Another flatty comes to life...................

[Sopp]

After oh so many years of waiting, I finally lit the fuse on my 286ci. Electronic ignition seems to be working fine, revs like crazy, sounds just fantastic .

Then I looked at the oil pressure gauge .............................at just a little over an idle ( 800 to 900rpm ) it pegs the needle at 100+psi. I then observed the gauge while just cranking......70psi after a couple turns .

I checked the gauge and it seems to be working propperly ( new, mechanical ). This should sound like good news, but it's scairing the crap out of me. What did I do wrong??????????????????? I remember checking the relief spring at assembly, just as it should be.

I'm running the 95% filter system. Haven't loosened any lines yet to see if there is oil "flowing" like it should. Is there something obvious I'm missing?

The joy of hearing that beast lite up was so great............then this......................

[BillM]

Did you do it like this?

FullFlow.jpg

[Ross F-1]

Which oil pump, stock or hi-flow, hi pressure?

[JWL]

Well, at first glance it does sound like there is a plumbing problem and the oil delivery is being dead-headed at the gauge. This would mean none is going to the bearings, so STOP and verify. I assume you have 10-30 oil in the crankcase and not 70wt.??

[NFlat32]

STOP as JWL says. You could relatively easy remove the intake manifold and remove the front relief valve. Then crank with ignition off and see if oil is flowing to that point. If it is then you could feel more certain a serious blockage isn't deadheading the system. Mechanical gage made in China is it??

Congratulations on getting it running. I know it wasn't easy with life's obstacles.

Flat32

[Sopp]

BillM,
Yes, that is exactly what I have.

Ross,
I put the pump back in that the engine came to me with. It looked almost new. Sent pictures and measured specs to Rumbleseat and he concured that it was good enough to re-use.

JWL,
It was either 10W30 or 10W40. Nothing heavier.

Flat32,
Life's obstacles ????? During the night I developed a good case of gout. I can't hardly walk this morning. Sooooooo, further investigation will have to wait a day or two. Thanks for the check points.

Thanks for the quick replies. As soon as I'm able to dig into it, I'll post what I find.
Such a high when she fired and ran so nice, then this .

Sopp

[JWL]

After thinking about this I wonder if that "grub screw", as defined on the Bill M. drawing, is either too deep, or not deep enough?

[Sopp]

JWL,
Hmmmmmmm, I don't think that is the problem, but, that will be checked. That's an interesting possiblity.

Thanks John,

Sopp

[BillM]

This is one of those problems that has a one in a million chance of someone telling you outright what is wrong. The picture I posted is what many before you have done with success so its going to be up to you to figure out what the problem is. It usually ends up to be something simple, but it will take some detective work to figure it out. Keep us posted and everyone here is eager to hear what you find out and offer suggestions along the way if you need help.
There was a post on the HAMB a few months ago from a fellow in Australia or New Zealand that put together a flathead that suffered oil starvation at startup. Turned out he had a military (Canadian?) block with a filter setup just like yours but he didn't know it and put it together without the filter not realizing the fitting/grubscrew was in the block which blocked oil to everything except the rear main I believe. Nobody knew what the problem was till he dug into it and found out he had a military block. Obviously this should not be your problem but I just tell this story to show how hard it is to trouble shoot these things over the web. Let us know what you find out.

[Ross F-1]

... You could relatively easy remove the intake manifold and remove the front relief valve. ....
Flat32

Is this an 8BA/8CM? relief would be in the oil pump, and is a frequent problem on recent (2000+) replacement oil pumps. Poorly machined. But usually dump too much, not too little.

[Sopp]

Limped out to the garage..................

Cheap off-shore gauges are &%#%$&. Got an American made, oil filled gauge and now I have some more reliable readings to report.

Cranking now is 40psi ( instead of 70psi ), fast idle now is 90psi ( instead of 100+psi ).

Have plenty oil passing through filter and back into engine.

Took the front cover off. Cam gear is wet with oil. This is as far as I got.

If I pull the intake off, will I be able to see oil flow anywhere while cranking ? Don't want to take stuff off if I don't have to.

I finally finished the headers. Pics attached.

Flathead headers 1.jpg

Flathead headers 2.jpg

Flathead headers 3.jpg

Thanks again guys,
Sopp

[Ross F-1]

Seems like you've got it under control! Still seems high, but that's more in line with "normal".

