oil pressure

[killahxft_jeep]

ok so my 360 I got from an older 84 waggy.. installed it.. got it running after priming the oil.. got good pressure.. then all of a sudden one day it dropped to 10 PSI.. ok not good.. then I noticed it drop to 4PSI.. I pulled the cover to the oil pump & removed the old pump gears.. the idler gear was in OK shape.. scrapes top & bottom with a few "particle" divets in the surfaces. the other however had divets intot he face of the gear itseelf like the idler had been rubbing at the center of the driven gear and causing some good wear at the edge of the peak.. NOT good.. and upon further inspection I found small groves worn into the timing cover oil pump housing definitly not GOOD!!

So my question is.. should I go with the standard timing cover with HRC gears or should I got with the Nickle plated one with HRC gears for another $125? is it worth it? I know it'll look nice but is it worth the extra money?

I had already ordered a SS midplate from BJ's offroad thinking this would solve my problem.. but it's not going to work now with the housing all scored up. should I install the midplate as well? what about an oil filter relocation kit with an oil cooler? are they worth it?

How can I check that My cam bearings are alright & not toast? is it possible to check that when i pull the timing cover?

I warn you I'm not rich by any means, but I want this done right..

[Goose]

The real question is not is it worth it.. the question is are you intending to keep this engine for a long period of time?? (like rebuilding it later etc.. ) cause if you are going to get rid of it.. then no but the nickle cover is a wise investment if you are going to stay with AMC and this engine.

[killahxft_jeep]

I am planning to keep this motor for a good long while.. I like the fact of having an AMC motor in my CJ..

[AMX69PHATTY]

Tuff questions.
Many AMC's have lived long long lives with stock parts. But nickel plating is going to be a harder surface than plain cast aluminum, and the oil pump gears are steel, so one would have to believe that a nickel plated cavity with steel gears in it is going to last longer, not score nearly as easily, and maintain higher oil pressure for a longer period of time. Same goes for the Filter Adapter / Pump Cover which the ends of the steel pump Gears ride on. Tuff call. If funds are availble couldn't hurt to go with the nickel plated pieces, quality inspected to insure correct feature placements needed for trouble free distributor gear, oil pump, cam gear operation. New Timing Cover also includes the feature that allows replacement of the front crank seal without removing the timing cover if needs be.

[jeep_man_401]

I'm running an Indy cover with my 401. Expensive but rebuildable. Had one problem of the relief valve sticking and spiked the oil pressure over 100psi before it blew the gasket on the oil filter(big mess).

But after resizing the plunger I have no less than 40psi and hot I've set to 65psi. When cold I limit engine RPM because it still gets pretty high (80psi).

[killahxft_jeep]

you spent $1000 for a timing cover/billet pump?? jesus christ.. I was thinking more along the lines of $600.. but $1000.. christ.. I think I'll go with the nickel cover with the HRC gears & filter relocation kit for now.. then later on I'll look into the oil cooler sometime later on..

[jeep_man_401]

I charged it!

[killahxft_jeep]

wish I could.. I'm just not that rich right now. and trying to get rid of the credit cards.. not keep them... what's the advantages of that pump versus the nickle plate unit with HRC gears and a SS midplate? whats the cost of the parts to rebuild that pump? the $415 I can understand for the timing cover.. but the $600 just for the pump unit is a bit beyond me. my engine is basically stock.. but I want to avoid this headache anytime in the near future..

oh and should i be looking into matched cam & dist gearsets? the cam gear is the old unit & the HEI dist gear is a new unit... after I pulled the Dist I notice that the wear pattern is exactly in the middle & wears in about an 1/4" spot at the center of the teeth.. is this the normal wear pattern or should I get a matched set of gears so i don't have to fuss with this again? figured I'd take care of anything under the cover while it's off.

[jeep_man_401]

Just a quick note...WHATEVER cover you buy do yourself a HUGE favor and buy Bulltears matched dissy and cam gear set! I'll never build a AMC without them again!

I guess if you are doing a stock or close to stock rebuild I'd save the money and buy a nickle cover.

I went with Indy for several reasons, I wanted a cover that I could rebuild myself and the cover machined for roller cam buttons. I also have the Moroso dual oil pick-up and 8qt pan. I run dual filters with Filter Mags on them to pick up any fine crap in the oil...yes they do work!

The Indy cover has no way to pump oil into the block...you have to plumb it in (I used the oil sender hole and had it drilled and tapped bigger) The pump is basically a single stage dry sump pump.


I dumped a bunch of money into this motor at the start with parts that I could grown HP with and not upgrade again. I won't recommend the Indy cover unless you have the block stripped bear and are doing a high pref. motor rebuild.
If you like braided lines running everywhere then its the cover for you...personally I'd be alittle scared to take my truck where something could caught one of those lines coming out of my oil pan. But I didn't build this motor for 4wheeling through the back 40 lol

[Goose]

I guess after thinking about it a awhile my real answer to the question is .. If you must replace the timing cover add the nickel (If this extra cost doesn't make you take a shortcut elsewhere) the stock oiling system is adequate.. but definately absolutely get the matched cam dizzy gears.. the biggest "secret" that I have learned (and i learned it here) is to get a good oil filter like the wix/napa units that have the drainback valve etc in them.. 7.00 bucks but cheap in the long run. minimizes the dry starts etc.