Major loss of oil preasure

[KustomSkylark]

I'm not sure who has been following my other post about over heating, I think I may have that one about figured out so I'm going to move on to my next major. I have a freshly re-built 200 in my '63 Comet. This is the first car that I've ever hooked an oil preasure gauge up to, I wanted keep a close eye on the vitals and protect my investment.

I've noticed that my oil preasure drops when I hit my breaks and while turning right. Sometimes it will go all the way down to 0
I plan on droping the pan to see if I can see any problems with the pickup. Has anyone else had this happen? Is it normal?

Also I noticed my valve cover was leaking a bit so I took it off cleaned the surfaces, added a new gasket and resealed it. It seems to be leaking more now. Should I try some hold down plates on the screws?

Thanks in advance for your wealth of information.

 

[durkzz8]

this was happening to me when I first got my car. It was caused by the oil moving away from the pickup when putting on brakes and turning. My solution was to put an extra 1/2 quart of oil in. That fixed that problem.

 

[CobraSix]

I've noticed that my oil preasure drops when I hit my breaks and while turning right. Sometimes it will go all the way down to 0
I plan on droping the pan to see if I can see any problems with the pickup. Has anyone else had this happen? Is it normal?

Check your oil level. My mustang's idiot light (no gauge) would come on that same times when my oil level was on the end of the checked region. I just used it as an early warning to add 1/2 quart.

Also I noticed my valve cover was leaking a bit so I took it off cleaned the surfaces, added a new gasket and resealed it. It seems to be leaking more now. Should I try some hold down plates on the screws?.

Rubber or cork? Aftermarket or stock valve cover?

I never got my cheap aftermarket valve cover to stop leaking, so I went back to the stop one. It was one of the chromed ones like you find on ebay. I've also had issues with rubber valve cover gaskets not lining up correctly, and while they can be trimmed, tended to be a little too long and still not fitting right.

Slade

 

[Anonymous]

i had my mech alter my chrome vavle cover slightly with a hammer and it never leaked again

I also used those chrome bolts that spead the pressure out...worked nice

 

[KustomSkylark]

I just did an oil change, so I have a total of 5 qts in right now. Will having an extra 1/2 qt do anything bad? I have a suspicion that I may be able to bend the pickup tube to fix the problem. Either that or spot-weld some baffle things into the pan.

as for the valve cover it's one of those cheap chrome covers, with a rubber gasket. I have a cork one at home, I'll have to swap it out and try some bigger hold downs.

 

[rbohm]

8) the stock oilpan leaves alot to de desired when it comet o oil control. if the extra 1/2 qt doesnt help, then take a stock oilpan and create a set of baffles around the pickup to control the oil slosh. remember to leave some openings down at the bottom to allow oil to move about, just not freely, so the pick has oil around it all the time. you can use trap doors to prevent oil moving on one direction(away from the pickup, but still allow oil to freely move towards the pickup.

 

[Anonymous]

I used the rubber gaskert and it worked fine

its the fact that quality control is less than perfect when they make the chrome aftermarket stuff

with a little masssagin, you can use a chrome as a daily drive no problem

 

[johnnyzoom]

Hey Chaz- Do you know if he widened or narrowed the valve cover?

 

[Lazy JW]

I wouldn't be afraid to run an extra full quart. Contrary to popular mythology, this will NOT "blow the seals out" of your engine. If an extra quart doesn't solve the problem then it's time to pull the pan.
Joe

 

[KustomSkylark]

last night I took the valve cover off, cleaned the surfaces really really good set the cover on the block and tapped around it to find surfaces that arn't mating well. Put it back on using a spare cork gasket, and it seems to be fine.

I also put extra oil in and I think i'm going to still drop the pan cause the preasure change is really drastic especialy when turning to the right. Does anyone have any tips for droping the pan with the engine in a 1963 Comet? I know there is a steering arm that goes across it, do I have to remove it?

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Chaz- Do you know if he widened or narrowed the valve cover?

I believe he just made the edges "flat"...if you look at the achining on repo-valve covers (not mike's...they are good) they are angled all over the place.

honestly, I dont know what he did but it NEVER leaked again. if I go down there this weekend, I will ask him

 

[KustomSkylark]

I spent my 4th of July underneith the ol Comet. I droped the pan and found the pick up bent in an akward postion. I bent it down so the pickup would be down in the oil more and be more parallel with the bottom of the pan. This fixed my problem. Although now it has less preasure and fluxuates after it shifts into second. At least it doesn't drop to 0 when I break hard or turn right anymore. Any ideas on why it has less preasure now?