure 60 PSI. I was very happy!
The Problem
I started with short drives around the block to test on everything and see what (if anything) was happening. Being very nervous and cautious not to rev it or do anything that might jeopardize the cam break in. All less than 40 mph.Then it happened. I noticed that my oil pressure went down to 10 PSI - OUCH. Drove it home and decided to install a different electrical oil pressure gauge (kit w/new sender) just in case. Started it up again (after install of new gauge) and it was 60 PSI again and it stayed there after warm up. I then drove it around a bit (less than a mile and no highway) and it dropped to 0 PSI (OMG - NOOOOO). Drove it home and I then installed a mechanical oil gauge under the hood and tied it into the oil filter location. I found that both gauges were reading the same and I gave it another test run. So driving it around less than 40 mph, the oil pressure begins to drop again, However, it only goes down to about 20 PSI. Doing some research I found that some LS motors (probably heavy miles) can operate around 20 PSI and be ok. So I drove it like that - starting at roughly 60 PSI (cold) and eventually getting down to 40 PSI (maybe after 20 min or so - driving it). Then down to 10-20 PSI. UGH!!!! I decided to take it on the highway one day and drove it about 15 miles to Deer Park, there I believe the oil pressure got down to 10-20 PSI again. I was at the parts store for a minute and not letting it cool down much, and drove it back home. When I could hear the motor again at about 30 mph I could hear "tick tick tick tick tick tick", like the oil pressures was low (LOL). Oil pressure was at 5 PSI. AHHHHHH!
Conclusion
I'm hoping someone here and help me understand what the issue could be. I think the melling oil ring on the pickup tube might be the issue which means I have to pull the motor out to replace it. Maybe I tore it or installed the wrong one (green & black are the options). I don't know any of the history of this motor, so I can't make and deductions there either. Talked to a couple of mechanics and some friends about it - but not much to go on there.
Any insight is greatly appreciated.
Michael
why would you have to pull the motor to check the o ring on the pick up tube? I changed mine by dropping the oil pan.
ah I see, I'm not to familiar with older cars. Is the cross member not removable?
Ya, this older car has a "non removable" cross member really tight even for stock applications. However, I should take the time to let everyone know that this oil pan is the Holly 302-2 clone, so the sump is a tad deeper than stock and the front of it (where the cross member is) is very short - roughly 3/4" - 1" deep.
And 100% sure the O-ring is on correctly for the oil pick-up ?
1/2" clearance between pan and crossmember...must be nice , lucky if I have an 1/8",
For sure. I did replace the "dog bone" as I called it (barbell). I suspect the oil pump pick up tube o-ring is the culprit here. However, I'm just feeling around to see if anyone has any other ideas before I start unhooking stuff. :-)
It’s not the o-ring at the pump. If that were the issue, it would never make 60 lbs cold. It looks to me like a bearing clearance issue, being on the large side, and as the aluminum block grows from thermal expansion as It warms up, the clearances get out of hand. What did the mains measure out to at setup?
You might try a 40w oil to combat this. It really doesn’t take much pressure to keep an engine alive at idle. In fact, a lot of race builds are set up with 5-6 psi at idle on purpose. 35-40 psi at cruise is fine for any street build.
Thanks Scott, I was afraid someone was gonna say that too. That is my biggest fear - tearing into it and replacing the bearings. I heard this once from a mechanic too and cringed cuz it made sense. Pretty sucky that this could indeed be the case, this car has been sitting for a year and a half - getting all the parts and doing this swap. All I wanna do is drive it and do burn outs. Too bad, but I guess if I'm gonna pull it out to change the possible o-ring issue, I might as well get it on the engine stand and rip into it. I was just hoping for a second that I may have missed something and someone would say "Hey, I've seen that before and it is cuz of this $5 part".
*EDIT
Forgot to say that I never did look at the crank to check these bearings. I got quite a ways into it - but didn't wanna tear it down that far. Heck, when I was swapping the cam I looked the other way saying "Don't look at the bearings".
