Wally

I understand thanks. At this point nothing more i can do about that. I have another torque wrench coming in today to verify all the current torque settings to degree possible. I think having them bolts set at proper torque specs is best thing i can do at this point going forward.

Not what i did. Here is what i did. I put my torque on something low like 20. i tried to tighten the bolt. It clicks. so i move it to 21, click and so on until it doesnt click anymore but begins to tighten a little. I know that is odd way to do it but that is what i did

ok. got the main bearings off. All fell within parameters around .0015 inch. I did test the torqued amount of the bolts, 50ftlb...WOW. Service manual says upper limit of 40 so these like connecting rods are way overtight. Redid them all to around 38. tomorrow will put oil pan back on

OK. i think i can do that. i looked at the service manual. i think page 21/22. It said clearance between .0008 to .0028 and main bolts torque to 33-40ftlbs. Unless someone knows different this is what i will go with. Yep. already did. I did that before i knew i was doing this clearance testing. Can still get to everything though. Yes its real clean no sealant was used. I did check it for leaks a month or so ago before i started this process. I do have another new OEM gasket gonna use The oil pump that was on it before i just took it off was almost new, but you never know. Heck i went through 3 new alternators before i got one that worked. I have another OEM pump, that is already on. I checked it all over and it looks good...at least to me.

interesting. never heard of that before

i did connect directly to the block using the brass fitting. It was nice and snug

I did with this gauge https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00TYY8L2M?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

No sir, i dont think it ever was right. I was thinking, at first, the gauge just wasnt working so it wasnt really registering much of anything for oil pressure. I swapped gauges out and it still wasnt doing anything but the temp gauge was working. Thats when i figured something else was wrong. i tried a couple diff. mechanical gauges. Idling around 1000rpm pressure was in low teens..i believe 12-13, but when i revved engine up pressure oddly went down to maybe 11.

I should have taken images, but so far everything i saw looked great. funny you said that. I did run my fingernail over everything i couldnt see any issues. As for service manual i did look at it page EM-21. I will attach the page. I wasnt so much wanting anyone to do my homework for me as to confirm specs i guess. I am a little apprehensive about using only 1 source. For instance on image included it says foot lbs of bolts is 32.6 to 39.8. Yet other sources (http://www.kangamotorsports.com/datsun-torque-specifications) said for an 8mm bolt its 20-24. I do see the SM says bearing clearance .001 to .0022. Two of my measures are outside of that....so not really sure what that will mean, if i should try to do something about it etc. Anyway thanks for the feedback

long story short...my good torque that i used in past got broken. I did buy a click style one that was new. I have a digital one ordered..waiting on it. leaving off oil pan until it comes in so double check all tightenings and see if current torque wrench is off

final results

update from today. Since i have 8mm bolts lot of questions. With torque being too high in 30ftlbs instead of low 20's....i would think extra pressure would mean higher oil pressure...to an extent. so i am worried setting things at 24ft lbs will decrease oil pressure more. I guess we will see. I plastigaged #6, here is an image. Not sure you can tell but right at .0015... or 15/1000ths of an inch. Still trying to find out what the range should be for this. Will post results of other 5 bearings when i get to them.

here is image of bearing from #6 closest to cab

i am watching lot of how to's on measure spacing with plastigauge. Just watched another video. can anyone confirm this is how they measure using the paper instrument? A micrometer? Also, 1) what are the torque specs on conrod bolts you use? On internet i found between 33-40 for 9mm and 20-24 for 8mm. How would i know which to use? i checked the preset torque range from front to back and they ranged from 30 to 37 ft lbs. i took a micrometer diameter of the bolt, like in image below. It was around 7.6ish mm. Would appreciate insight as this will let me know the torque i need to put them back at 2) what should be appropriate bearing clearance? After sleeping on it...i think i am gonna try to do this. never opened my torque wrench so might as well. Just need to run to oreilly's for the plastigauge.

up until a little while ago didnt really know there was an issue. at first i thought it simply a malfunctioning gauge as the engine sounds great. Then i took the gauge out and swapped it and still nothing. Also wasnt really sure what to ask him just yet. thought i'd get as much info as i could before i go to him and sound like an idiot complaining.

so as far as i know the method to check bearing clearance is to measure diameter of rod and subtract inside bearing diameter.. Thus the difference being the clearance. If so, yes, that does scare me to attempt. If there is a way to remove one conrod cap and measure the clearance gap i feel safe to do that...but i dont think that possible. I may drive up to the engine rebuild shop and ask the man to pull up his notes from my rebuild and see what he has written down. Of course this wont let me see shell condition Since rebuild, I have put maybe 100 miles on engine. Only oil change since then is one i am doing now.

I have tried to. you said check the relief spring. i just did. you said check the threads on the pickup. I am trying to do that. I am also going to empty all oil and start with clean filter like you said. You did comment on "bearing clearance" and such but sadly that is over my head. But you did say you didnt think this was the issue As for starting the car, others said to do so(i think Mark, before you posted to) and see what i could see. the only harm was spilled oil which i cleaned up. I do appreciate your all advice though. I got the pan off. Turns out the i need to manually turn the crankshaft a hair so the front part of pan would clear some bolt coming from the front cylinder area Here are images i took. Everything looks clean but bolts on pickup dont have thread lock. they came out really easy. The thread locker would i assume blue? The pickup has zero obstruction btw. I am sure hard to tell by images.

yes sir. forgot about that. Got the pan all loose. it wont slide out. theres only about an inch between the pan and the crossmember and if i try to slide it backward toward rear of car it hit the tranny. What am i missing here? Do i need to put a little jack pressure on something? btw, for those reading. once drained put the plug back in before trying to remove the oil pan. There is still a bit of oil in there that will come down as my head can now atest to

had to loose sway bar but got oil pump in nice and tight. I am not wondering if i really need to remove oil pan. I am not sure what the point is anymore. I looked through drained oil and didnt see anything out of ordinary. was all nice and clean with no shavings or anything

i've got oil drained, filter off. Here is image behind filter. I see the Oil Filter Relief Valve. I have a new one. I am nervous about trying to get it out though. Any advice on that. btw, the ball was froze. i was able to get it to moving freely though. i imagine still best to replace it.

just saw this page. it explains location of 2 different type springs. https://www.thezstore.com/product/2838/factory-pressure-relief-valve-oil-pump-70-83-zzx

reading comments. is the oil pressure relief spring and the high pressure bypass same thing? would i be correct in assuming i need to remove oil filter to find this? If you dont mind, can a couple share oil they use? I have Castrol 10w30

The oil stick that came with the car when i got it is the same one i am using now. I did a google search and looked at the ones selling on ZCD. It appears mine is the same or similar to those. So to me it seems proper one.

here is an update. I got in the oil pressure gauge Steve recommended. i put it on and you can see results. The clear image is at idle, 16psi. When revved up psi goes down (blurry) to about 13 psi. Lot of comments recently to go through but for now here is the dipstick that came with car. Also where finger is is where oil shows. Anyway to know if this is proper dipstick? i will change the oil (i can get a sense of how much oil is in there too) btw how much oil should engine hold 4-5 quarts? I will also check the pickup and take images... I have a new OEM oil pump i could put on and might but i dont think thats the issue. btw...not sure if it means anything.. but the engine sounds great. I have driven it on the highway and it runs like a top. had it up to 100mph and it had plenty of power left

I think it might be called the "oil pickup". take the oil pan off and you will see it there.