Oil Pan Modification

[dec010974]

Just to update this thread, the oil pans looks great. I'll post pics Tamara. i have one slight problem, the oil pressure gauges shows no oil pressure. God I hope it's the gauge. Oh God please be the oil pressure oil gauge. Good night.

[dec010974]

Hello to all. Here are a few pics.

[dec010974]

Well the verdict is out. Or shall I say, I'm willing to bet it's not the oil pressure gauge. @&!& jgtvjg. That was a bad word in computer world. This means I gotta pull the motor back out and find the problem. &$?kuvyht@@@'b. That was another bad word. Wish me luck. This time I'm gonna test the LSx on my buddies engine test stand. This is definitely gonna be a mission. And for those who say I should have bought the oil pan kit, I'll say, life is one big lesson. I'm down for the challenge any day. Deuces.

[47 Fasttoys]

I hate it you have to pull it back apart, **** happens (that's just normal bad word). My guess would be the "O" ring on the pick up tube. You did get all your engine grounds hooked back up right?
Rob
Well I'll be danged, it edits bad words out

[dec010974]

Well 47 fasttoys, the carbed LQ4/Th400 runs just fine, grounds included. I need engine oil pressure, like 20-30 lbs at idle. Removing an engine is a lot of work just for one little o-ring. From what I have been reading, the blue
o-ring(12557752) has been replaced by the red o-ring(12584922). Trust me lesson was learned on this one. I almost, want to rebuild this thing while I have it out. im gonna check some prices and see what the charge is for a rebuild.

[tinydb84]

Well that sucks....

[dec010974]

Here is some information I found on the "old inter webbie thingy". The O-ring, that's responsible for sealing the pickup tube, so that it sucks oil and provides oil pressure, may be pinched or out of place. Most wrenchies or builders replace the O-ring (blue in color) with a new red O-ring (Cheap Insurance). the red O-ring is much thicker. There is a girdle that made to insure proper alignment of the O-ring. Also, last but not least, there are two types of oil pickup tubes (that may be the big ticket) Here are some examples of what I spoke of. I hope this information helps those that may be headed down this road.

[littlevictories]

so you think you were sucking air at the o-ring? how bad are the bearings?

[dec010974]

well littlevictories, I modified the oil pan/pickup tube to gain clearance for my 1971 c10 air suspension. this truck was a driver without a tag and registration. I drove it everywhere. The engine ran fine prior to its removal. It was lil low on power, 360 hp/382 ft. lbs, by my standards, due to my inability to tune a carbed lq4, msd ignition module, with ported cylinder heads, aftermarket camshaft, springs, stall converter, gears, and anything else I forgot to mention. There are not many tuners that can accomplish this feat in my part of the world. When I cranked/ran the engine after the oil pan and pickup exchange I thought it sounded kinda funky. The exhaust was open but, the engine/exhaust sounded abnormal. This could be the O-ring or a combination of others things (bearings). I will not know anything until I pull the engine out completely and see what's what.

[solidaxel]

Tell me more about the girdle, is this a stock part?
I am still looking at replacing my oil pan and parts

[dec010974]

solidaxel, the girdle is not a stock part but it can be found on the "bay." I don't know if I can say the selling site on this forum. This part can be googled by looking up images of "lsx oil pickup tube". better yet, ill pm you.

[solidaxel]

Originally Posted by dec010974

solidaxel, the girdle is not a stock part but it can be found on the "bay." I don't know if I can say the selling site on this forum. This part can be googled by looking up images of "lsx oil pickup tube". better yet, ill pm you.

I may have miss ordered and I think I have two coming !!

[dec010974]

Today was a good day. I pulled the engine back out and I will remove the pan and check out the oil pump pickup Tamara. I hope the girdle comes in by Wednesday. I will test this engine on the engine stand. BTW, I remove done inner fenders and ached the drop/stance I want. Life is looking good.

[e015475]

Just a couple other suggestions if you want to shorten a truck pan-

- a used pan is a little difficult to weld because there is oil in the pores of the aluminum. I cleaned it as well as I could with soap and water, then ran it through the dishwasher four or five times. You need to be single or have a understanding wife. YMMV

- the truck pan holds more oil than an F-body pan. I leveled the truck pan on the bench and filled it with the difference in the F-body oil quantity and truck quantity ( with water) marked it, and cut it there. This way I had at least as much oil as the F-body in the truck pan. IIRC this was about 1.7 inches

- clamp the pan to a steel topped bench to weld it. To leak check it, I put the welded pan on a piece of paper on the bench and put water in it and looked for leaks, fixed them and repeated. When I thought I'd fixed them all, I did the same thing with a quart of oil.

