641 oil pressure

[mr_flintstone]

Last year my oil pressure gauge stopped working. I didn’t think much about it because it was late in the year. I just got it back out to service, and put a new pressure gauge on it, and noticed I had very low oil pressure. At the pump housing, it is spitting oil, not a steady stream. I’m going to change oil in it tomorrow. What should I check? I can drop the oil pan to check for loose fittings. What else?

 

[pomester]

Last year my oil pressure gauge stopped working. I didn’t think much about it because it was late in the year. I just got it back out to service, and put a new pressure gauge on it, and noticed I had very low oil pressure. At the pump housing, it is spitting oil, not a steady stream. I’m going to change oil in it tomorrow. What should I check? I can drop the oil pan to check for loose fittings. What else?

"At the pump housing, it is spitting oil, not a steady stream."

I do not understand this -the engine oil pump is inside the crankcase and is driven by a shaft off the bottom of the distributor. There are two bolt heads on the outside underneath the distributor which hold the pump in place, but there's nothing else external. You can check the condition of the hex shaft that drives the pump by pulling the distributor. I have seen them twisted, but never seen one failed. The pressure gauge is fed off the end of the camshaft gallery.

I'd make sure the new pressure gauge is good by checking it with a different unit.

Is the oil filter original style or converted to a spin-on? There originally was a screen attached to the oil pan drain plug which surrounds the oil pickup, it's possible it's clogged somehow. Sometimes that screen is missing and I suppose it would be possible for the pickup to get clogged.

New oil and filter and a known good gauge would be a good place to start.

 

[mr_flintstone]

The sump was clogged with sludge. Working good now.