Engine that's been sitting

[RunninWild]

Yeah I think I'm just worrying too much about it. Would like to get a fairly consisten reading from my gauge though. I just upgraded the power and grounds to my engine with new 4gauge wiring. 1 gound on a bell housing and 1 on the alternator mounting bolt. Reading is still off a bit. Will upgrade the body grounds when I get some more wire.

[vanbcguy]

You'd be pretty safe having the fan turn on at 200. If you have a 2 speed fan they usually do  like 200/210 for low/high speeds. No sense running it any more than you need to, just wears the fan motor out faster.

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[RunninWild]

Set the fans to come on at 195 and off at 180 and on a 45min drive on the highway it Never really went above 194f so I'm pretty happy with how it's running so far.

Now the latest part of this witches curse which is my engine swap. Some how my oil drain plug came out and I lost all of my oil. I was lucky that it happened like 3 houses away from where I work on it, also caught it before I lost all the oil and shut it off in time. To complicate things the threaded "nut" inside the pan somehow dislodged itself so I ended up having to pull the pan. I think my diff hit the plug and broke the nut loose and then it worked itself loose over time. Anyways i Plugged the stock hole and relocated the drain plug to a easier location to get at. Changed the baffle/gasket while I was in there.

I also swapped on my oil pressure sensor onto the back of the head. I'm worried my oil pressure is low. I'm running 15-40w (only oil the mehanic had) and at 100km/h I'm only getting like 9psi, at idle my gauge says 0psi! At high revs it's putting out around 22psi. What should I be seeing? I'm taking a wild guess that 0psi at idle isn't sufficient? I have a feeling my gauge reads a bit low as I need to raise the engine speed quite a bit to get 1psi. My old switch came on at hot idle but would turn off as soon as the rpm increased. So unless that switch was bad you would think I have some oil pressure at lower rpm.

[ORCoaster]

RunninWild I think you need to change your handle.  More like Runninitindaground,  No clues on the oil plug thing.  How that happened one can only speculate on and you did that.

Temps OK now.

Oil Pressure is very bad low.  I could sell you about half of mine and still be running 50 psi when revved up.  I think you have a problem with the regulator on the oil pump itself.  The spring isn't pushing hard enough on the ball that is in there.  If you have 0 -1 psi at idle you are seriously low.  Have you checked the slop between the gears on the pump?  Once it wears it just makes low pressure that makes more wear.  It might just be time for a new oil pump. 

Should I check my parts bin, MK1 stuff. 

[RunninWild]

I didn't take the pump apart. Don't really know how they work either or how to properly inspect it. Might just look into buying a new one if they arnt super expensive. I think I have a spare or 2 laying around. Maybe I'll take them apart and see if I can figure it out. The gauge definitely reads low, but yeah it probably is due for a tune up or replacement if the pressure is low enough to kick the switch at idle...

What is ideal idle and cruise oil pressures at operating temp so I know for next time?

[ORCoaster]

I like to see at least 20 psi at a hot idle and I want 60-70 at cruise.  Right now with my current setup once it is warm I have 30 at hot idle and 65 at cruise, hot.  Ford Ranger set about the same.  These settings may be higher than most norms, I have had the pumps apart and may have tapped in the release pressure mechanisms farther than normal.  But I am not going to back them off as I would rather have more pressure than less.

[libbydiesel]

If you have a hydraulic TD and reading from the head port then 10 psi per 1,000 rpms is fine.  Even down into the single digits at idle is no problem.  22 at high rpm is not enough nor is 0 at idle.  You will toss a rod soon with those pressures. 

[RunninWild]

Thanks for the info. I've done a bit of reading. Looks like I'm gonna just park the truck for now and put my car back on the road. Will put in a new pump, bushing and im shaft bearings when I get some more money to play with. I can't afford to mess this engine up and I'm just running into far too many problems right now.

[air-cooled or diesel]

Even down into the single digits at idle is no problem.

were talking hot idle oil pressure @the head, so lib i do believe your understating this, with 15w oil single digits @idle is real low, 0 is of course obvious, its -0- so its -0-. the head trip light(sensor) is what psi? i forget, about 1.3psi or maybe higher, but that is Wway too low. i with 5w30 syn with a good motor read 12-15psi hot(head). single digits(esp for a 15w) is getting dangerous.

[libbydiesel]

The w number is the cold viscosity index and virtually irrelevant to hot pressure.  The OTHER number is the hot viscosity index and the relevant number for hot pressure.  I would not feel any concern about 6 psi at hot idle measured from the head with an Xw-40 or Xw-45 oil, provided at cruising RPMs it was the aforementioned 10psi/1000rpms (e.g. 30 @ 3000).  His oil pressure obviously doesn't meet any minimum requirements and if he drives it like that, he is asking for a tossed rod. 

[RunninWild]

It's parked for now. I found 2 oil pumps in my scrap pile. They've had water on them and have been sitting so they are probably garbage but will strip them down and clean them and see if maybe I can salvage 1 pump out of 3 garbage ones.

Could the pump have dried out and started to rust from sitting so long? Or is it likely I caused damage to it when I let it run out of oil?

Also found an Oil leak I think is coming from the front main seal or possibly even the im shaft (hard to pinpoint). Looks like I got a good 3-5 hours worth of work ahead of me anyways. Either way the project is on hold for a few weeks. I need to get an income before I can throw more money at this.

Is there a good chance new im shaft bearings and a new pump will fix the issue? Don't have any special tools to get at the rear im shaft bearing so am planning to only do the front Unless the rear is obviously damaged. From what i read the front is typically the only one that gets damaged anyways.

[air-cooled or diesel]

I like to see at least 20 psi at a hot idle.  Right now with my current setup once it is warm I have 30 at hot idle and 65 at cruise, hot.

  I would not feel any concern about 6 psi at hot idle - it was the aforementioned 10psi/1000rpms (e.g. 30 @ 3000).

not that i disagree, 6psi is runable, but is telling me things,, (using a 15w40), even with my 5w30 its real low for me. the 30@3000 is runable as far as im concerned. look at or hes talking 20 or more; 15w40 i believe. on the other hand 9psi for me is getting low, getting under 5 psi and you may find,,well thats just low.

[libbydiesel]

Apples and oranges.  If his sig is any indication, ORCoaster is running a 1.6 solid lifter non turbo engine.  Those run considerably higher hot idle oil pressure because they are not feeding the lifters and turbo.  There's an even bigger difference at cruising rpms where the oil jets are flowing.  The TD engines also run considerably higher oil temperatures which lower the viscosity and consequently the oil pressure.  You won't typically see 20 psi hot idle even on a 100% fresh rebuild or factory new hydraulic TD engine.

[ORCoaster]

I am running a 1.6 solid lifter non turbo engine.  Maybe I should just sell it to him and solve all his trouble.  No wait, he is short on cash. 

[RunninWild]

That would also be quite short on power 😛. Even with my giles pump and stock boost on the k24 I'm a bit underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong my top speed has increased probaby 30-40km/h and I have way more pull up hills and way less downshifting. Was just expecting more torque at very low rpms. I have some what of a dead spot between 1st and 2nd gear now when rolling at slow speeds. 2Nd gear doesnt have much pull when I'm rolling slightly too fast for the tranny to want to slip into first. Probably just need to up the fuel screw but then I need more boost and an intercooler to keep it cool.