oil pressure oscillation and ticking question

[col318]

Hi there, after many problems i can finally drive my truck on the street (d100 318v8 new process 435), it pulls hard, im used to drive 2.0 liter 4 cylinder " engines" and wooooow this thing pulls very hard and sounds great too.

Now its time to "tune" the engine and get rid of little problems... I have 2 questions for you guys.

1. Im hearing a little ticking after the engine is warmed up and has been runing for bout 20 minutes, i suposse its a lifter but the funny thing is that i dont hear the tiking at the valve covers but i hear it under the engine, oil pan/clutch area, clutch lower cover is removed and nothing weird seems to be going on there... I know the lifters are pretty low under the heads so it might have sense to hear it tiking down there ( i dont believe its rod knock since the sound goes away with increasing rpm)
.... Is this assumption stupid?


2. When engine is warm it idles at about 30 psi oil pressure but i nottice the needle of my pressure gauge oscillates about 1-2 psi...this ossilation goes away with increasing rpm too ( autometer mechanical gauge i have used it in several 4 cylinder engines with no oscillation). I suppose this small oscillation might be normal in this engine since the oil feed to the conecting rods its not constant (lower main bearing not grooved) so this variation in pressure migh become noticeable at low engine speeds.... Too much assumptions? Is my engine dying??

 

[Princess Valiant]

Exhaust leak will sound like a tick tick after it warms up and the exhaust gases expand and get real hot and go away with rpm increase because it pushed out the back faster.

 

[col318]

ok so the ticking is increasing becoming less tolerable, im starting to believe there is a spun bearing or something very very terrible going on. the tick starts when the engine its hot and goes away a few rpm above idle, i used a hose to try to hear the noise on the valve covers, exhaust or intake manifold with no luck, if i put my ear directly on the oil pan i can hear a loud tick TICK TICK TICK ****!!!! Before I get burned.

The engine is rebuilt it has about 4 hours and 100 miles on it... here is the list:

every single part its stock replacement, nothing fancy here

pistons .060 over
crank .020 under rods and mains
new rod and main bearings
all exhaust valve guides replaced
all exhaust valve seats replaced
all valves new
all pushrods new
all gaskets new off course
new oil pump
new cam bearings
new timing chain
new clutch and pressure plate

camshaft and lifters where reused and installed in their original positions

i measured every clearance dictated in the service manual i have pages and pages filled with measurements, EVERYTHING was barely withing specificactions but still withing specificactions after a very bad machine job (all machine shops are terrible here)... yes i did used plastigage in the bearings.

Anyways i recorded a few videos so you guys can help me to diagnose this problem the videos are long because i was trying to find the noise myself but you guys only have to watch the first 20 seconds to get the idea.
This video was recorded at night after a 30 minutes drive. The thing sounds like its going destroy in seconds. The tick went away a few rpm above idle… the engine doesn’t make any tick at all at cruise speed or at any other speed that’s not idle
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meX8kfssjzg"]1 - YouTube[/ame]

this video was recorded the morning after , cold engine silent as it should be no ticking at any engine speed everything wonderful everybody happy

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWr38W7azT4"]2 - YouTube[/ame]

then as the engine warmed up the ticking started to appear slowly until the self destruction sound started again, in this video you can see how accelerating the engine a Little bit makes the noise go away and you can see the oil pressure fluctuations at min 2:20 10W-40 mobil oil
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFnKN9wNRF4"]3 - YouTube[/ame]

last test i did was to disconnect the plug wires one by one to see if the ticking changed but it stayed the same.
I would love this to be a collapsed lifter or a wasted cam but would i be able to hear that through the oil pan and not the valve covers?

I haven’t removed the valve covers yet because I’m at the point of hating every second of my life i spend near this engine, so much money, measurement and time wasted, i have to stay away from it for several days because if i don’t i might just light it on fire and get rid of this money sucking piece of **** for once.

Sorry about the whining and thanks for the help.

 

[RustyRatRod]

The oil pressure changing is perfectly normal.

The noise is NOT a tick. That's a knock. I would drain the oil and check it for metal shavings. Either way, the pan is coming off at the very least.

 

[gtsdude]

Do you have a windage tray in the oil pan? How much free travel does the clutch have? it sure sounds like something in the oil pan, like RRR said you should drain the oil and look for metal first.

