OMG Guy, this is terrible! I'm so sorry to hear that your Safari Gold car is down.

The only thing I can think of is if there was a blockage in one of the oil galleys that occurred at the machine shop or shortly after startup. If a piece of flash got lodged in an oil passage, it could create the high pressure and starve the bearings. Hopefully, the damage is limited and has not ruined everything in the engine.

Have you drained the pan to see how much metal is in the oil?

Please let us know what happened.

This is what I think is my issue. In fact, one oil pan gasket change I found the foil seal from a oil bottle in the bottom of my oil pan. If somehow a piece of that lodged itself somewhere, there is my partial blockage.

Thanks Jeff......I'm building two other engines at the time, so pulling that engine is on the back burner. I suspect oil pump, and will drop that this weekend. If the bearings are shot, I understand that when I drain the oil it'll smell like burnt toast. I go out of my way to keep an engine clean when I build them, and I never use RTV anywhere (I use form a gasket on the rear side seals and clean any excess on the inside), so that isn't a problem. I believe it's going to be oil pump related, but will have to wait and see. I've never heard of anyone having a failed oil pump....have you? Whatever it is, I hope that expensive E31 head is OK......we'll see, this is how you learn I guess......high oil pressure is a warning sign, just like low pressure.

Edited July 29, 201311 yr by Diseazd

Sad news. Strange problem. What does the oil filter contents look like? Open it up and have a look. I can only guess that something in the filter went down stream and blocked the main passage to the bearings.

I had a failed oil pump, but the failure mode was low pressure due to being all chewed up inside. Wasn't "positive" displacement anymore. Was sort of "fuzzy" displacement... I can't imagine a pump failure mode that would result in pressure too high other than a stuck pressure relief valve or incorrect spring pressure.

It wouldn't take a lot of movement on a main bearing to eclipse the oil feed hole and if that happens, you'll see a pressure increase. Not sure if one main would be enough to bounce off the relief or not.

So I'm still asking chicken or the egg?

Did the oil galley to the mains get plugged with something and starve the mains? In order to get to that galley, it would have to have been left in there upon assembly or it would have to make it through the oil filter (or be a part of the filter itself that let go).

Or did the mains grab the crank and due to too tight of an initial setup and eclipse the holes causing a chain reaction?

In any event, sorry it happened and awaiting the autopsy.

Diseazd,

Could we have a follow-up. What did you find?

Sorry DJ.....I haven't pulled it apart yet. I had another new engine to drop in, so I haven't checked the bottom mains yet. I certainly will follow up and let everyone know what I find when I do. Guy

Diseazd,

Could we have a follow-up. What did you find?

DJ.......Pulled the bearings.....all perfect! The problem was a throw out bearing that my machine shop pressed on backwards. The bearings finally froze up tight and welded to the clutch fingers making that squealing noise and locking everything up. Oh well......another learning experience. The motor is fine!!

.

Edited March 14, 201510 yr by Diseazd

That's a lot cheaper and easier to fix for sure!!

So on the good side, your motor is fine.

 

On the bad side, you still have no explanation for your high oil pressure, right?

 

I just ordered a new oil pump.....the only thing I can think of.....I guess it's possible this one could be a turbo oil pump by mistake. With the new L28 in the car now, this engine may not run for a long time.

 It is locked solid and will not budge...

If it was just a clutch welded to the transmission it should still turn when the trans is in neutral.  The facts aren't adding up.  Just sayin'.

 

On oil pressure, you might consider pushing some oil through the passages with the pan off to see how much flow you get.  Pressure is a secondary number.  The pressure relief springs are described in both books, Rebuild and Modify.  The spring(s) and valve can be removed with the pump on the engine.  The Modify book covers it in great detail on page 96.  Says 70 - 100 psi is desirable for performance engines.

Wouldn't matter what gear the tranny was in. The fault was upstream from there.

 

My interpretation is as follows... Throw out bearing was installed incorrectly, and as such, was always loaded. Problem is, they're not designed for that. They're designed for intermittent loading only (when you push the clutch pedal in). Throw out bearing worked for a while before seizing internally. Now the front part don't turn no more and the disk which is supposed to spin with the pressure plate is now sliding against the fingers.

 

This caused the front part of the throw out bearing to get so hot that it welded to pressure plate fingers.

 

Front part now stuck to what wants to rotate. Rear part never rotates. Something's gotta stop... Or give.