[bobs409]

For this update, we’ll talk about Bob going backwards with this build! Earlier I mentioned about a low oil pressure problem. I was able to get the oil pan out (jacked engine up a few inches) and I installed a high volume oil pump hoping that would be the cure.

It did improve things a little but not enough. Spinning with the drill and oil cold I hit 45 lbs so I buttoned it all back up and fired it up. On fast idle, it was about 21 lbs and would hit 45 if I raced the engine up however at normal idle (about 800 rpms) it dropped down to about 8lbs! !@#@!

With no other choice, I had to pull the engine back out! (This would be the backward part I mentioned earlier) It killed me to have to tear it all back apart but no choice in the matter. This truck has to perform as well as it looks.

Due to the weight of the transmission, I decided it would be easier to just pull it with the engine as a unit. That of course required that I raise the front of the cab about 4.5 inches as these cross members are riveted in. To do so I had to unhook the steering shaft which added to the work list but doing this was a lot easier than horsing around with that boat anchor of a transmission under the truck. It’s not a very big transmission but boy it’s sure HEAVY!

I tore the engine partially down and found the 3 front oil galley plugs were leaking quite badly. After fixing those, oil pressure went up a little but there was no way of knowing without starting up and getting the engine hot. Thinking this might be the problem, I put it all back together and back in. This time I only hooked up the absolute necessities just to run it and test the oil pressure.

What I got was another load of bad news. There was still no oil to the rockers unless I raced the engine up. Pressure at idle was about 8-9 lbs. Not much of an improvement to say the least.

With nothing left, it was time to take it back out and this time tear it ALL the way down to bare block! The plan this time was to check all the clearances again specifically the cam bearings. This of course had me buying more tools. A dial bore gauge & outside micrometer set now live with me as well as a cam bearing tool. This project sure is making my tool collection grow! LOL

The cam bearing clearances were coming in .0035 to .0045 so I decided to swap in some new cam bearings I had sitting on the shelf to see if I could get tighter readings with another set in hopes that might be the cause of the low pressure. I was just about to start knocking some bearings out when I noticed the rear bearing was not in all the way! I could actually see the oil hole & groove by looking in the rear cam plug hole. I just found the problem that had me chasing my tail for a few weeks!

I paid $35 dollars for the machine shop to install these bearings and this is what I got. Never again, I’ll do my own from now on. I learned a lesson. Just because you pay a professional, don’t assume it’s going to be done right. Check over EVERYTHING!

It’s just a human error that could happen to anyone so I’m not going to make a big deal out of it. I’ve made plenty of mistakes myself over the years and know how easy it can happen. I guess the guy doing these got distracted or something. I’m just happy to have finally found the problem! (I’m also glad it wasn’t my fault!) LOL

So with the new set of cam bearings in, I got a little better reading on the clearances although at this point not really an issue. I put the engine back together and tested the pressure again with the priming tool & drill. This time I got 85 pounds! Oil came right up to the lifters so I know I’ll have oil to the rockers this time. So now I’m just waiting on some gaskets from Summit and I can get this back in hopefully for the last time. Will be nice to finally get moving forward again on this project instead of going in circles