low oil pressure

[Bruce Edwards]

David,

We tap our blocks because we use the HV/HP type of oil pump and feel that it just makes good sense to be sure they can not get out. Of course you do this BEFORE you start building the engine.
One other thing to remember, even after you get your block back from the machine shop and it looks all clean and ready to put together IT IS NOT CLEAN! Always wash your bare block with solvents followed by HOT soapy water. Run a lint free rag up and down the bore until it comes out clean. Then clean the bore one more time to be sure your lint free rag really is lint free. Just remember to clean everything that goes in or on the engine.
You can tap the freeze plugs but we use brass plugs as we are in Florida and rust is more a problem than the cold hard freeze that makes plugs pop out. I have never seen a need to tap the freeze plugs but like everything else that is just my opinion. For what it is worth.

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Bruce;

Thanks for the info..... I was referring to tapping the oil galley plugs in the front of the block,not the regular freeze plugs..... I meant the plugs in the front of the block I was looking at look very similar to minature freeze plugs.....

Agreed,cleanliness is the only way to go when building an engine..... The guy that taught me is around 60 years old and a certified FAA mechanic in both piston engine and turbine (jet) engines,has been all his adult life.... He takes all of an eight hour day to assemble a small block ford engine,with all parts machined and ready to install.... very meticulous and washes and cleans everything no matter how clean it is.... Measures and measures again everything before installing it and after torqueing down anything,it is marked with a white dab of paint....I can not remember an engine he built ever coming apart and many have lasted over 100k miles.....

Thanks,
David

[Bruce Edwards]

David,

The first line of my reply was ment to say yes we tap those holes. Sorry if I went off and confused the issue.

[Hal Copple]

speaking of hot oil, about 4 years ago, had the valve cover off my DOHC Turbo Mitsu four banger, thought i would do a compression check while everything was so easy to get to. Put in the compression check threaded sending unit into a spark plug hole, told my dad to crank the motor, and had a big splash of dirtly 10-30 all over my face. It takes forever to get that stuff and odor out of your hair. Reminded me when i used to use Brylcream.

[flipper35]

The manuals on two of the cars I have owned mentioned not to use 10w-40 specifically. Never knew why. Now I do.

[maxrpm]

A friend of mine is a fairly well known engine builder here on the east coast & builds high dollar engines($40-50g), and spends countless hours on his engine dyno. He swears there is no purpose for multi viscosity oils in a performance engine. He reccomends straight weight oils only for hi-perf.
I mentioned the oil psi situation to him & his first question which I don't think was asked yet was is this a drop in pressure or what the engine has had from the outset. Either way, he believes 20psi hot at idle is minimum and 45-60psi hot hi rpm is optimum. Anything higher is hp robbing and actually worse for the oiling system. His first reccomendation is to change over to a straight weight (SAE40 or 50)and see how the pressure drop is when hot before cracking open the engine. 38psi at 3000rpm doesn't sound like a problem, but what is the oil pressure at higher rpms?

[John 550]

If someone has a bad experience with an FE engine , I guess it's ok to say they all just must be junk
to bad people get burned , it sure does not smell good .

[Cracker]

John - have you been drinking? Where did that come from?

[Rick Rockey]

Thanks Guys, When I started this thread I didn't know that I would get so much feed back. It has been a Great Experience, and I how feel good about starting with the more simple things and going from there, (better filter, straight grade oil ect.).

Thanks Again - Rick

[Hal Copple]

Rick, if you will give me your home mailing address, i will send you about a ten page article from a Ford magazine on Windsor oiling. I can't do this for too many people, but it will explain a lot about the lubricatioin of the Windsor motor.

As for which oil is best, i believe the most controversal "posts" or opinions i have found in the past few years are exactly this, what is the best lubrication plan for an engine. You will get many very different opionions, so eventually, you will have to sort out your own decision.

Personally, i believe each engine and circumstance is just a little bit unique from every other, and blanket recommendations or tales of this or that experience, may not precisely relate to your motor in your car in your garage.

You will need to educate your self for your decision. I have been very interested in engine lubrication, and have sought out and read everything i can since the mid '70's, when i became interested in the first commercial synthetics, and why so many Porsche engines were failing in Europe.

So, finally, i have confidence in my own motor's lubrication. I think i have made good decisions, as my stroked Windsor, which has probably a thousand race course laps, has over 70,000 miles on it, with nary a leak, smoke, or knock.

[Bruce Edwards]

Hal,

It sounds like your builder new his stuff. If the engine is built correctly and oiling system is good, cam choice made for the combination, carb right size for engine and a few other variables an engines should run for 100,000 or more with little up keep other than oil changes and cooling system flushes. The biggest problem we see is over carburetion causing fuel to leak down past the rings and diluting the oil. The break down in the lube system causes wear on the moving parts, hardening of seals and sooner or latter frozen oil control rings followed by smoke and worn bearings. If an engine well built it will take the hard running of a track every now and then and still be a good driver showing no ill effects.
Of course a well set up fuel injection system will go even longer due to it's ability to more precisely control fuel flow but htat is a whole other thread!
What do you think about synthetics? Just want to know if your thoughts are the same as mine.
Thanks for your service in the service. Because of folks like you, my father and my son we get to enjoy this country and our cars. We owe all of you our thanks.

[dscott]

When we build the big stroker windsors we use a girdle on the main caps for added strength. I think quite a few of the builders do. In order to do this the oil pump must be clearanced for fit. I have seen a few oil pumps that had a little too much clearance and they actually cut into the galley. This will cause air to enter the pump and cavitate resulting in lower pressure. We just had a 418 windsor built by a well known shop in here for low oil pressure at higher rpm. It would run 35lbs at idle and never get above 45lbs at any rpm. The builder replaced the pump thinking it was bad and did the same thing by clearancing too much again. We fixed the problem and had 45lbs at idle and 70lbs at 6500. Just something else to think about.

We always run a 20w50 racing oil in all our engines after break in. We break them in on 30w. I hate the sound of a hot engine running 5 or 10w30. It seems to thin for me. The racing oil works great.
Don

[Bruce Edwards]

Don,

Thank you for backing up my statments on this matter. 70lbs works out to 10 per 1,000. I guess you are old school also!

[dscott]

Bruce, definitely old school. Maybe the new school says you can have lower oil pressure but I ship engines all over the country and I'm not taking a chance. If the engine is built correct and clearanced properly it should make good oil pressure. I normally use a stock pressure pump on all the windsors, peak oil is about 62psi @ 5500 and I think that's perfect. A proper operating oil pump and system should have at least a 25 to 30lb sweep from idle. If it doesn't I think there is something wrong and I find out why. Old school maybe, but I know my engines have longevity.
Don

[Bruce Edwards]

Don,

I am with you. In almost 30 years of building engines I have never had one fail. Must be doing something right.
Just so all you folks know. Don sent me a part I need to finish up a car and refused to take any money for it. I am not sure how he is going to make any money that way but he is a really nice person to deal with.
Thanks again Don!

[Bruce Edwards]

Rick,

What did you find out about your oil pressure problem??