Correct Oil Filter for SB

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ecw329 said:
the coat hanger went in 7 1/2" into the sender hole, does this indicate this plug is missing?
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That plug is in there if it 7 1/2". 7 1/2" is right between the two horizontal oil passages in the block. Even if that plug was missing it would have no effect on oil pressure. The oil would by pass the filter if that plug was missing which would be bad but you'd have plenty of pressure.
 
Loose clearances. When the engine is cold, pressure is high. When it warms up, pressure will drop. A crack in the tube and pick up to close to the pan will have it low at all times @ idle.

(Worn lifter bores are also a good note)
 
Your measurement of 7 1/2 seams long, usually they are 7 inches. There is a machined step in the block that the plug seats on. If its not installed, or seated properly, the motor will have very low oil pressure.
Worn lifter bores equals 16 leaks.
 
ecw329 said:
the coat hanger went in 7 1/2" into the sender hole, does this indicate this plug is missing?
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I just went out to the garage and measured a bare 360 block I have and 7-1/2" is just right.

Also to respond to the worn lifter bores. It can cause lower than normal oil pressure. I know because the 360 in my Cuda now is like this. The lifter bores measure from .9058-.9067. The book calls for a max of .9055 so it's out of tollerance on all lifter bores. It does have lower than normal oil pressure but not that much. It starts at 65 psi cold then when it's fully warmed up drops to 30 in gear idling and goes right back up to 55 when you hit the gas. That's with 10w40 oil.

bjwhitejr what weight oil are you running?
 
The oil we used is Castrol GTX 20-50W.

I need to look up all the places where there could be internal leaks. How can I tell if I really have a HV oil pump once I get the pan off?

I noticed the 90 deg oil filter adapter has a plug in the end on the suction side. Could I put a gauge on that and be able to tell anything?

I really hate to do this ,but it sounds like we might need to pull the motor out of the car over the Christmas Holidays. (Hope it is warm enough). If it is not obvious like a missing plug I am not sure what to look for.

bwhitejr
 
You can take off a valve cover and start it to see how much oil is coming out of the lifter bores. I know its a mess but you can try and contain it with rags. Look for good valvetrain oiling too, as that oil comes from the cam bearings. Sounds like the sending unit plug is installed, but it could be the plugs under the cam thrust plate. Its a longshot, but make sure the lifters are the right ones, as to short of a lifter can expose a lifter galley passage. Can a small base circle cam do that too? I don't know, but maybe someone else here does. If you pull it out look for bearing clearances and rod side clearances.
High volume pumps are taller than stock and they usually have a tag on them that says HV. Good luck and keep us informed.
 
I don't know if it matters but my heads are Edelbrock Performer RPMs and I can't see the lifters. BTW there was plenty of oil flow up top. We revved her up an had oil splattered all over the windshield.

Notice the mechanical rocker assemblies.

Heads-Small.jpg
 
bwhitejr said:
The oil we used is Castrol GTX 20-50W.

I need to look up all the places where there could be internal leaks. How can I tell if I really have a HV oil pump once I get the pan off?

I noticed the 90 deg oil filter adapter has a plug in the end on the suction side. Could I put a gauge on that and be able to tell anything?

I really hate to do this ,but it sounds like we might need to pull the motor out of the car over the Christmas Holidays. (Hope it is warm enough). If it is not obvious like a missing plug I am not sure what to look for.

bwhitejr
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Wow that really is low pressure for having a hv pump and using 20w50.

Like Bob said the HV pump is thicker than a stock pump and all I've seen have a tag on one of the body screws that says HV.

As far as internal leaks the only ones there can be are the ones allready mentioned. Bob noted the plugs behind the cam thrust plate could do it. The 360 in my Cuda was rebuilt when I got it and it had low oil pressure so I pulled it out and checked it over and found those plugs missing and thought great I found the problem. I put it back together and it didn't hardly gain even 5 psi. Aparently the thrust plate seals it up pretty good.

Yes that is a port to check oil pressure at but that's not a suction port. The only place you have suction is at the input of the oil pump. Everything else has pressure. That's just the pressure input to the filter. Theoretically you should read the same psi as it does up top but there might be a small difference.

I hate to say it but it does sound like you need to pull it out and go through it.
 
Nice looking engine!
I noticed it looks like your using 273 rockers on your engine.Two things to look for; One is the rocker shafts have a notch on them and they must point down, with the drivers side notch in the front and the pass side notch in the rear. If you have the oiling holes pointing up, it could affect your oil pressure.
Second thing is the adjusters are junk. They have an interfearance fit and they won't stay set. I used Crane Cams locknut adjusters on my 273 and they won't move out of adjustement.
 
Well, it looks like the only way to be sure, is to start taking the engine apart.

