B.Liesberg Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 As the title says, the oil pressure in my 39 Century goes down to 0 (or almost 0 hard to tell) at idle when the engine is fully warmed up. Oil level is fine. Could this be an issue with the oil pump or a gasket in the oil pickup line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 If the engine is not noisy, it is probably not quite down to zero psi. Typically, pulling the oil pan, removing the oil pump, removing the bottom plate of the oil pump and resurfacing the bottom plate will resolve the low oil pressure. The oil pump gears typically wear the bottom plate resulting in too much clearance which causes low oil pressure. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Agree with Matthew. Going further, I would install a new oil pressure gauge under the hood somewhere. Several places to do so. The oil pump pickup screen is OFTEN plugged. Pull the pan, then you will know. Ben 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.Liesberg Posted November 13, 2018 Author Share Posted November 13, 2018 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert_25-25 Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 I agree with all of the above. I like the look of the old gauges, so consider buying a modern oil pressure gauge to connect temporarily at the block to check that your dash gauge is still accurate. If the gauge is good, then I would pull the pan as the others have suggested (cleaning the screen and checking the oil pump bottom surface). Also consider pulling the oil pump pressure valve spring to ensure that it is not broken or weak. If you found nothing above to have any problems, with the pan off, you could also use plastigauge and check the bearing clearances. Hugh 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 What oil are you running and how long has it been in the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.Liesberg Posted November 15, 2018 Author Share Posted November 15, 2018 10W30 and almost a month. I also added some motor honey to the oil as well. I'm dropping the pan to-morrow to check the bearings & pump. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 (edited) The motor honey is the problem. It is Snake oil. Try to find any technical information about it! A viscosifier. It will thicken the oil. Thick oil is harder to pump. Just use plain 10W-30 oil. It has plenty of additives in it. If your engine is a bit rattly or smokey, try something like a 5W-40. If you want thick oil, use higher viscosity oil and don't guess with additives with pretty labels and high-hype advertising. Edited November 16, 2018 by Spinneyhill (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.Liesberg Posted November 20, 2018 Author Share Posted November 20, 2018 Sorry it took a while to respond, I've been really busy. We dropped the oil pan last week and found the oil pump housing and cover plate have excessive wear. I believe this is the cause of my issues. Does anyone know where I can get a new oil pump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 20, 2018 Share Posted November 20, 2018 If the gears are not too worn you can reface the body and cover fairly easily. On a flat work surface place a piece of glass. Coat the glass with grinding compound and move the cover and/or body in a figure eight motion on the compound. You can use emery paper on the glass instead of grinding compound. Just keel using finer and finer. The cover is easy to tell when it is flat. With the body you need to keep measuring. Easy done and cheap as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.Liesberg Posted November 20, 2018 Author Share Posted November 20, 2018 They have been worn about .060" deep, I don't think I can sand it out. The gear teeth look fine, but I'm not sure how much wear they have on the ends after seeing the housing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMicheletti Posted November 20, 2018 Share Posted November 20, 2018 WOW, yhat is a lot of wear. Manual says end clearnce of gears should be .0005" to .004". You are a mile past that. There are both steel and pot metal pot metal covers. You should see if you can a metal one. The pot metal one was a bad idea. You can use plastigage to check that cover for clearance if you get new parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert_25-25 Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 I sent my oil pump to Egge in California and they went thru it and pressure tested it afterward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.Liesberg Posted November 21, 2018 Author Share Posted November 21, 2018 5 hours ago, DonMicheletti said: You can use plastigage to check that cover for clearance if you get new parts. Mine is definitely steel, but the problem is the pump housing is worn on the driven gear side about as much as the plate is, so I think I need to replace the entire thing. I'm not even sure how it got that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1924 6-55 Sport Tourer Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 If you replace the pump, you will be substituting it with another 90 year old one that is most likely worn just as bad. For my car i just had new gears made. It wasnt cheap but it solved the problem. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 I just had new gears made for my '08 and I the cost was about $350.00.+- Not cheap, but good insurance to be sure nothing goes without lubrication. Cheaper than an engine rebuild. A lot cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 The best source for any used replacement part for any 1936-1941 Buick is Dave Tacheny. You can best reach him at 763-427-3460 between 4 and 7 pm Central. If you don't reach him initially, keep trying. He should have what you need and has reasonable prices as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.Liesberg Posted November 21, 2018 Author Share Posted November 21, 2018 8 hours ago, 1924 6-55 Sport Tourer said: If you replace the pump, you will be substituting it with another 90 year old one that is most likely worn just as bad. For my car i just had new gears made. It wasnt cheap but it solved the problem. David The gear kits for the 320 I've been seeing are onIy $60 or so, but I doubt putting new gears in a worn housing will fix anything. 20 minutes ago, MCHinson said: The best source for any used replacement part for any 1936-1941 Buick is Dave Tacheny. You can best reach him at 763-427-3460 between 4 and 7 pm Central. If you don't reach him initially, keep trying. He should have what you need and has reasonable prices as well. Thanks! I'll try to contact him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMicheletti Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 I am with Hinson. The kind of wear you see is pretty rare, but, obviously, not unheard of. Both my '38's are 80 years old and the Roadmaster has over 100,000 miles on it and its pump showed almost no wear. It was an original car when I bought it. Tacheny is your best bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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