 

[col318]

thanks for the answers...

rustyratrod i know the pressure its supposed to raise with rpm and drop with increasing temperature, the fluctuation i reffer to is that 2 psi going up and down all the time like bouncing.

gtsdude i do not have any windage tray in the oil pan, the clutch has miles of free travel
(colombian maded clucth links) i posted about those a few days ago

 

[RustyRatRod]

thanks for the answers...rusty rat rod i know the pressure its supposed to raise with rpm and drop with increasing temperature the fluctuation i reffer to is that 2 psi going up and down all the time like bouncing.

gtsdude i do not have any windage tray in the oil pan the clutch has miles of free travel
(colombian maded clucth links) i posted about those a few days ago

My comprehension skills are way above average. I read and understood your question. My answer is the same. Your oil pressure is NORMAL. The engine does not run at a ROCK steady RPM, so that is reflected in the oil pressure gauge.

 

[Mopar Tim]

Clean rebuild its a shame you have to pull it out, or so it seems.

 

[peelo57]

There is definetly knock coming from that engine, something hitting or bearing etc...

And there is brobably small exhaust leak too that higher tone ticking soung on video, I had that sound when i put new headders.

Fix that knock, dont run it anymore before that, with good luck only just bearing swap and good to know.

 

[col318]

yes i know ill have to entirely disassembly the engine im just taking a ride in the emotional roller coaster and saving up for the gaskets because rebuilding this thing let me entirely broke (literally)

this image ressumes my experience with this truck... it happens every week or so

 

[Mopar Tim]

On a different note, you should not wire tie plug wires together, chance for cross fire. Good luck. Just make sure everything is clean clean clean!

 

[col318]

thanks for the advice mopar tim but i really dont see how crossforing might happen from having the wires tied together i migh have a false triggering of my timing light but crossfiring? no way.

 

[Mopar Tim]

Ask anyone about that. True. Why do you think they use wire separators?

 

[Louie70Dart]

There are electrical fields around any wires with electricity going through them. Some can and has bled through. A fact.

 

[col318]

mopar tim thanks a lot for real i never heard of inductive crossfire before... i have a lot to read tonigh thanks for that. i love learning about this.


back on subject i must add that i used assembly lube and i primed the oil pump before starting the engine, i tried to avoid this kind of problem by measuring everything 3 times and taking every precaution possible including cleaning all oil galleys until they where shining (i have pictures to prove it)

is it possible that the assembly lube blocked the oil galleys in the cranckshaft?? i was pretty generous with it.

during assembly i was able to turn the cranckshaft with one finger and a 3/8 rachet... with pistons and rings it took one hand and the same 3/8 rachet. everything torqued to spec with a brand new craftsman torquemeter.

i am really surprised with this one, i have succesfully rebuilded several engines in the past without even using a micrometer and they ran perfect for years now i try to do everything as ''the book'' says and the engine dies in two days WTF??

 

[RustyRatRod]

I seriously doubt the assembly lube caused a problem. You said you primed the oil pump. Did you prime the ENGINE? Failure there could be what happened. It only takes seconds for assembly lube to burn off if there is no oil film there at start up.

 

[col318]

Rustyratrod, yes i primed the oil pump while in the engine i spinned it with a drill until i had 90 psi on the gauge it took like 5 seconds since i was not interested in getting oil to the heads because i was able to lube everything there by hand before starting it, i was just trying to fill the galleys...during the first start up the oil pressure took like 2 seconds to start raising and the engine started at the first try, no long crancking for first start just like a second or 2

 

[Rustedwrench]

thanks for the advice mopar tim but i really dont see how crossforing might happen from having the wires tied together i migh have a false triggering of my timing light but crossfiring? no way.

Cross-firing is cause by magnetic induction, which is the same principle that causes your ignition coil to work.

 

[oldkimmer]

..........is ur oil pressure now warm/cold the same as ur start up oil pressure?...kim...

 

[col318]

Top oil pressure reached seems to be the same about 60 psi.. idle cold its over 40 psi hot its about 25 psi

 

[Mopar Tim]

what did you use to assemble? not white grease I hope.

 

[col318]

I used this... It was black by the way

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41PXCF7aC9L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

 

[col318]

ok so i finally started to work on the 318 AGAIN i removed the valve covers to try to find something loose but no luck so all that was left was the bottom end. i removed the oil pan and yes... tinkerbell visited me.

rod number 3 was the cause of the knock, i must say the cranckshaft doesnt have sny scratches or visible wear at all, the rod seems to be in good shape too, no sigs of the bearing spining, the bearing halves dont have any deep scratches, no rough surface and dont have any material embedded

i remember during assembly one or two bearing halves being taller, by that i mean they werent flush with the rod cap they were a bit above the edge... can that be the cause???

what do you guys think might be the cause for this premature bearing failure??

deffective bearing???

 

[col318]

here are the measurements before assembly they are the result of 3 equal readings each with cheap chinese tools so i trust them...

oil clearance was measured with plastigage.

the engine still in the truck im just going to replace the bearings in rod #3 and see if it dies again but i would like to know your opinion.

yes im dirty.