My thoughts exactly. My specific purpose for plumbing the rear gauge was a "worst case scenario" type thing, and although its in the range considered acceptable I still want a little more. And as they say, "we have the technology!" Besides, better safe than sorry, but once I get everything playing nice together in the 300-500 mile range, this cars gonna get a healthy whooping of the skinny pedal every now and again (and again...haha)
Sean, Could you try to temporarily plumb in a gauge on the front of the motor to see what the pressure loss is?
I've thought about doing that Dave, but at this point I figured the bottom line is its lower at the rear than I want, so might as well tweak it.
Shawn, what weight oil are you using? If it is light weight, pressure will drop some. My first oil change I went from regular to synthetic and oil pressure dropped about 6-7 PSI, measured from front. Before that it idled hot at 20 and cruised at 40.
I've got a bit of a cocktail in there as its what was available in break-in oil at the time of the "great lifter crash of 2015". Mostly 10-30 with a pinch of 20-50 (cause its what I had in high zinc). I don't really want to run all heavy weight stuff if I can avoid it, so this week I'll check (and adjust if possible) the pump clearances and see what happens. The reason I'm cautiously optimistic this will be the fix, is another Buick engine I have very intimate knowledge of was done by the same builder and had this same issue. The pump was a bit on the high end clearance wise, we pulled .001" of shim out, and its been gravy ever since.
A little update on the oil pressure deal. I pulled the pump today and checked the clearances. It was a tad high at .0035-.004. I redid it pulling .001 out, so it should be .0025-.003 now which is in spec. It helped some, but still isn't as high as I'd like. It's running a bit under 10 at idle which is OK, not great. Still having issues at higher rpms though. Seems to be about 5 psi shy of what it should be. I'm playing with the ta adjustable regulator to see if that helps. At this point I'm gonna do what I can to get it as good as I can and that's gonna be that, I'm going to quit worrying about it. I figure I'm reading from the weakest point in the system, so it that's just a little low the majority of the system should be fine. I may also upgrade my gauges, I'm admittedly using some pretty inexpensive gauges that I had and decided to use temporarily to get me by. And if it eats a bearing it eats a bearing, its just part of the game sometimes. On a side note, man that thing pulls hard to 100! Haha.
Ummmm....Oh, that was km/h, so about 62 mph. Yeah, that's the ticket. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
So one last brief update on the oil pressure thing. The TA regulator has helped bring up the higher RPM pressure some, still not ideal. I'm gonna run it all the way in, back it out a half turn, and see what that does. It has 4 quarts of 5w-30, one quart of straight 30, and a half quart of 20w-50 (again, its the break in oil I had available during the lifter ordeal). As much as I hate to, I'll probably do an oil change and throw a bit more 20-50 in this time to see what that does. I know its a bit of a band-aid, but Im not tearing this engine apart unless theres a failure somewhere. I need to look back at my spec sheet to see what the clearances were machined to, its been so long I've forgotten. But if I remember correctly they are just a little on the high side, though not by much.
Shawn, I would still try plumbing in a gauge at the front of the block just to see how much pressure you are losing.
Not-so crucial update, Rusty's been running along just fine, no new issues of note (knock on wood). I did finally get a set of doggies on it (thanks j-cook), and it took a little getting used to, but I'm pleased with how they look. Also hit up a cruise with Taulb and my buddy Jake (the blue camaro is his). Weather was sketchy and kept alot of cars away, but it was still a good time.
It sure looked like you were having a good time on the way there! I can say that you are not afraid of the skinny pedal haha
Perfect timing for that quote man. When are you going to make a 1/4 mile pass? Been waiting to see your numbers so I know if I hit my mark on my build performance wise. I highly doubt I will dyno mine anytime soon. Still have yet to fire it off. Work and fighting with the trans crossmember have delayed my plans. So the track will have to be mine once I get the miles on it and its broke in a little. Also I can't remember but are you running the RobbMC 1100hp fuel pump? That is my next decision RobbMC mechanical or go electric. And the dog dish caps on that mean green Hulk give it that old school bad ass look.
Thanks Jesse, I thought that line was appropriate! Rusty won't be seeing a track anytime soon I'm afraid. I really don't think that stock muncie case would survive a hard launch on a sticky track without grenading itself. There are plans to upgrade to an autogear supercase in the foreseeable future and then it'll be on the 1320. I am running the robbmc 550 pump (which I was told 550 was on the conservative side so I should be good since I'm near that) and thus far its been flawless. I may upgrade to the 1100 down the road (all you have to do is send him the pump and pay the difference and he'll upgrade it) just for grinnies, but see no real need at this point since I've had no starvation issues of note.
Yeehaw! Good on you Shawn and the boys! Drive it now like you stole it but keep in mind you need to get it home! MarkO
I wouldn't say I drive it like i stole it, I've probably only giving it the full goods a few times. Really most of the time it's normal driving with the occasional goose of the throttle just for grinnies. But I didn't build an engine with all this torque just to idle around all the time either....
Thanks for letting me know Shawn and I've decided to go RobbMC, either the 550 or 1100. I think the 1100 is the sure fire way and in talking with them on the phone they think I need the 1100 since I'm running an 800 CFM Qjet. So running that 950 Holley was a good move on your end with the Hulk. Robb seems to think his 550 performs better with holley and dominators than the ole Qjet. I got a slamming deal on my Qjet but now I will most likely be splitting the difference there by ponying up the dough for the 1100 HP and his regulator. It will give me confidence down the line when its time to put the pedal to the metal it will have no problems. Also leaves me growth for later if i want to get the car over 600 horses, My block is girdled so I feel like it would be a waste if I dont get it over the 600 mark. And I understand about your muncie. My car has a weak link in the rear end. Its a 8.2 10 bolt Posi out of a 67 GTO. I didn't put it there but it will do the job for a while. Just not at the track on sticky tires. Later I'll go with a 12 bolt or 8.5 10 bolt. Whichever I get at a better price when I cross that bridge. I hope you and your's have a good Independence Day. Rusty to me is a sign of Freedom and the American Way. Hopefully it gets to do some cruising for the weekend celebrations.
