Got Road Runner out the other day for a short cruise and no oil pressure.Had trouble with this last fall. Tried to prime pump..nothing pulled pump, took it apart cant find anything wrong with it.Im going to try new O rings and gaskets and repack it to prime.If this dont work Im going to have to tear it down.Anyone else run into this before?

 

Put the new O rings in. Filter,oil and DA DA 80psi.Look out Chevy Boy.....Im back!

 

Glad to here you found and fixed it. I had it happen to me a few times, but it was my connection to the oil pressure sending unit. It is basically a female wire connector that slips onto the top of the sending unit which is similar to a flat nail head where the wire connects to. The sending unit is located on the top back of the block between the intake manifold/valley pan and the transmission bellhousing. I still need to pinch the connector to make it a tight fitting contact so it doesn't lose it's connection making it look as though I lost most to all my oil pressure.

For those that still don't know where it is on the big block, here is a picture with it in a red square which may still be hard to see, but it will give the general location:


[IMG]local://upfiles/193/2D92A57527FE4026B2FCBB49E8261F3D.jpg[/IMG]

 

speaking from experience get a mechanical gauge...I dont really trust the factory ones....too old.

 

[quote]ORIGINAL: 71RoadRunner


Got a question for you, 71 RoadRunner ....

Did you have any problems getting the MoPar Performance valve covers to seal? I just did an engine replacement in my Charger and put in a 440 rebuild. I've got a very small oil seep from one cover/gasket. We've tried cleaning the head and even used thick cork gaskets which helped alot, but there's still a very small seepage. The MoPar Performance covers, being cast aluminum are very stiff and I don't think they "give" much.

RCE

 

Very nice '69 Charger. My biggest problem with the Mopar Performance valve covers was their thickness and the gaskets that came with them were also quite thick making it impossible to reuse the original valve cover bolts, so I had to go buy longer bolts and I had clearance issues with getting the socket and extension on the left covers rear bottom bolt because of the brake booster. I think they supply such a thick gasket because the aluminium is so stiff. Most leaks are from overtightening, which on most sheet metal covers causes them to bend and creates gaps where the metal bows up from the indentation, but that doesn't happen with these thick aluminium ones, they would crack instead. The rough casting of the heads are another problem area that causes leaks as does not cleaning the mating surfaces to remove all oils. Don't forget to retighten the bolts after running the engine the first time after putting everything on just like you would with headers.