Scott,
Um... Since I've never done a bottom end, I don't know. How much
*should* there be?
Directly from the Olds shop manual with minimum and maximum clearances:
Mains #1-4 = 0.0015" to 0.0031"
Main #5 = 0.002" to 0.0034"
Rods = 0.0008" to 0.0018"
For a high performance Olds engine that will rev into the 6000-7000 RPM
range, I like 0.0035" on all of the mains and 0.0025" on the rods with 40
weight oil. For a more stock engine, lightly warmed up (which is about the
only way I'll build a stock engine) at 5000 RPM maximum, I would use 0.0025"
on all of the mains and 0.0015" on the rods with 30 weight oil. I would use
a HV oil pump with 8 quart oil pan on the HP engine and a HV oil pump with a
7 quart oil pan on the more stock engine. All engines will get a windage
tray. I also use engine oil coolers on both.
Also, I
thought you were going to use a high volume Melling oil pump.
I've purchased a Melling M22 (IIRC). I thought it was a stock replacement.
http://www.melling.com/products/melling_catalog.pdf on page 27.
"OIL PUMPS
"Part #
"M-22FHV
"HI VOL PUMP-25% ADD'L VOL OF OIL THAN STOCK PUMP. NOTE: THIS HI VOL PUMP IS
MANUFACTURED W/BOLT ON TYPE FLANGE AND A CHAMFERED HOLE. EITHER A BOLT ON OR
PRESS ON SCREEN CAN BE USED"
Is this the pump you purchased or did you get a M-22? I thought in a
pervious E-mail you were going to use the Melling high volume oil pump?
Also go here for info about oil pumps and how they work:
http://www.melling.com/support/bulletins/default.asp
REQUIRED READING FOR ANYONE WHO BUILDS AN OLDS ENGINE!!!
"It will not pump the oil pan dry. Both solid and hydraulic lifters have
metering valves to limit flow of the oil to the top of the engine. If a pan
is pumped dry, it is because the holes that drain oil back to the pan are
plugged. If the high volume pump is also higher pressure, there will be a
slight increase in flow to the top."
Which is exactly why it is vital in an Olds engine to make sure all oil
return passages are opened up for quick oil return flow to the oil pan. If
the oil can't get back to the oil pan fast enough, a high volume oil pump
can pump the oil pan dry under certain extreme high RPM conditions. That's
what I was trying to get at before. Stock applications with a stock oil pan
and no deburring of the block to increase oil return, you can have a problem
with a high volume oil pump. That's exactly how the "oil restrictor" myth
for Olds engines got started (and a total ignoring of the built in oil
restrictors in the lifters). Inattention to detail when building a second
generation Olds engine is exactly what causes the problem of not enough oil
getting out to the rod bearings. Nothing else. Yes, Mondello is wrong.
Milton Schick
1964 442 Cutlass
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