-shortening the pickup tube along its length is not the only way to shorten it. You can cut the factory pickup off, shorten the tube and weld a large washer and about a 1/2" piece of 2" tube to it to form a cup. Wrap a piece of screen around it and secure with a stainless hose clamp. Drill it and safety wire it if you want. Sounds a little ghetto but it works fine, is easy to pressure check after welding, and the weld joint is always below the oil level so there's little possibility of sucking air if there is a hole in the weld. Plus you can clean the inside of the welded area before you assemble the tube to the motor.

[e015475]

On the issue of oil pressure-

I've fought this issue of low oil pressure on an LS motor for quite a while. Most people who experience a step change in oil pressure after removing the oil pickup tube find the o-ring is the culprit.

But if you're pump is good, main bearing clearances are correct, the dog-bone is installed correctly and you still have low pressure, start looking at the cam bearings - you might find they are severely worn and pushing a lot of oil through the cam bearing journals and reducing your oil pressure. This is particularly common if an LS motor is run consistently at high rpms

[dec010974]

Thanks for the info E015475. My buddies told me that welding the oil pan was gonna be difficult. That's why I took it to a professional. I'm gonna pm you my address. By the time get here in Miami florida, the nine should be ready to drop in.

[dec010974]

E015475, how do you if the O-ring has seated & was properly installed? I removed the oil pan today and installed the red, thicker O-ring. The o-ring and pickup tube installed easily. It didn't notice any difference from the last time. Maybe, due t gravity, the proper fitment or tightness came when the (2) mounting bolts were installed. It didn't seem air proof. I'm gonna remove the oil pump and install a new oil pump since everything is basically torn down. I thought since the O-ring was thicker, there would be some slight resistance going inside the oil pump.

[e015475]

Use the right oring, lube it up well , square it to the hole and push it in. I think that girdle is a good idea too. I woulnt put in a new pump unless it had a lot of miles or you knew it was a problem. To install a new gearoter pump properly it should be shimmed to locate the housing correctly before you bolt it down

[dec010974]

shimming an oil pump, for a stock motor," really"? Not saying your information is wrong, but why would gm do something tedious, like that, for standard engine like a lq4, that's in thousands and thousands of trucks? I don't understand that one. Thanks for the info.bthis is starting to be a long journey. Just think, all I wanted to do was go low and slow.%#€|£¥_|!{<,*!. That's was pc cursing.

[e015475]

LQ4 to go 'low and slow'? That thing should go like stink!

I suppose there is more than one way to skin a cat (or install and oil pump on an LS motor), but since this is the 'heart' of your motor, I think it pays to be pretty meticulous. But that's just me.

Here's how it's done if you're so inclined-

http://www.powerblocktv.com/two-minu...an-ls-oil-pump

I'd also put the oil pump back together with a little grease to give it an edge in sucking up the oil from the sump, and I'd take out the plugs and spin it on a fresh battery till I had oil pressure

[dec010974]

For those who may attemp this feat, you can see the seal seat itself in the oil pump. Also, you will be to feel it also. When I installed the oil pickup tube the first time the old, reused blue o-ring never seated. That's, why I didn't have any oil pressure. I'm willing to bet a stack of quarters that was the culprit. No it's time to put this puppy back together. Later dudes.

[dec010974]

hello. just to update this thread, "No Oil Pressure." I found out what the problem was. after changing several O-rings, (2) oil pickup tube girdles, exchanging oil pumps and pickup tubes, and trying to purchasing a cheap LQ9, the culprit was the modified oil pan. I removed the oil cooler cap and welded the (2) holes shut/closed with (2) aluminum plugs. if you look at the oil pan, take off the oil cooler cap, two holes are there. the (2) holes, which are connected to the oil filter, allow pressure and oil, to circulate throughout the Block, producing oil pressure and oil distribution. I know, I know, I expect those harsh words and comments. please don't hit me with anything hard. "but Ahhhh", I solved the problem and im smart for that.

[47 Fasttoys]

Well, glad you found it. Now that said, had you mentioned this part of the oil pan modification I'm sure someone would have told you that is a big "no no" on LS engines and we would have saved you a ton of work. Oh well I'm sure it was a lesson learned.
Glad you got it figured out.
Rob

[dec010974]

Thanks 47 fasttoys. Today, I didn't get a chance to check for oil pressure due to a dead battery. Tamara will be test and tune time. I think im going back to the fuel injected side. also, I found a tuner that will come to the house for $300.00. with all the mods the engine has, it wont staying running. I was told that the pcm cant compensate for the fuel and air the engine needs due to the mods. at least that's was what I was told. im sure someone will confirm this. but it runs well with the msd 6010.