>So, come forth ye wisdom of the list -- puzzle of the week -- what
>happens to my oil pressure at 6000 rpm?
>Barney Gaylord -- 1958 MGA
Barney,
How about the possibility that the oil pan was pumped dry? May not be
the same problem I had, but, for what it's worth: My 69 Ranchero with
428 engine was rebuilt with a hi-volumne oil pump. The rocker shafts
were a little worn, allowing the excess oil flow to fill both valve
covers - the oil couldn't get back to the pan fast enough and, as the
pan emptied, the pressure would drop to zero at high revs, then at
idle, the pressure came instantly back to normal. The simple fix was
to run about 1.5 to 2 quarts additional oil in the crankcase - not
enough to get splashed by the crank, since probably 2 quarts are always
circulating through the engine whenever it's running. It did solve the
loss of oil pressure and still runs great after 50,000 miles or so.
It could also be the crank is splashing into the oil (assuming there's
no windage tray) and foaming it up, though I don't know if MGA's have
that problem, and I doubt that you would have a complete loss of
pressure all at once.
Another thought is that maybe the oil pick-up is a little too high and
not reaching all the way to the bottom of the pan.
In both cases, I think that adding one extra quart of oil shouldn't
hurt anything (we're only looking at maybe an extra inch of level in
the pan) and if you don't lose pressure again at 6,000 rpm, you've
found your problem.
Good Luck,
Don Daves <dondaves@ix.netcom.com>
Santa Cruz, CA
65 Sunbeam Tiger (his)
64 1/2 Mustang conv. (hers)
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