Oil change done - gonna test drive here in a sec. Using O'Reilly's 10 W40 oil with Wix filter. Fun fact, I did the recommended for an LS3 which is 6 quarts. I also double checked the Holley quart capacity for a 302-2 pan and it is 6 quarts. However, my dip stick reads nothing (aftermarket). I'm thinking I may have overfilled the last time I put oil in it. My goodness - how much more dumb can I be???
*NOTE: First start was 57 PSI before topping off with the last (6th) quart
Oil change done - gonna test drive here in a sec. Using O'Reilly's 10 W40 oil with Wix filter. Fun fact, I did the recommended for an LS3 which is 6 quarts. I also double checked the Holley quart capacity for a 302-2 pan and it is 6 quarts. However, my dip stick reads nothing (aftermarket). I'm thinking I may have overfilled the last time I put oil in it. My goodness - how much more dumb can I be???
*NOTE: First start was 57 PSI before topping off with the last (6th) quart
Ok so if you waaaay overfilled it previously, the rotating assembly was whipping the oil into foam. The longer you drove, the lower the oil pressure would have been. Shut it off and wait 20 minutes, and it would be fine. Maybe…just maybe you’ve just found your issue. I’m pulling for you here.
My L9H did the same thing while it was spinning a rod bearing and eating the crank, but it made zero noise. My pressure loss was due to the filter filling with crankshaft though, but it was always better cold....
Ok so if you waaaay overfilled it previously, the rotating assembly was whipping the oil into foam. The longer you drove, the lower the oil pressure would have been. Shut it off and wait 20 minutes, and it would be fine. Maybe…just maybe you’ve just found your issue. I’m pulling for you here.
Well, That may have fixed the issue. I warmed it up for 5 min just let it sit there. Got it on the highway for roughly 5 miles at 60 mph and then into town and stopped by O'Reilly's to check on dip sticks (cut to length). I left it running the whole time and drove it home. Here are the results:
Warm up 57 PSI
Highway 50 PSI (60 mph)
idle at light 37 PSI
Cruising town 37 PSI (30-40 mph)
Highway again 50 PSI (60 mph)
Dude, you may have saved my bacon! I will test again this weekend when I can take it for a longer run and see what it does. Thank you for all your help man, I really want it to be just the oil change. LOL
Well, That may have fixed the issue. I warmed it up for 5 min just let it sit there. Got it on the highway for roughly 5 miles at 60 mph and then into town and stopped by O'Reilly's to check on dip sticks (cut to length). I left it running the whole time and drove it home. Here are the results:
Warm up 57 PSI
Highway 50 PSI (60 mph)
idle at light 37 PSI
Cruising town 37 PSI (30-40 mph)
Highway again 50 PSI (60 mph)
Dude, you may have saved my bacon! I will test again this weekend when I can take it for a longer run and see what it does. Thank you for all your help man, I really want it to be just the oil change. LOL
Fingers crossed here. Wouldn’t hurt to cut the removed oil filter open just for giggles. Keep us posted.
I'll start with the good news:
Oil pressure is steady at 50 PSI at 60mph and 39 PSI idle at the light in gear. Wahoo! Thanks for everyone who assisted it helping me out with this issue. Especially Scott, who pretty much nailed it! Thanks again.
Now the bad news:
I tore into the oil filter and found chunks and swirls in the filter and bottom of can. Now, the chunks might be from me hacking away at the filter like a 10 yr old (all I had were tin snips). Or, I suppose it could also be from my grinding away at random parts in the lower end (i.e. oil pan spash guard, dip stick tube, etc...). I may have something else going on - I guess time will tell cuz I'm gonna run it.
Thanks again gents for helping me with the initial problem. Case Closed!
I did. I was very adamant about ensuring nothing got into the motor while I had it apart. Nevertheless, I'm inclined to believe that some debris did get into the motor from the looks of the oil filter. Yet, I'm certain nothing large ever got into the intake, and if anything did get in there - gonna be pretty small.
05-27-2024, 05:10 PM
Low OIL pressure 
, lucky if I have an 1/8", 
