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really poor oil pressure

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Old Jan 7, 2010 | 08:39 PM
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really poor oil pressure

well driving down the freeway at 55mph i noticed my oil gauge is reading the white line next to the low symbol. first i thought WTF because i redid the motor like 5 years ago with new cam and crank bearings and thoroughly cleaned the **** out of it. second, i am running 10-40 weight oil in it so generally speaking my oil pressure should have been much higher then if i was using 5w30 for winter. i just don't know.

is it time for another engine rebuild or what? i noticed i am getting worse and worse gas mileage so i probably have to twist the distributor a little, everything else is holding up for the most part. i thought for sure the transmission would have died by now and the front diff sounds like hell at 30-40mph.

give me some pointers

302 v8 89 fullsize with AOD 44 in front and 8.8 rear with 31" tires. no lift or crazy engine mods
 
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Old Jan 8, 2010 | 12:23 PM
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first get a real pressure gauge on there. the one in the dash is nothing more then an idiot light and does read true pressure. what oil filter are you using and is the oil level full?

did you hear any engine noise since the drop in pressure? i would suspect its more the sending unit then the motor. but get a mechanical gauge on there and see what is really going on.
 
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Old Jan 8, 2010 | 07:57 PM
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Ditto to EVERYTHING Kem already said. If you had truly lost that much oil pressure the damage is nearly immediate not to mention the noise it would have begun to make. I tend to lean towards Kem's assessment that the sending unit may be the failure point here. For your wallet's sake, I hope this is true.
 
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Old Jan 9, 2010 | 10:40 AM
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switched out the sending unit with a new one and its fairly the same as before. i could be going 55mph and its sitting towards the low end but when i am at idle it sits just above half on the gauge.

running a carquest brand filter with 10-40 weight oil. oil is full and it has been using a little lately well actually a whole quart since i got the oil changed in july and 2000 miles since.


also a side note, there is a puddle of antifreeze next to the distributor on the engine block. where does that normally leak from? i have seen it on so many 5.0's and 5.8's and have not found where it comes from. its just this little pocket that holds some antifreeze near the disty and thermostat
 
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Old Jan 9, 2010 | 06:05 PM
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Switch to an OEM FL1-A (Motorcraft) or Purolator filter. (Purolator makes the FL1-A for Motorcraft). There is evidence to support the idea that most aftermarket brand filters starve the SB V8's at start-up. I know a lot of folks who swear by the OEM filter only.

The coolant issue is a leaking intake-to-cylinder head gasket. There is a coolant crossover in the front and rear of the lower intake in the 302's and 351's. The front crossover is forward of the intake ports and the rear one is aft of the intake ports. Be careful with this as a leak from the wrong part of the gasket will draw coolant down her windpipe!
 
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Old Jan 9, 2010 | 10:13 PM
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so a motorcraft brand filter will definitely help the situation?

my dad said the filter on the oil pump probably has crap in it. is there a way to shoot air through it reverse direction like through an opening under the valve cover or take the oil pan off?
 
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Old Jan 9, 2010 | 10:17 PM
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so a motorcraft brand filter will definitely help the situation?

my dad said the filter on the oil pump probably has crap in it. is there a way to shoot air through it reverse direction like through an opening under the valve cover or take the oil pan off?

another off topic, how many degrees advanced should i move the distributor for better fuel economy? i believe my timing chain is stretched because i am having a hard time getting 10mpg now when its warmed up. don't give me any lip about changing spark plugs and wires. i already did that 7000 thousand ago. fuel filter this summer, tires are appropriate psi, AC compressor delete, no cooling fan (its winter) and 87 octane.
 
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Old Jan 11, 2010 | 12:24 PM
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you can try to bump the timing, just make sure the motor is warmed up and pull the spout connector prior to advancing. increase till it pings and then back it off a little.

curious, what plugs are you running? also if you do infact have an AOD tranny dont use overdrive unless your driving 55mph or more. any less and you will be running at to low of an rpm not to mention its bad for that model tranny.
 
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