fordltd

I've been trying to think of could be wrong w the ol ltd she seems to
run good when I start her up and drive but after maybe 15 or 20 min.
Of warming up her eng light comes on, am a little confused where to
go from here have a oil pressure gauge and rpm gauge hooked up the
oil pressure is good until it warms up it sits at about 2-3 psi while
in idle and maybe 50-60 psi after start up right away, please
somebody help! Any help is appreciated

 

cooterr

most likely sounds like worn main and/or connecting rod bearings. could be
worn oil pump. first thing to do is change oil and filter to make sure
everything is clean. knowing mileage and oil change intervals and how its
been driven would help to determine the problem.

Backyard Mechanic

nathan.hoeft@earthlink-dot-net.no-spam.invalid (fordltd) wrote:

> I've been trying to think of could be wrong w the ol ltd she seems to
> run good when I start her up and drive but after maybe 15 or 20 min.
> Of warming up her eng light comes on, am a little confused where to
> go from here have a oil pressure gauge and rpm gauge hooked up the
> oil pressure is good until it warms up it sits at about 2-3 psi while
> in idle and maybe 50-60 psi after start up right away, please
> somebody help! Any help is appreciated
>

Does that light go out when engine's at speed?

Sounds like worn bearings, from the idle PSI.. but what is it at
operating rpm?

You could and should use a heavier weight oil.. like 20w-50 if such is
the case.

--
Yeh, I'm a Krusty old Geezer, putting up with my 'smartass' is the price
you pay..DEAL with it!

trainfan1

fordltd wrote:
> I've been trying to think of could be wrong w the ol ltd she seems to
> run good when I start her up and drive but after maybe 15 or 20 min.
> Of warming up her eng light comes on, am a little confused where to
> go from here have a oil pressure gauge and rpm gauge hooked up the
> oil pressure is good until it warms up it sits at about 2-3 psi while
> in idle and maybe 50-60 psi after start up right away, please
> somebody help! Any help is appreciated
>

The oil pump pickup screen is blocked. Fix it now and you may get
several thousand more miles out of that engine.

Rob

tom

first off, you do not say what motor is in it, so we can only guess. but as
it is a 77, I am going to assume it is either a 351m or 400 m. this is
common with these motors. change the oil and filter, using an oil viscosity
of 15-45 or greater, and add a quart of lucas oil stabilizer. this will
raise the oil pressure to about 10-15 lbs at idle .
"fordltd" <nathan.hoeft@earthlink-dot-net.no-spam.invalid> wrote in message
news:a8SdndrP4593SBveRVn_vQ@giganews.com...
> I've been trying to think of could be wrong w the ol ltd she seems to
> run good when I start her up and drive but after maybe 15 or 20 min.
> Of warming up her eng light comes on, am a little confused where to
> go from here have a oil pressure gauge and rpm gauge hooked up the
> oil pressure is good until it warms up it sits at about 2-3 psi while
> in idle and maybe 50-60 psi after start up right away, please
> somebody help! Any help is appreciated
>

Dude

Just out of curiosity, how many miles do you have on it? I am the proud
owner of a 77 ltd country squire wagon that I inherited from my parents. It
has just over 100,000 miles on it. The bulk of that mileage was accumulated
on the highway as they only used it in the summer time traveling. The car
was never winter driven. I only use it myself in the summer, but I enjoy
driving it. It still runs great, and it don't burn any oil. It is hard on
gas, but that is to be expected, & I only use premium in it.


"fordltd" <nathan.hoeft@earthlink-dot-net.no-spam.invalid> wrote in message
news:a8SdndrP4593SBveRVn_vQ@giganews.com...
> I've been trying to think of could be wrong w the ol ltd she seems to
> run good when I start her up and drive but after maybe 15 or 20 min.
> Of warming up her eng light comes on, am a little confused where to
> go from here have a oil pressure gauge and rpm gauge hooked up the
> oil pressure is good until it warms up it sits at about 2-3 psi while
> in idle and maybe 50-60 psi after start up right away, please
> somebody help! Any help is appreciated
>

cooterr

Tom probably gave the best cheapest advice to cure the problem. Rob might
be right about the sump screen but this is not an easy fix and what
usually plugs the screen is the nylon fiber upper timing gear which means
more fixing.[but if it chewing up it has to be fixed anyway and wouldn't
have too many miles left on it as is] could be someone just put in too
light viscosity oil [like 5/30 or thinner]

tom

that is what I did on my 79 F250 351M. 35k miles now, and still no problem
"cooterr" <cooter@sasktel.net> wrote in message
news:c63cd7a920c288c9b093e6aa4e2df203@localhost.talkaboutautos.com...
> Tom probably gave the best cheapest advice to cure the problem. Rob might
> be right about the sump screen but this is not an easy fix and what
> usually plugs the screen is the nylon fiber upper timing gear which means
> more fixing.[but if it chewing up it has to be fixed anyway and wouldn't
> have too many miles left on it as is] could be someone just put in too
> light viscosity oil [like 5/30 or thinner]
>

Don Holton

In article <a8SdndrP4593SBveRVn_vQ@giganews.com>,
nathan.hoeft@earthlink-dot-net.no-spam.invalid (fordltd) wrote:

> I've been trying to think of could be wrong w the ol ltd she seems to
> run good when I start her up and drive but after maybe 15 or 20 min.
> Of warming up her eng light comes on, am a little confused where to
> go from here have a oil pressure gauge and rpm gauge hooked up the
> oil pressure is good until it warms up it sits at about 2-3 psi while
> in idle and maybe 50-60 psi after start up right away, please
> somebody help! Any help is appreciated

OK I have to agree with those that have already responded the main and
rod bearings are probably toast and I also suspect it has the 351 M /
400 series engine. These were based off the poor oiling 351 C and also
were pourly oiled especially the 351 M far more so than the 400!
Maintenance of the 351 M is very important in the 3,000 mile range on
oil changes as these engines gum up if not properly maintained and the
poor oiling becomes No oiling and wipes the bearings. The reason you
have oil pressure on start up is the engine is cold once the oil warms
up the oil thins and you have the issue that you have.

I would try to change the oil first as well to see if that helps while
doing so check to see if there is any gas in the oil as the carbs of
this vintage dumped gas into the oil if the power valve stuck. Once the
oil mixes with the gas that will also wipe the bearings. If you
decide to fix it I would at least suggest at least changing the pump
screen and pump when changing the main and rod bearings (may need a
crank if this has been going on for a while)! Sorry but if it was mine
and you plan on keeping it I would pull it refresh the timing chain boil
the block and go straight through it completely!

Just my opinions hope they help

jimblob

hay nat .the enginge lite might be choke not opening after warm up.it would
run rought.as far as oil pressure 2psi motor would knock or be blown up.i
had 73 buick 350 with sun oil gage same thing.had car for years never
knocked. with gauges you get what u pay for. hope i gave ya acouple things