Thanks Sean, glad to have it back on the road as well! :bglasses: And just in time for lower gas prices, which is really cool! :TU: I test drove it quite a bit today and last night and have had no problems thus far! I think it's finally good to go! Just need to figure out the oil leak and then I should be all set! If at all possible, I will look into the oil leak tomorrow, if time permits.
On the oil leak issue. It is possibly the oil pressure sender. It is located on the side of the block directly above the oil pump/filter. I had two of them start leaking on the 350 in my 73 Century. It is not the oil filter. If the oil filter had the wrong size gasket you would dump 5 qts of oil on the ground in about a minute. You can check the sender by crawling under your car with a can of brake clean. Spray the entire area and get it as clean as you can. Start up the motor and crawl back uner and watch the sender. If it drips where the wire connects to it its bad.
Eric, you are DA MAN! Coincidentially, I noticed earlier today that the thing(oil pressure sending unit) was kinda wet w/ oil. Hmmmmmm, that's probably the culprit of it all, I will clean the whole oil area of the motor off tomorrow and will check for sure, thanks for the idea! Although, I wonder how in the heck you change those things? Cresent/adjustable wrench? Socket, box end/open end wrench? Dunno, it looks kinda weird, but of course it is dark outside and I was only using a flashlight to look around it with! Thanks Eric, -Cody :TU:
.....And then again, I just got back from driving it and popped the hood in the driveway, and noticed that there is quite a bit of oil seeping out from a large bolt on the end of the oil pump shaft(maybe that's what it's called?) that appears to be close to maybe an inch in size, possibly smaller. Looks like it has a round, rubber seal/gasket in it???????? o No:
careful with that bolt, there is a seal there and also a spring that will shoot out if u are not careful. You'll get the oil leak fixed. Just gotta take it one step at a time.
Cody,when I was cleaning/rebuilding my front cover I noticed what looked like a fine crack on the filter housing,it was running parallel to the sealing lip.I used a dremel tool to "V" along the crack and then filled that with some steel putty(Devcon).I tought that was odd to have a crack in that location but I guessed that maybe overtightened oil filters may be the cause for it.Not knowing if your sending unit is the same as mine,mine uses a special socket to remove it,you can buy the tool at the auto parts store and GM used that type of sending unit on a lot of vehicles.I think I paid $8-12 about 15 years ago or so for mine,it's the right tool for the job and it was money well spent imho.Good luck!
Well guys, I checked it today. For right now, the oil pressure sending unit seems to be ok, if it's leaking any oil at all it's very very little. I changed the oil filter to an new A/C delco filter for a '70 Buick 350, and got it tight enough to where it will not leak but I don't think I overtighened it. It doesn't leak around the filter anymore, right now it appears to be leaking from the pump. So, how much am I looking at for a new oil pump, and where can I find a new oil pump? I am not too much concerned with it right now, but maybe Santa Clause will bring me an oil pump........hmmmmm. For now I just have to keep checking it to keep the oil level up enough to drive it, but I don't want to keep it leaking, because as you all know, any leaks are irritating and get really old, really fast. Thanks everyone, -Cody
Wow man, its been a long road for you! I've been there from the start helping you through it and I'm glad it worked out for you. Now there are two Buick 350 powered 76 Centurys on the road!!
Yeah Sean, it sure has but I am glad that I found the end of the road. Project "impossible" was made possible, and I really appreciate the advice and info. you have offered me through the whole swap, Thankyou! :TU: I think I will need a whole new oil pump, not for the fact that this pump doesn't work but I need the oil pump housing itself, as there must be a crack in this one. Where can I find one at? I looked at TA performance but it looks like theirs are kits and not pumps. Thanks, -Cody
