slow.8

after the head work i did(warped heads,resurface,valve job) and replacing a leaking oil pressure sending unit. ive had problems with low oil pressure. it drops down to around 20 and up to 40+ at full throttle.i also had a couple of lifters that would not prime, and made an awful clatter. after thinking about it, i pinned the blame on the assembly lube i had used. it seemed thick to me, and i did use it liberally when reinstalling the pushrods. it was crc engine assembly lube with graphite, said it would dissolve into the oil. my first attempt at addressing this problem was to throw a bottle of marvels mystery oil in it, which fixed the lifter probelm(temporarily), but didnt do much for the pressure. after less than 1000 miles i changed the oil. the drain plug was covered in that goopy assymbly lube.i added a bottle of lucas this oil change. brought the pressure back up, and delt with the lifter problem. drove it like this... for again, less than a thousand miles.the lifter problem came back even louder than before... added more mystery oil... drove the dog **** out of it.lifter problem remained, oil pressure fell off. so i changed the oil agian. lifter problem gone, oil pressure up.. and stayed that way for a good while. then the pressure started dropping off again. still thinking its the goop, i went with more mystery oil, and a half a can of seafoam. dorve it pretty hard for a couple days. changed it hot with the front end elevated, watched it to the last drop. **** was coming out in clumps, looked like the drain was taking a dump. this oil change, i didnt use the oriellys 10-30 synthetic i usually use, i used rotella 15-40... this brought the pressure up nicely. it had been doing great, then it just suddenly dropped back down. and thats where im at. im tired of buying oil id think it would be flushed out by now. my next move is to replace the filter, top it off. and see what happens. the lifter problem is fixed. any suggestion or comments truly appreciated.

mcfarlnd

iTrader: (15)

Normally oil pressure issues tend to derive from cam bearings, oil pump pick up tube oil ring and possibly other bearing failure. What are your mods? Miles on the motor? Have you tried taking the oil pressure sensor out to clean it? Possibly has some of that lube stuck inside it.

TXSZ66AVLANCHE

iTrader: (7)

You have not changed oil filter yet???

slow.8

with every oil chage a new filter. ill give cleaning the sensor a try. 177k on the engine.only mods are intake,exhaust,and asp pulley.all im really going off of is that the pressure would normalize after an oil change. i figured i was flushing out that goop. before the old sensor went bad, i had great oil pressure. after replacing it and doing the heads iis when i started having the problem.im just desperate now and trying anything. maybe the filters colgging up? they are cheap enough to replace.
thanks for responding

slow.8

i have another thread on a coolant leak ive been having, any possible correlation between the two problems? im feeling i should have just done an engine swap in the first place, but i couldnt find one locally for the money i had, got impatient... and tore into it. if anything it was a learning experience, my first work of the sort. i reached in and felt the timing chain, it needs changing. i want to put do cam/pushrods/springs on it, but my current problems are giving me pause, and thinking id be wasting time and money on a turd.id love to do a swap, but am afraid ill end up with an engine with just as many problems. pardon my rambling. any further suggestions, comments, opinions, insight welcomed. thanks again

Tim94gt

iTrader: (1)

What brand filters are you using?

I've seen some of the cheap ones clog up and reduce the oil pressure. Try using a quality filter like Mobil-1, K&N or AC Delco...

slow.8

i use wix filters

TXSZ66AVLANCHE

iTrader: (7)

How many miles since the start up? I use that same assembly lube and do oil changes at 100, 500, and 1000 miles. The filters do get plugged up with lube and break in debris.

slow.8

ive put about 2500 miles on it,give or take, since i put it back together. filter changes came with the oil changes. i havent gotten a chance to put a new filter on it... havent driven it since the pressure dropped off on me again. thanks for responding

poundsofjane

I had similar issues with my 08 at around the same mileage. It was a real pain to figure out too. When my pressure would drop, it was clearly not getting good oil pressure on the valve train because I could hear the valves and lifters starting to clatter. It was oiling the bottom end just fine, but because the sensor is on top end, it just showed the that the oil system had low pressure throughout. My culprit was a seal on the cam retainer plate. It had an internal engine oil leak. Didn't burn oil up, didn't puddle up on ground. I did the oil changes and always busted my filter open to make sure my engine wasn't fragmenting on me. It was always clean as a whistle. Changed sensor, different filter brand, thicker oil, even replaced oil pump and o ring on pickup and nothing helped. I finally took it to a shop in Houston that works on ls motors and they didn't even find it first time through the motor. Good luck dude, that freaking seal actually cost me in total about 3500 before it was all said and done.