FINALLY took 'er for a ride

Discussion in 'Small Block Tech' started by Mark Demko, Oct 24, 2018.

  1. Mark Demko

    Mark Demko Well-Known Member

    On vacation this week so I have time to tinker with the GS.
    I had a couple issues to address before taking it out. My sending unit for my factory gauge was whizzing oil, so that got replaced.
    Put about 8 gallons of fresh gas in it, seems to run better, but still has 2 year old gas in the tank also, I'll run that thru.
    Bought new NGK plugs, haven't put 'em in yet, the 2 year ago new ones were fouled, but the engine doesn't seem to mind for now.
    Valve train is noisey, I was thinking I got the screw in front galley plugs reversed, so I removed timing cover, timing gear, pulled plugs out, NOPE they were like they're suppose to be.
    Seems to me the drivers side is not getting any oil, I look into the oil fill when the engine is running, I don't see any oil flowing.
    Im thinking there HAS to be an obstruction, I looked into both oil galleys with my inspection camera, all clear, looked kinda dry, but who knows.
    I blew air on the backside of the #1 cam bearing from the drivers side, and oil dribbled outta the pressure port in the block, so I figured, yeah its clear.
    I removed the oil sending unit and stuck my inspection camera in there thinking there was an obstruction before the #1 cam bearing, NOPE all clear, I could clearly see the grooved back side of the #1 cam bearing, oil HAS to be getting to the drivers side.
    Heck with it, Im gonna take it for a spin, it will either lock up, blow up, or just be annoyingly noisey:confused:
    Well it runs strong, despite the noisey valvetrain.
    My 9.5" JW convertor seems looser with this combo compared to the 413 cam, is that normal??
    Seems like the engine really SCREAMS, AND PULLS like crazy:D
    Oil pressure isn't that great, Im getting about 10 hot at the back of the block, factory gauge is reading about 20 at the front, pressure rises with rpm. Im running Brad Penn 10/30
    Having a gauge reading at the rear is kinda unnerving, seeing how low it is there compared to the front.
    Im not overly concerned about the pressure, bottom end is quiet, I've seen pressures like this before with this, and nothing ever happened.
    Anyhow heres a vid of the engine, to me, its the sound of the valves being slammed back onto their seat???
    The Morel hyd roller lifters need more than .030 preload, less, should I switch to solids???????

    Heres a pic of my oil pressure after my ride.
    The Autometer reads the rear
    Factory gauge reads front, factory gauge is pretty accurate, it shows 20 hot idle.
    My new mufflers, Ultra flow 17222 are MUCH louder than my old 17749's
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Oct 24, 2018
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  2. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    Last edited: Oct 24, 2018
  3. Taulbee2277

    Taulbee2277 Silver Level contributor

    Sweet!!! Glad its running, fix that valvetrain and terrorize the streets before the snow gets here :D
     
  4. Mart

    Mart Gold level member

    Doesn't sound good to me. Almost sounds like a lobe going flat, but you've got a roller., so try a mechanics stethoscope to pinpoint that ticking noise.
    My hyd morels never made any valvetrain noise. You run solids and you'll really have a symphony going on.:D
     

    Attached Files:

  5. alec296

    alec296 i need another buick

    More compression, more torque, and better flowing exhaust, so converter may be looser.
    I talked to Jim w a while back, said he was having roller lifter issues himself. Replacing many. Around the time you got your roller.
    How did the 413 idle, the roller seems to idle pretty smooth.
     
  6. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

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  7. Mark Demko

    Mark Demko Well-Known Member

    The 413 in my previous engine had a slight lope, tons of low end.
    This roller is milder.. 292 adv. duration, .568 lift IIRC
    The roller idles pretty smooth, not stock cam smooth, but smoother than the 413.
    Torque convertor feels like a 3500 stall LOL
    There only a 100 rpm drop between neutral and drive.
     
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  8. Dwayne B

    Dwayne B Well-Known Member

    Thats awesome Mark you got in running again, hope you get that ticking noise straightened out.
     
  9. 436'd Skylark

    436'd Skylark Sweet Fancy Moses!!!!!

    You don't have enough oil pressure. Put the mechanical gauge in the front and see what it is. You just changed the sender so it is no longer known accurate until you verify it against a real gauge. It's not likely you're seeing a 50% drop front to back. The reading at the front is probably just about as low. Something is wrong.
     
