OK nearing half way in replacing my T-chain when I finally get the oil pan off. OMG! there was about an inch of sludge and chunks and who knows what else feeding my motor!
I noticed a few weeks ago after my last oil change the oil pressure would fluctuate by about 10 or so pounds except before it had warmed up and at idle. Well I think we know why now, so my question:
Is there a way to tell if anything is blocked internally without tearing it apart any further?
PS.
I'm not sorry I went with the genuine ENGNBLDR kit, its awesome and worth the few extra bucks I could have "saved" getting a cheaper kit!

 

My oil pressure varies greatly once I'm warmed up, I don't consider it a problem as long as it's in the usual range while cruising. Clean out everything you can see, run seafoam, ATF, marvel mystery oil or whatever other sludge cleaner you like for a few oil changes to clean everything out. If it was running OK before you saw the sludge, I think you should keep running it (with cleaners) instead of tearing into it looking for trouble. At that point it would be time to pull the motor for a complete rebuild.

 

Yeah thats out! I need it for Tuesday cause shes my daily driver.

 

i would pull the oil pump pickup out and replace or give it a really good clean , its prob clogged with crap.

 

oil pressure should be about 15 psi idle, 50-60 psi cruising, i believe. i have seen what happens to the journals and bearings when timing bits get pumped around the motor. if there are large scratches it won't help oil pressure.

 

Do a compression check, it's easy and should give some preliminary indication of what's going on.

 

A compression check will tell you nothing about your oil pressure. Oil pressure or lack there of is an indication of the state of your main bearings. Granted if your pickup is sludged up it might have some effect, but that is not the main factor determining your oil pressure.

 

Only 15 psi at idle? Seems very low

 

FSM Specs:

Idle more than 4.3 psi
3000 36-71psi

rule of thumb is about 10psi for every 1000 rpms...

 

So what did you end up doing? If there was junk from just removing your timing chain cover you can bet there is some crap in your oil pan.

Since you had the timing cover off it would be a piece of cake to do right then. You can get an oil pan gasket from anywhere. Good insurance to clean the pickup tube and any other weird things.

Not a bad time to put a new oil pump in either.

 

Thanks... I had no idea it was that low, but this is also my first 22R

 

All the crap was in the oil pan not the T chain cover. I cleaned the crap out of the pan and the pickup tube and stuck them back on!