[BillM]

How about removing the grub screw temporarily and checking it?

[Sopp]

Maybe it's because I suffering from sleep depprivation, but, what are you reffering to as the grub screw ?

I'm a little dullheader today.

Sopp

[BillM]

what are you reffering to as the grub screw ?

The screw that blocks the passage in the block between the oil pressure gauge and the outlet of the filter; as shown in the image I posted above. If you remove it and block off the lines to the filter thus returning the system to the stock configuration it would verify that the problem was or was not in the filter modification. Looks like it wouldn't be that difficult and would at least rule out the mod.

[Barlea]

Re the story from the HAMB about the grub screw in the Canadian built military flathead. All Ford Canada flatheads from about 1940 to '54 had the third oil port into the oil passage to allow for full flow filtering, but didn't use a grub screw in the horizontal passage to isolate the passages for pressure out and return. Special Ford brass fittings were used to change from the 1/4" pipe thread in the block to 3/8" ID hard lines on the early ones or hoses on the later type ('49 to '51). The outboard fitting had a thinwall 3/8" brass tube that projected down from the bottom 1 1/4" into the vertical passage past where the horizontal passage usually gets the grub screw, thus isolating the two vertical passages but without the risk of leaving it blocked unintentionally. The optional postwar full-flow could be dealer installed easily or removed without drilling or tapping or leftover bits. ..B.

[flatjack]

Are any ot these fittings still available?

[Barlea]

I have a set that are on the '51 factory full flow that was on a sedan I parted out, and I made a set that I gave to Bill Boomer a few years ago. Any set of brass fittings that you use to change from 1/4" pipe (3/8" ID) to whatever type 3/8" ID hose to filter and back will work. Drill the bottom of one out to 3/8" and solder a 1 1/4" piece of thinwall brass tube into the fitting. It will fit snugly into the vertical passage as you thread the fitting into the block. Works slick on any of those Ford Canada blocks Bill has been truckin' south for years. ..B.

[Sopp]

First, how come my post just disappear into cyberspace ? Maybe this one will make it.

Anyway, Bill, my system is a little different than what your picture shows. My oil lines go in/out from the verticle holes, and the plug is one I bought from one of our Canadian members ( if my memory serves me correctly ).

Full Flow Plug.jpg

Full Flow Plug Installed.jpg

Today a friend suggested that it might be the assembly grease blocking oil flow and that when the engine is ran enough the grease will disolve and the oil will flow propperly. Sounds logical.

I'm feeling much more confident about the condition of my engine. I fired it up for several 10 second runs and the oil presure was 80psi while running.

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions,
Sopp

[Sopp]

http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy28 ... owPlug.jpg

This is the diagram of the plug in use. Sorry about the quality of the printing. If you blow up the picture the printing might get more readable.

Sopp

[JWL]

Whoa!! That plug will only work if/when the block is properly machined. The statement that "no machining is necessary" would only be true if the block was machined, for that system, by the factory. About 95% were NOT machined by the factory for semi-full flow filter.

[Ross F-1]

Here's a bigger pic of that plug. It is from a thread on the old MSN forum that was specifically about Canadian blocks. I have no idea if the gent is still making the plugs, or if his prices from ~2002 are still good.

[Barlea]

Sopp, I wonder if your filter base has a by-pass for cold starts? ..B.

[Sopp]

JWL,
All my machine shop had to do was drill the lefthand ( in the picture ) verticle hole and tap it. Everything else was just as it shows in the picture. My block is a 1941 Merc. Then again, maybe they also drilled out the other holes to 3/8 and tapped to 3/8 pipe, too, CRS again.

I measured everything and the "plug" part is exactly like the picture shows. Oil flows out to the filter and flows back in just as discribed. I'm getting plenty oil flow back into the block. My machinist also thought the idea was quite ingenious, and confirmed that it works just as the picture shows. It filters all the oil except the rear main.

Barlea,
I'm using a regular Ford ( Fram PH16 short ) filter, with a remote adaptor from Speedway. I don't know if they have a cold start bypasss or not. As I stated above, I'm getting plenty of oil flow back to the block.

Sopp

[Ross F-1]

It may be worth confirming the oil from the pump goes to the hose that feeds the outside ring of holes in the filter, not the center hole. As far as I know, most filters flow outside - in. I remember someone on the old forum had it backwards from whatever is correct and it had higher restriction that way.