1932 Auburn 8 Cylinder Oil Pressure

You don't have to pull the motor, but you have to lift it up enough so the balancer clears the front cross member.

Mike, I know. I am learning on these old cars check everything.

Can you get the Balancer and timing cover off without pulling the motor?
I found the culprit on the oil pressure. It was the relief valve not working properly.It had the wrong spring in it.

If you have something amiss with a" rebuilt" engine, check everything. It will give you peace of mind.
CORDiallyMike

You can service most auburn cars via just removing hood and radiator (and have peeked in with the hood and radiator on - just limits space available though) - front of engine is pretty accessible (aka - no need to pull an engine).

For the oil pressure, I found that the pressure relief was not working properly. My engine is capable of over 100lbs if you let it. The piston in the valve was "Acid Etched" and loose in the bore. I made a new one with .0015 clearance and removed the shims and just like that I have oil pressure. I also took note of my Packard and put an adjustment screw in the bottom with an Acorn nut so I can dial it in with a gauge and a screw driver.No more shims. Engine still need to come out because of the "Squeek" up front. I'm thinking I have a bad cam bearing or the gear bolt is coming loose. Safety wire Everything!!! On my Indian 4's there isn'ta bolt or nut that isn't wired in place in the motor. Thank you for the info on the box.

The filters I use on my 35 Auburn have a .059 or drill No. 53 restrictor hole. I think my L-29 has the same. These are both partial flow filters, not full flow. Full flow filter would not have a restrictor hole!!!
CORDiallyMike

Not sure about the oil pressure issue, most photos I see show after market cartrduge filters from the 50's ( like mine!)
Mike, can you advise what size the restrictor orifice should be?

As for your steering box question, I sent mine to Lares .The voodoo they did was about $700. I don't think there are any other options . Finding bearing parts for the sector tapered bearing peg is impossible. I don't know what Lares does in there and I'm not about to take it apart to find out!

Brad

If you didn't get recipes of the rebuild all bets are off, sorry to say.
CORDiallyMike

I do not. I bought the car with the impression the Engine was rebuilt. Like the rest of the Car, I probably need to go through it again to look for shortcuts.
Thank you

If I remember correctly you need a special bolt to hold the cam sprocket on; do you know if that is what was used?
Pete

OK the plot thickens. Now I am hearing a rattle from underneath my Timing cover. Sounds like the chain or something came loose under it. It looks like I have to pull the motor to do an inspection. Correct? If so,Who can rebuild my steering box for me? It needs help.
Thank you

All good stuff guys. I did put a filter on the car. I'm going to do some backtracking and troubleshoot the PSI. The Engine is a fresh rebuild so I have to believe the problem lies with something I have done. I'm going to go block off the oil filter and inspect the relief valve. I will keep you posted.

Do you have a oil filter on the engine? If you have a filter it should have a restrictor hole on the inlet side of the filter. If it does not have a restrictor hole much oil will dump through the filter and not go to the crankshaft and cost oil pressure.
CORDiallyMike

Some information on oil pressure and the relief valve fitted to your engine, the oil pressure is for a 8-98 A

our 1927 8-77 at about 40 mph sits on 45 psi and drops back to about 25 psi at very slow idle retarded, this is with hot engine.
Ivor.

What is normal for these Engines?

The short answer is YES.... But you really need to check clearances in several places to make sure nothing is worn causing huge pressure loss issues.


Gary Parsons

What is an acceptable Oil Pressure reading for the straight 8 Engine? Mine is around 10-12 lbs. Seems low. Can it be adjusted with the relief valve? I don't think the Engine is worn. Thank you