  10. Fox's Den

    Fox's Den 355Xrs

    Mine makes noise after it is warmed up but not that much or near that. Is it quiet when you first start up when cold, mine is dead quiet when cold then gets noisy as it warms up. It takes a half hr of driving on the highway to get the oil pressure down to 15lbs. at idle. then jumps up to 40+ when I step on gas.
     
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  11. Mark Demko

    Mark Demko Well-Known Member

    That's what I was theorizing, oil pressure is too low, but its got 70 on cold start, and the noise is exactly the same, hot idle, its got 10, noise is exactly the same.
    So my theory here is oil pressure has no effect on the noise...…. weird.
    I cut the AC filter open, nothing in there but Brad Penn oil.
    I was thinking of installing the high volume pump...…. but I think it wont help with the noise, it will just show better numbers on the gauge.
     
  12. Mark Demko

    Mark Demko Well-Known Member

    You running a roller cam yet?
     
  13. 436'd Skylark

    436'd Skylark Sweet Fancy Moses!!!!!

    There is no one I'd be satisfied with such low pressure. What does it climb to on a rev?
     
  14. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    Might be a good idea to check the pre load adjustment again.
     
    Mart likes this.
  15. Mark Demko

    Mark Demko Well-Known Member

    It'll jump to 40, 50, 60 lbs
     
  16. Mark Demko

    Mark Demko Well-Known Member

    I might just do that:cool:
     
  17. Mart

    Mart Gold level member

    X2, and see how much oil you have flying around under the valve covers.
     
  18. Julian

    Julian Well-Known Member

    That is loud! It sounds almost like a sewing machine.

    Preload possibly associated with the noise. However, the low oil pressure makes me curious which is irrelevant to the preload
     
  19. Mark Demko

    Mark Demko Well-Known Member

    Ok, I installed my high volume pump, not that I wanted to, but figured I'd try it.
    I left the pressure regulator setting alone for now, I just wanted to see if more volume would help.
    Well it did, the valvetrain is MUCH quieter, almost normal, another good result, is my idle vacuum dropped from a jumpy 10/11" to a steady 8/9"
    What that tells me is the lifters are full, and the cam is acting its size, instead of them being bled down, and the cam acting smaller, it has a slight lope now in gear.
    I topped the tank off with Shell 93, and took it for a ride down 480 to Ridge road and back, did about 65/75 mph @ 3000/3200 rpm, MAAAAAN its smooth:D I forgot how nice the car actually rides, the engine ran flawlessly!
    Im happy to get 'er on the highway to load it, run it, seat rings, etc.
    Im surprised NO DETONATION even tho Im at 11.02 to 1 with iron heads, but Im sure the convertor has ALOT to do with it, the engine isn't seeing a lot of load.
    Timing is set at 32 total, which makes initial fall at 16, seems good.
    I think 436'd Skylark was right about the oil pressure, tho my idle pressure didn't increase any, which I didn't expect it to, my volume of oil increased, which seemed to help LOADS:cool:
    The factory gauge reads about 3 to 4 pounds higher than the Autometer at the rear of the block.
    Heres some pics and a couple vids.
     
  20. Fox's Den

    Fox's Den 355Xrs

    No Mark, I am not running a roller but the next cam is going to be a solid. If it going to make noise it might as well have a good reason.

    Maybe check the preload again and if that does not work put in the lifters that Larry is running. Check to see if they are mushy after the engine is off for a good while, that was what made me change the lifters to the Comp's. I think the darn thing has been in there 20 years now. (cam and lifters)

    When I first put in this Lunati cam it was noisy right from the git go I pulled those lifters out and put in Comp Cams pro magnum lifter and that shut it right up. It was only noisy after it got warmed up.

    Do you have the adjustable pressure relief, I set it up to have 50 lbs @ 3000 rpm then it goes to 70 at 6 grand. I use 2 qts of 15-50 Mobile 1 and 4 qts of 10-30 Mobile 1, I have 15 lbs at idle in gear when temp is at 190. I also have the larger gears you know the ones we are not supposed to use, well I blew that wear out theory out the window that gear on the cam and Distributor have been on there since 1994.

    I also have magnets at the back of the heads next to the drain back holes to catch anything that might be coming apart in the valve train, it is a good checking tool for that.

    I did what Mart said and pulled the valve covers off to check the oil flow and that got all over the headers for a smoke show so I guess the flow is good. lol

    Timing at 32 that is good that is where I am at and It runs good there.

    Under hood video?
     

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