Need help. Low oil pressure after changing lifter

R

redlx

Active Member
#1
#1
So one of my lifters was real noisy and I decided to have it fixed. This car is a Trickflow H/C/I motor. The mechanic told me the new set of Trickflow lifters that i purchased were not good. He could not fit all of the lifters in without taking the heads off. So he advised me to purchase Ford 5.0 lifters and surprising to me he was able to change them all with just the valve covers off.
I started the car and the ticking noise is gone and the motor sounds real smooth. I start driving the car and notice the oil pressure is now dropping as it gets driven more and after 20 mins of city driving and then jumping on the highway, the pressure drops all the way down to the "L"

Now I know the stock gauge is not the best but honestly its always been working and never reported this low.

Let the car sit till ts cold, start it up and oil pressure is back to the middle of the gauge.

So what did this mechanic mess up while changing my lifters? I just can't believe that the gauge sending unit is bad or the oil pump decided to crap out just now.
 
dsblk93gt

dsblk93gt

5.0 Moderator
#2
#2
What was wrong with the original lifter? Did it come apart? The stock gauge is not very accurate at all. When he had the intake off how did he clean the gasket material? If he used a air grinder with disks the material can get in the motor and tear the bearings out. OR if coolant was leaked in that can do it too.
 
EHA Racing

EHA Racing

Member Plus
#4
#4
That seems pretty odd. There isn't much he could have done wrong to make it lose oil pressure like that. Usually a pressure loss like that is oil bleeding around the cam or main bearings. What was wrong with the lifter that was in the car? Could it have hurt the cam?
 
R

redlx

Active Member
#5
#5
The lifter was making noise. It was a single lifter that went bad and I think it may be due to the motor sitting for a year. I took the advice, I changed the oil to check for debris and then the sending unit as a precaution. Unfortunately no time to test as I have to get out of town for business. I will be back Thursday and give it a nice run then.
 
R

redlx

Active Member
#6
#6
Problem solved, looks like a nasty coincidence or maybe the wrong oil. I changed the oil and put a new sender unit in and all is good now. Gauge reads good and I took it on a 100 mile trip today in 95 degree heat and no issues.
I usually don't believe in coincidences but what can I say. Car is good now.
 
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