Possible LOW Oil Pressure Problem

[brian66toro]

I agree that the nylon coating is probably laying in chunks in the pan and has partially blocked the pickup. I may try to use an inspection camera to verify this.

I don't see any way to drop the pan with the engine in the car so it looks like the engine needs to come out to remove the pan, clean everything properly, and change the timing gears and chain, and probably check the bearings too.

That's going to be a project for the winter or spring though. I have too many things going on to tie up the space. While it's a running car I will probably store it for a while and do this as soon as I can.

Brian

[bcroe]

20w-50 is a good choice for old engines that have a lot of
wear. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'd keep monitoring it, though.

Don't go drag racing it. Pull the cover off as suggested if it's keeping you up nights
but I'd try to enjoy it as is for now.

I have driven many an Olds V8 past 200,000 miles, but I never had an oil problem,
and I never wore one out. My neighbors all know the sound of all 4 barrels wide
open; what is the point of driving a powerful car and never using the power it was
designed with? One day trips of over 1000 miles happen here every year.

My theory is that once the oil pressure starts to get low, the wear starts to accelerate,
and the pressure drops more, and the process starts to snowball. The high volume
oil pump helps me postpone that situation for a lot of miles. Its your car, but I don't
care to be driving a known time bomb. Bruce Roe

[brian66toro]

Bruce,

I am not driving it. I need some time to get to pulling out the engine. I just bought a 1960 Eldorado Seville that has not been run for 15 years. It's on my lift right now and I am hoping to get it running within a week or so, then I can get into the Toro.

Thanks for the input, I know it needs to come apart.

Brian

[gmrocket]

Had the same issue with mine at about 80K miles (didn't do it for the first 20K of my ownership). As part of a full resto , I had the rod/main bearings replaced and everything checked for proper clearances. Bearing wear is a common issue and pressure drop across the bearings when worn can be a cause of our symptoms. As some have said, it's not unusual for an Olds engine to do this after wear, but I wanted mine addressed. Best of luck to you.