dufus here, nother question

[Niel Hoback]

I haven't asked a stupid question in a while, so here's one. My 218 thats been converted to a 230, has always burned oil on accel and decel. The little Bon-Ami fiasco did more harm than good, but consumption has slowed some since then.

Here's the question, the oil pressure runs around 60 psi cold at idle. It reaches about 70-75 at running speed before its warmed up good. After its hot, it runs about 60-65 psi.

I am beginning to think its spraying more oil on the walls than can be wiped down. Am I grabbing at straws here?

[greg g]

Probably not. sounds like you pressure relief plunger might be sticking. Don's did that on the way to charlotte. his was pushig 80 lbs. The plunger had a burr on it and was stuck in position.

[Niel Hoback]

It's been like this since I put it in and it doesn't seem to hurt anything. At least I don't think it does.

Maybe I'll mess with that plunger for a while just to amuse myself.

[grey beard]

This is problem easy to check out, if you have a master pressure gauge. They're available from any hardware - water pressure gauges will work fine for a short test. Just pull one of several pipe plugs on the engine left side. The oil galley runs full length of the block and has several plugs. Pull any one, or even pull your dash gauge line, and stick your test gauge in the hole and see if you are really getting that much pressure. Your gauge may be off - not unlikely on these older vehicles. If the pressure really is high, then pull your pressure relief spring and pluger out and see what it looks like.

Smoking and oil consumption on deceleration sounds very much like a valve guide problem - not too tough to fix. Typically, the exhaust guides wear out first due to lack of lube, but worn intake guides really suck oil through them. Fixing that problem involves pulling the head and feeling each valve for sideways play in its guide.

Good Luck

[randroid]

Neil,

If your oil is actually running that high expect to start blowing seals. Grey Beard is right on the money, in my opinion, as to how you should go about analyzing the problem, and other than some freak of mechanics there isn't much that will cause that sort of pressure other than a sticking (or stuck) relief valve. When you check it please give it more than a cursory inspection.

-Randy