Hey guys huge problem. I got my car back from the paint shop and it looks great the only problem is that i drove it home and around a little monday and it was fine. Had 60PSI oil pressure at start up and driving then when it warmed up i had 40-60 durring throttle and 20 at PSI just like usual. Then yesterday driving it the oil pressure was all ok then all of a sudden on the way home at idle it looses all oil pressure, and during throttle conditions it was between 20 and 40 and again drops to nothing and i get my check gauges light. The motor doesnt seem to have any horrible knocks and the car still seems to have great power what could it be other then oil pump? ITs got 1.6 rockers and CC305 that arent more then 8 months old in it, still has stock lifters. Any ideas folks?

 

First step is to hook up a mechanical gauge and check actual oil pressure & then work from there.

 

Don't drive it until you get it checked out. A bad cam install may take a short time before you ruin your engine. JMHO

 

Is it possible to install the cam wrong? I mean once it all goes back together correctly and the car runs strong for 8 months is it that even possible? Would incorrectly adjusted rockers cause any of this? Or bad lifters cause this?

 

If you nick a cam bearing while installing it, you may not even know it, but it can happen. And when it does, it's only a matter of time before the bearings go south. My 97SS spun a bearing after a couple thousand miles on a cam install. While I also had heads dones a couple of hundred miles before the spun bearing, I still think it might have been the cam install.

Mind you, I don't know for sure, but my engine only had less than 7 grand on the clock (easy miles) when I was faced with buying a new short block.

I had the cam checked and polished and reinstalled in the new block. Since the cam was installed before the engine was back in the car, I assume (hope) that the mechanic was more careful. Only time will tell. Needless to say, I won't be using that mechanic again.

 

I would do like they say and check it with a mechanical guage so you know for sure. Many things can go wrong when doing a cam install, damage to a bearing while installing the cam (assuming new bearings were installed), debris can get dislodged and clog the oil pickup, old parts with wear patterns (lifters) contacting new parts, etc. Could very well take months for the problem to progress to the point of noticing it.

 

Check with the gauge, could just be a bad sending unit which it prolly is. I have had a motor loose oil presure before, not this LT1, but a SBC, when they do it will clatter like hell. If its running fine, but no preusre, chances are its a sending unit. I have had to change mine on my 93.

 

I as well am having a low oil pressure problem but the car runs fine but I am unfamiliar with the oil sending unit. Where can I get the guage and where does it hook up to on the car.
thanks

 

Well i recently lost all oil pressure too, and it turned out to be the oil pump drive gear was completely stripped of its teeth, i'm not quite sure what caused it. I'm thinking maybe the melling oil pump put to much pressure on the old gear i used. Now I think i'm looking at a new cam cuz the gear on the back is worn out. Hope this didn't happen to you

 

Just update on the scenario. Since im i live in the northwest ohio its become impossible for me to this work at home so the car went to the only mechanic I trust in the world. Preliminary report at 330pm was just a bad sending unit but he is gonna let the car sit for tonight and tomorrow and really dig in on it Friday, Worst case scenario it gives me a reason to put in a well built 383 in place of the stocker. In the mean time ill have to take the frustration out using the GTO instead. THanks for the input guys.