My son has been given a free-be 84 dodge d250 truck(It'll be his first vehicle)...a get it out of the yard and you can have it deal. Well anyways hes spent numerous hours on it getting it ready for the road and is just about ready to run it.
Earlier this month the oil pressure was fluctuating from none to great..not steady like a spun bearing but more like a plugged pickup in the pan. We ran some tranny fluid thru her for a while, refilled it with fresh oil and steady pressure...game on.
So yesterday we were gong to put the finishing touches on it before inspection and ...no oil pressure.I know its not pushing oil to the top because i can see a rocker thru a breather hole and there is no oil coming out of it. This is killing him because hes dying to run this thing.
Today we pulled the pan off expecting an inch of sludge...not so...clean as a whistle...hes starting to lose hope. One thing we did find was one rod is orange. Not heat damaged from a bad bearing just plain orange from top to bottom...anyone seen this before and I know pulling the oil pump off is the next step but any advise to this oil pressure problem is welcome.

Thanks in advance ...Rob

 

I dont think I have ever seen someone paint a rod and stuff it back in a motor?
1 Question.... Did you guys have the motor apart before?
If not Check the usual stuff.
oil pumps good
oil pump drive fits well
Filter not plugged
Check for loose rods, by rocking the crank back and fourth, and looking for too much clearance.
Check the oil pressure with a good gauge.
Also when priming the engine with a drill. Turn the crank Slowly till you align the holes up for the rocker shaft oiling prime.

If none of those are it.... I'm going to say, a plug fell out somewhere with in the engine.
Just my 2 cents
Keep up posted...

 

it looks like the rod bolt is orange, and the nut is not. and nothing else is orange. just an observation. at some point the rod had to be out of the engine. if it is paint its not a good idea, cause the paint could come off and clog the oil system. what would you learn if you took a torch and burned some of it off? in the old days the factory would stamp specl symboles if it had under size crank, valve stems, so on. i have 30 factory manuals from the 50s-60s-70s, NO where is any thing said about orange rods. not even on high performance engines. man o man this will keep me up tonite.

 

I have "heard" and "read" that some manufacturers would copper dip rods that were out of dimensional specifications to build up material. Another reason for the noticeable colour was so if engine warranty was needed it could be easily recognized and documented.

I havn't personally read any official factory documentation to this fact so I think I'll ask my machinist if he knows.

 

Never seen a orange rod.. stick a mechanical oil gauge on it then get back to us

 

This motor is not the original and I know no history on it, the truck was originally an auto(now a 4 spd)and the intake on it is from a 340 4bl according to casting #'s. But I'm certain the motor is a 318. The poor thing is being choked down by a bunch of adapters necking it down to an old holley single barrel. Once we get this thing running better I have 600 holley we might put on it.
As far as this rod thing I think the copper dip deal may be right...its not painted and the whole rod and rod bolts are that color. the nuts are not which leads me to believe that at some time this motor was rebuilt. To what standards I have no idea, but I'm worried not very good after seeing this rod thing.
Now someone mentioned the oil filter being plugged which leads me to slap myself in the forehead because I looked right past that idea and headed for the pan soooo.... we'll pull the pump off anyways and check it out and report back from there.

Thanks for the tips and any info on this rod thing is still welcomed as I enjoy the trivial side of any old engine.

 

Great little Father and Son Project Rob.... Keep Chipping... Will keep throwing Ideas at you to check. Will find that grimlen..

 

As much as I hate to admit it, after pulling off the oil pan and pump, it think was just a plugged oil filter. We have been thru this before though after running tranny fluid for a bit and then refilling with oil and had good pressure still ended up with no pressure eventually. I'm aware that the gauge is suspect, but I can see a rocker thru a breather and before there was no oil coming thru the pushrod hole in the rocker. Now there is a nice steady stream of clean oil rolling out of the rocker. And the stock gauge is registering good pressure.
At least we had the opportunity to check out the bottom end. It looks as this motor was rebuilt and then hardly used(its been sitting next door for about 6 years without even being started)...I can still see the cross hatch in the bores...definitely wouldnt see that in a 105,000+ mile motor. Also this block has a date cast in it with the year 1972, so just based on its age its must have been rebuilt. Anyways it all seemed tight so I didnt even pull a cap to check the bearings it looked good while rolling the crank...plus it runs real smooth. I even think it had a cam put in it when it was rebuilt, which may explain the 340 4bl intake on it. A set of headers and a small Holley and I bet it would be a hot little motor.....perfect for my Valiant.
All said and done my sons happy, he now knows that truck inside and out...and is ready to roll. I just wonder if that rod was from the factory that way or if it was from the rebuild...but I couldnt see the casting #s well and after the fifth or sixth drop of oil in the face I said the hell with it.


Thanks for the help...Rob

 

Might have been a warranty repair from back in the day.... Who knows???
Glad to here you got it running and it has great pressure.....
Easy fix.... Glad your up and running,,,,