Thread: problem with my fresh 355

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i just built a 350 .30 over. had all machine work done to block and crank.crank had been turned 10 previously. put engine together with everything new.....all bearings at 10, cam bearings, high volume oil pump with steel shaft, comp cams extreme energy 262/268 with comp lifters, timing chain, new procomp distributor, new wires, air gap intake, 882 chevy heads, hyperutetic flat tops, etc. etc. my problem is i got it running and it has no oil pressure at idle. no oil shoots out of the hardened pshrods or from another guage i hooked up on the front of the block rather than the electric one under the distributor. what could it be?

Originally Posted by jcottan

i just built a 350 .30 over. had all machine work done to block and crank.crank had been turned 10 previously. put engine together with everything new.....all bearings at 10, cam bearings, high volume oil pump with steel shaft, comp cams extreme energy 262/268 with comp lifters, timing chain, new procomp distributor, new wires, air gap intake, 882 chevy heads, hyperutetic flat tops, etc. etc. my problem is i got it running and it has no oil pressure at idle. no oil shoots out of the hardened pshrods or from another guage i hooked up on the front of the block rather than the electric one under the distributor. what could it be?

Did you pre oil the engine with a drill first ???

You can try and remove the oil filter and fill it to the top with oil . You may have an air pocket . But If that dose not work do not try and run it any more . When that engine was built . The builder may have lelt out the front cam plugs ?

Originally Posted by tango

You can try and remove the oil filter and fill it to the top with oil . You may have an air pocket . But If that dose not work do not try and run it any more . When that engine was built . The builder may have lelt out the front cam plugs ?

I also wonder about the plug below the rear main bearing.

Check oil pressure with drill first{use a proper checker} ,but my money is on the pro comp dist,I might be wrong..........

Originally Posted by shawnlee28

Check oil pressure with drill first{use a proper checker} ,but my money is on the pro comp dist,I might be wrong..........

Shawnlee,I am not following what you are saying.
What does the dist. have to do with his oil pressure??
Are you talikg about the o-rings on the dist shaft??
Does Pro comp use these like MSD???

Originally Posted by erik erikson

I also wonder about the plug below the rear main bearing.

...thats what I was thinking...thats the tricky one thats easy to forget about

It engages the oil pump and fills the oil galley to the other side of the engine...........broken oil drive on the end of the distributor or incorrect machine work on the galley part of the housing.
Thats the bad brand of distributor or is it the pro form.? one is good ,one is questionable at best,I get em mixed up.
But that was my thought....I might be way off base.
Is it only no pressure at idle and pressure at revs.... ..
{edit}
Yes the rings on the shaft.......machined improperly or not at all.......

Originally Posted by erik erikson

I also wonder about the plug below the rear main bearing.

If they were not in . I think he may have some oil on the floor . Here is a photo of the cam plugs . I bought a 327 from a guy that was rebuilt and had no oil pressure . These plugs were not installed .

all of the oil galleys were installed. ive been told that i may have the wrong main bearings. when the engine was on the stand we primed it and it had around 40 psi with a 12 volt drill. now that its installed it has none. also it makes a knocking sound just as it did before i did the rebuild. only when the engine is warm, and only at idle. i had thought the knocking was from the flywheel because when i removed the engine i had one of the three bolts broke that holds the torque con. to flywheel. i get about 10 - 15psi when i rev it up and thats it

Possibly wrong rod bearings too...certainly would explain low pressure. Looks like its time to pull the pan and get some plastigage and check all your clearances...