oil psi question

[layedoutregal]

i have a 70 olds 350 in my car total rebuild, have an oil psi gauge so i can monitor it, ok so i took it on the high way and ran it about 10 miles, going through different speeds, i have been hearing a noise wich sounds like a lifter noise except really loud coming from the front every time i put a strain on the trans, i can put it in n and rev the motor and it wont do it but once i put it in d and take off its back??..ok so i pulled to the toll booth and went thru and noticed my oil was under 20 while driving
!! should i have put the oil restrictors in to help keep oil in the lower end? and can this be done with the motor in the car

 

[86 regal]

i dont think 20 psi is abnormal when the motor is warm, ive seen many engines run for a long time with less

 

[khan0165]

20psi is normal in idle,
but you should be above 30 - 35psi when there is load on the engine or you are reving above idle.

 

[Jg85350Regal]

I think the specs for a sbc are something like 7lbs min at idle and a good rule is 10 psi for every 1000 rpm so 20 doesn't sound unreasonable.

 

[megaladon6]

you may be able to have a buddy do a brake stand (i recommend in reverse so you fall on your face instead of getting run over) while you listen for where the sound is coming from. a couple of things to check are the harmonic balancer, the flexplate and torque converter bolts.

 

[layedoutregal]

ok thanks guys for the help, i was just worried that i was going low on the psi...megaladon, i will check those out in the morning, we tried the brake stand and i didnt hear it at all so i will check the bolts, and balancer..thanks i will keep u updated

 

[megaladon6]

did you do it with the engine fully heated up? the oil pressure gets lower the hotter the engine/oil, up to a point of course. it maybe a lifter, but only once the oil hits a high enough temp/low enough pressure. if that's the case, the easy fix is a higher viscosity oil.
if it's 20psi when driving, i wouldn't be too comfortable. but you need to find out what the proper pressure is for that engine.

 

[layedoutregal]

ok i feel dumb lmao..i recently changed the plugs to those E3 ones and i guess its a much hotter plug cause it started to make spark knock? noises.. just a turn of the dist cap to time it a lil better and it totally stopped, and for the oil psi its seems to be right where its supposed to be, i notice when first started its around 50 and when hot its 20-25 at idle and 35 cruising, so thanks for all ur input..

 

[khan0165]

those are almost text-book perfect numbers!
50 at start, 20-25 at idle, 35 cruising...

awesome!

 

[layedoutregal]

sweet, then we didnt screw nothing up putting it together lol