Terry
Good news. I was disappointed with the lower oil pressure and need to go to 20w-50 oil.
Are there any concerns regarding cylinder wall lubrication without the dippers, or do the rod caps extend into the tray ?
Do you have plans to reassemble and run additional testing now that the problem appears to have been found? Did you do another oil analysis after running at that low pressure ?
GRutter
Our break-in of the new engine was brutal. We assembled it and broke it in by running it at 3100 RPM (75 MPH) for 6 hours straight. With the low oil pressure, we were curious to see what would come out when we drained the oil. The drained oil was dark and we filtered it to see if there were any particles. There were no particles and I attribute the darkness to the fact that oil temperature was in the 260 degree Fahrenheit range for the full 6 hours. In an effort to get a little more oil pressure, the crankcase was refilled with O'Reilly 20w-50 oil.
The connecting rods have reinforcing ribs that extend the same amount as the rod dippers on a stock engine. The dipper tray was in place, so splash lubrication to the cylinder walls and wrist pin proved to be adequate.
No additional testing is planned. The missing 3/8-16 UNC setscrew plug was the cause of low oil pressure. The only oil analysis performed was to look at the color and strain for particles. Both the 10w-40 and 10w-50 oil darkened, but no visible particles were found.
Is the relief valve one of these?
https://www.mcmaster.com/4772K4/
Bruce
The relief valve is a modified McMaster Carr item 4772K65, 40 PSI. The modification was to rethread the shank from 3/8-18 NPT to 1/8-27 NPT. The 4772K6 series of valves have a much larger relief orifice than the 4772K4 series. The relief valve never relieved anything because of the missing 3/8-16 UNC setscrew.
Terry, I have a few questions.
1. How does the valve chamber get adequate lubrication to the valve stems and top of the lifters?
2. Earlier you mentioned the valve kit from AER was used with pressed in valve guides. Were the pistons from AER also used? If not is there any reason why not? I have them in an engine that I’m am currently running and am very happy with them. They hold good compression and have the thinner later style rings like a small block Chevy, your crankshaft bearings also fit a small block Chevy.
3. I noticed a seal installation tool for the rear main crankshaft seals in photo 2020-09-11 09.46.28-1.jpg. Will that be included in the kit?
Dennis
1) The valve chamber has 4 circular windows in the floor that allow splash and oil mist to enter for lubrication. These windows proved to be adequate, however a purchaser could enlarge them.
2) The valve kit was from AER and used pressed in guides. They were chosen and installed before we arrived at the 3rd party evaluator. The pistons used were Egge and they used the modern narrow rings (Hastings ring set 745). All interfaces on the new engine are identical to original Ford, so the choice of parts is up to the engine builder. Everything on the new engine fit together without any fitting. The valves were hand lapped with a "Hand Valve Grinder" (NAPA SER501) which is a wooden stick with a suction cup on each end, and the pistons and rings fit without honing or filing. All bearings were Plastigaged and the clearance was .002 inch.
3) The seal installation tool was made from a PVC pipe fitting that I bought at Home Depot. It will not be provided with the kit of engine parts. If the seal is bottomed out against the shoulder, it is square with the seal rubbing surface. The seal cavity is 1 inch deep and can accommodate 2 seals. If 2 seals are used, some long life lubrication must be used between seals to lubricate the lip on the rear seal.