What can be checked that wouldn't involve pulling the whole engine out of the car. Like remove oil pan, pick-up and oil pump. Or remove water pump and timing cover to see if the galley plugs are in there on the front of the engine?

Thanks in advance,

bwhitejr
 
bwhitejr said:
Well, it looks like the only way to be sure, is to start taking the engine apart.

What can be checked that wouldn't involve pulling the whole engine out of the car. Like remove oil pan, pick-up and oil pump. Or remove water pump and timing cover to see if the galley plugs are in there on the front of the engine?

Thanks in advance,

bwhitejr
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That's probably right but have you checked the one under the intake manifold that you can see through the dist. hole that we mentioned earlier. It's real easy to look for. Just yank the dist. It seems to get left out alot from what I've read and it will definetly cause your problem. Before I pulled the whole engine out I'd at least look to see if it's in there.

I have a pic in a engine book I can scan this eve. and post the pic if you want to see a pic of it.
 
There are four oil gallery plugs in the LA V-8. Three are at the back of the engine. It seems to me that if one of those was the culprit, you'd have oil dripping out of the bellhousing. The fourth is behind the oil filter adapter. To retrieve any of these requires a 5/16th square Allen type wrench. If this one is not tight or missing, it could cause low oil pressure without evidence of oil loss.

You ought to be able to check the one behind the oil filter adapter without having to do a lot of work.

As far as filters, the Wix 51515 is the one I prefer. It would fit nearly all US Fords as well as Mopars of the 60s and early 70s. The Fram cross is PH8A. If you want to run a short filter, I think the PH16 works.
 
the engine has a small leak seemingly from the back side of the engine that drips down and out of the trans bellhousing, the stain on the pavement after runnign is maybe the size of a CD or there abouts, could this be the cause of the loss of that much oil pressure?
 
That leak seems more like what I would expect of a rear main seal leak. At this point, I'm stumped. BTW: Nice looking engine (from what I see in the picture).

There are two oil gallery cups that seal the front end of the cam lube passages that are located behind the cam thrust plate. The front of the engine needs to come off for that to be checked. The only other place I can think of is the seal between the oil pump and rear main cap and block.
 
Did you assemble the engine or did someone else ? If you did it - when you were assembling - did you check your bearing clearances ? Maybe you have a set of bearings that are too loose in tolerance - ? You might also have a stuck pressure relief valve in the pump. Ive heard of this happening as well which might be something to check into.
 
Looking back on the initial start-up of this engine, we had some trouble getting oil pressure. We put a priming shaft with a 1/2 HP drill motor in the distibutor hole and ran it wide open and got no oil pressure. We then started cranking the engine and running the drill motor we got oil up top. It seems we should have gotten a trickle with just the priming shaft and drill motor. I thought at the time something must be pretty tight.


bwhitejr
 
The machinist put the motor together. We received a short block with oil pan and timing cover on. We went to our mechanic's shop to initially fire the motor. And it has had low oil pressure since day 1. I have talked to the machinist and he said if I take the motor out and bring it to him he will look it over. I just don't want to take it out and bring it to him if there is a chance I can find the problem first.

bwhitejr
 
I didn't read all the posts but the oil pressure reminds me of when I was running an engine built by a machine shop whom had forgotten to install two vital, internal oil plugs...

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=21169

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=20139

There are 3 different 360 oil filters, your year came with the medium length one, I think it was a little longer then what I run on my 360, the NAPA 1068 which is a Wix but I forgot what the Wix number is (something with 5 digits I believe).
 
`What type of lifters do you have? Ive heard that if you use roller lifters they may expose some of the lifter oil galley in a non roller block. Take off the intake to check this before you pull the motor.
You can remove the oil pan in the car by removing the steering linkage. You can check the pump and clearances. You check the rear seal for leaks too.
 
bwhitejr said:
A picture would be great!

Thanks,

bwhitejr
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Couldn't find a good enough pic in my book so I took a couple of the block I have in the garage. You'll notice in the 2nd pic I stuck an allen wrench in it for clarity. An allen wrench don't fit a stock plug. It's a square plug. Just thought I'd mention that.
 
bwhitejr said:
Looking back on the initial start-up of this engine, we had some trouble getting oil pressure. We put a priming shaft with a 1/2 HP drill motor in the distibutor hole and ran it wide open and got no oil pressure. We then started cranking the engine and running the drill motor we got oil up top. It seems we should have gotten a trickle with just the priming shaft and drill motor. I thought at the time something must be pretty tight.


bwhitejr
Click to expand...

When you say you got no oil pressure do you mean no reading on a gauge or just no oil up top? Reason I ask is because unless you have the engine in just exactly the right position the holes in the cam bearings aren't lined up with the holes in the cam that feeds oil up top. That's why when you spun the engine over you got oil up top.
 
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