Low oil pressure, noisy engine

[dmcsweeney]

Hi all,

I've spent the day trying to revive a few classics and get them ready to move them back to base. These include a '73 3500. The car was purchased by my other half's father in '07 and has been off the road since. Over the years it was run occasionally, being moved about as it got in the way. It then sat for about 2-3 years. I was the last person to run the engine (about a year ago). Today I started work on it again. I turned the engine over by hand, fitted a battery and cranked it over. The oil pressure rose to about 10-15psi on the starter. It had no spark (restored by cleaning the coil connections) then fired but cut out out as soon as I released the key, so I connected the windscreen washer cable to the coil. When it fired and ran it knocked loudly and the oil pressure was only about 10psi, oil light came on and I shut it down. I'm assuming the oil (which I was going to change when I got it on the lift) is there since at least '07 and the filter looks very rusty. There was also a smell like solvent from the dip stick and filler cap and the top end looked dry )viewed through the filler.The last time I fired it up it ran like a sewing machine. My plan is to drop the oil next Saturday morning, fit a new filter and try again. Can I assume that the oil has broken down or been contaminated by fuel? Could the pump have issues priming? The only past experience I've had that has come close is when my red 3500S diluted it's oil with petrol. On that occasion an oil change cured it. I'm hoping that the noise was just the hydraulic lifters and not the bottom end .

Regards,
Dave

 

[Ethelred]

I'm no mechanic but the hydraulic lifters tend to get noisy as the engine warms up whereas bottom end rattle goes away once a worn bottom end is able to start floating in oil.

I know both sounds of old.

You have to change the oil and filter as the next step.

 

[ghce]

clogged oil pick up would be my guess, the oil light should never come up. I you have a hoist maybe drop the sump.

Graeme

 

[Ethelred]

clogged oil pick up would be my guess, the oil light should never come up. I you have a hoist maybe drop the sump.

Graeme

Well remembered. It'll probably look like this, or worse.

 

[ghce]

Now that is an awful sight!
So easy to drop the sump especially on a car which has gone thru long term storage with an unknown previous history.
If the car has sat a long time you really should drop the sump to clear out the jelly.

Graeme

 

[dmcsweeney]

Thanks lads. How difficult is it to remove the sump with the engine in place? The car is only 50 feet from a 4 post lift but it'll be a pig to get in there if it's not running so I need to try and do it where it stands. I'm assuming the front calipers are probably locked up so pushing it up a slope onto a lift will be impossible.

Regards,
Dave

 

[hairyrover]

I seem to remember that oil pump drain is a problem on these but is easily rectified by taking off the oil pump cover and packing with vaseline so that it primes.

 

[harveyp6]

Thanks lads. How difficult is it to remove the sump with the engine in place?

Manual car: Easy, just remove the sump.
Auto car, more of a pain because you have to remove the exhaust front pipes first.

 

[dmcsweeney]

Thanks lads. How difficult is it to remove the sump with the engine in place?

Manual car: Easy, just remove the sump.
Auto car, more of a pain because you have to remove the exhaust front pipes first.

Thanks Harvey. I hope it'll be salvageable after this!