Oil pressure low at idol

[Rockwood]

The Pumps are very different in width and gearotor size - so the dowel idea probably would not work unfortunately. I have plastic shims to set them up - its literally 1 minute of time - since I Mic the crank and bearings and journals and rods and use plastigauge too - the  1 Minute on the Pump is the easy part

I use Clevite bearings almost exclusively because they support builders and have great reps, I sat in on a training they did for old machine shop I was impressed. But they are softer than Kings so in a 30LB+ Turbo I would probabl;y use Kings 

 I can tell in seconds if the car ran hot  - LS bearings are easy to read, but I usually see the Thrust  be the issue with aftermarket cranks and most shops (not race builders) never even check

Thrust pretty much murders oil pressure and is stupid easy to check...  More of an issue wear-wise with MT cars though since the clutch puts a lot of load on the crank.

I still haven't installed my LM7, so checking the pump with shims would be easy.  Think Melling's instructions are insufficient?

Dowels: Even if they're different width, they all have to line up centered on the crank and sit in a housing of some sort, so the housing casting would carry the onus of lining up the dowels to accommodate.  Main gripe wasn't so much there, but front/rear covers and stressed oil pans are dowel'd on every motor I've ever worked on except this guy.  Makes it so everything fits together without worry of nuking main seals or cracking Crap because it was out of alignment.  I'm sure the lack of location means GM doesn't have to be as close on tolerances for these covers, but it's really annoying for the poor guy working on it. :biggrin:

 

[Fullthrottleguy]

Thrust pretty much murders oil pressure and is stupid easy to check...  More of an issue wear-wise with MT cars though since the clutch puts a lot of load on the crank.

I still haven't installed my LM7, so checking the pump with shims would be easy.  Think Melling's instructions are insufficient?

Dowels: Even if they're different width, they all have to line up centered on the crank and sit in a housing of some sort, so the housing casting would carry the onus of lining up the dowels to accommodate.  Main gripe wasn't so much there, but front/rear covers and stressed oil pans are dowel'd on every motor I've ever worked on except this guy.  Makes it so everything fits together without worry of nuking main seals or cracking Crap because it was out of alignment.  I'm sure the lack of location means GM doesn't have to be as close on tolerances for these covers, but it's really annoying for the poor guy working on it. :biggrin:

Very true on the covers and the need for alignment tools and the stress member design.  I think I have spent $500 in stupid alignment tools and made a few others.  I cannot tell you how many LS's I see losing oil (the swirl of oil) out the front cover balancer seal just because the alignment is slightly off.  Really embarrassing for an engine that if assembled correctly does not leak at all.   That is not to say I don't see a couple engines a year where silicone was "globbed" all over the place like its a small block chevy. Those engines always leak

After talking to GM techs at LS fest a couple years ago. High HP Aluminum blocks especially the short skirt LS3  really need the Aluminum pan and the factory covers. Guys running aftermarket steel pans do have more bearing issues and they even see HP losses.  Fine fpr drags where you tear down in few races or every season, but after talking to those guys I am staying GM

Holley of course says the same thing since their pans are aluminum...

I torque "everything",  every bolt and I have to say nothing moves during assembly if the alignment tools are used.  Although .... I watched a "respectable" builder putting all the LS external parts on with a small impact  ...

I know those Aluminum blocks move around. Blocks like the RHS that can use specialized pieces should be pinned  - with all the other improvements it would not be that hard.

and look at the LT's now  ...

 

[Dockmaster]

My LS3 makes low 60’s psi at cold start. Typically stays in the 50’s when running and warm. Idling after a long run the lowest I recall seeing is 46 psi. I don’t know what pump CBM used when they built it. 

 

[Rockwood]

Very true on the covers and the need for alignment tools and the stress member design.  I think I have spent $500 in stupid alignment tools and made a few others.  I cannot tell you how many LS's I see losing oil (the swirl of oil) out the front cover balancer seal just because the alignment is slightly off.  Really embarrassing for an engine that if assembled correctly does not leak at all.   That is not to say I don't see a couple engines a year where silicone was "globbed" all over the place like its a small block chevy. Those engines always leak

After talking to GM techs at LS fest a couple years ago. High HP Aluminum blocks especially the short skirt LS3  really need the Aluminum pan and the factory covers. Guys running aftermarket steel pans do have more bearing issues and they even see HP losses.  Fine fpr drags where you tear down in few races or every season, but after talking to those guys I am staying GM

Holley of course says the same thing since their pans are aluminum...

I torque "everything",  every bolt and I have to say nothing moves during assembly if the alignment tools are used.  Although .... I watched a "respectable" builder putting all the LS external parts on with a small impact  ...

I know those Aluminum blocks move around. Blocks like the RHS that can use specialized pieces should be pinned  - with all the other improvements it would not be that hard.

and look at the LT's now  ...

Yeah, I've seen the sheetmetal pans and wonder why the owner didn't just run a SBC since he wasn't taking advantage of the stressed oil pan.  I went with the Holley pan since it was going in a Jeep and I didn't like the truck pan hanging so low (and the other pans were gonna limit bump travel on the front axle).  Bonus was it uses the larger PF48 filter instead of 46.

Luckily, Holley is sponsoring this build, but still had to go back to them a couple of times to order a bunch of alignment tools as well.  If anyone needs them, PM me.

I used an impact...  To just turn the screws with the motor, no hammering the anvil.  Everything was finished with a torque wrench with multiple passes to make sure I got them all.  Last thing I want is to have a cam cover bolt or some other critical fastener fall off and lunch a motor so I could save a minute.