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Original Message
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| 428 Oil Pressure Problem |
| By John - 01/01/2001 3:43:17 PM; IP 142.177.7.192 |
I'm back with more news and in need of more help....wouldn't you know?!
I have now stripped down my engine and found the main bearings worn to the copper, with the "wear" geting worse towards the rear of the block (as the oil pressure drops naturally). The rod bearings show no sign of wear...just an impregnation of main bearing material in the "silver" top layer. Although I did find a slight crack in the engine block, there is no sign of anti-freze in the drained oil, and I suspect if there was sufficiient anti-freeze to wipe out the mains, then the rods would also have shown this problem. I feel quite certain that momentary oil starvation is the problem. Under hard acceleration I suspect air bubbles are being introduced to the system. This is a street car...very light mind you...with over 400 hp. So, during hard acceleration, I think the oil is being thrown back against the rear of the pan and the pickup is exposed to air. The oil lvel had been down a few times due to valve seal problems(I can't use the original sheet metal oil baffles with the FPP rocker arm supports) plus I noticed at least 3 pistons had the ring gaps lined up....How did that happen?.....got me! I set all gaps 120Deg apart when i assembled the engine. So with a quart low (6 vs 7 qts), the air problem probably was worsened. So, what do I do now? The crank is already at 30 thousands under, and need at least polishing...which will push clearances over 30 thousand I'm afraid...I could get it hard chromed...very expensive...about $700 at least...and 428 cranks are hard to come by, but then I still have what I started with. Anyone think a dry-sump system is the answer? Very expensive no doubt, but I would pay for it if it were available...anyone know who makes a "dry sump kit" for the FE? I will be getting a new block because of the crack....so do I throw away my cam and lifters as a new block would no doubt have different geometry and a new wear pattern would indoubtedly incurr....possibly wipiung out a cam lobe. Oh...this engine only has about 2300 miles on it. All inputs are welcome. Thank-you. |
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