This is for my 273 hydraulic cam (204/214 .421/.444 lift) stock valve springs. Driven at less than 4500 rpm, more like 2500-3500. So what oil are you guys running with the ZDDP problem thing.
When I rebuilt the engine I put in Valvoline VR1 10w30 and comp cams breakin oil (silver bottle)
This whole ZDDP thing is like a dog chasing his tail.
Some how my oil pressure was not as good as it should be. So I need a thicker oil, than 10w30. Valvoline VR1 is not sold as a 10w40, just 10w30 or20w50.
I don't have a problem with diesel oil, so what are you guys using. Over at ForAbodysOnly site...most of those guy are all of the 6000 rpm drag racing mindset. But thats not the world I live in (anymore) And its all about brad penn/lucus hotrod oil/ royal purple etc. But I live in the walmart oil world.

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Mostly Old Parts And Rust
1933 Desoto Coupe 426 Hemi
1946 Dodge dumpbed pickup 2.5 Turbo 4cyl
1964 Dodge A100 pickup 273 automatic
2002 PT Cruiser Woody edition

I run 5w-30 oil with the API sunburst logo. Synthetic when I can afford it. No diesel oils or additives.

Rotella T5 10w30 grey bottle. Same zinc levels as the original diesel white bottle 10w30 but a lot easier to find. The original is mostly 15w40 around these parts.

The nonexistent ZDDP problem. The ZDDP thing that lots of people talk more than they know about.
It's more like a Churkendoose, or a Jackelope, or Bigfoot, or the Loch Ness Monster, or the Tooth Fairy, or Santa Claus, or a free lunch. All these things have something in common. See here.
So you need to find and fix the problem causing insufficient oil pressure—that is if you have insufficient oil pressure. How much pressure do you have?
See here.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I am breaking in a /6 with 5W30 Castrol GTX, with no additives to effect the additive package already in the oil; this includes a reground cam. Have gotten past the ZDDP thing. Will go to 5W20 or 5W30 Mobil 1 Synthetic after break-in. Walmart has the best price on Mobil 1.

A diesel oil like Rotella may be great for the dispersants for crud in an old engine but I will no longer use it in my /6 since I rebuilt it; I only used it once as a attempt to remediate massive sludge and varnish problems.

Well as far as my oil pressure. I rebuilt my 273. Rod bearings, full groove mains, new cam and lifters, new oil pump, plastigauged bearings about .0015-.002 tad loose should not been a big deal. Did not replace cam bearings. Used Valvoline VR1 10w30 and had about 7-10 hot idle. Then put in a HV oil pump and got say 9-12. Going down the road The pressure is great. Its the hot idle thing, that is not very good. ????????????????????? I actually dumped in some STP that gave me about 15 hot idle. I've never had a hot oil pressure issue on any engine I've rebuilt before. Going down the road 25-45 no problem. So that's why I'm looking for a 10w-40 or 15w, or 20w. But I really don't want a thick oil for cold starting/ more so I need a Thin Cold grade with a thick Hot grade. and of course the ZDDP thing.

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Mostly Old Parts And Rust
1933 Desoto Coupe 426 Hemi
1946 Dodge dumpbed pickup 2.5 Turbo 4cyl
1964 Dodge A100 pickup 273 automatic
2002 PT Cruiser Woody edition

IMO, that hot idle pressure is acceptable. Would be nice to have 20 psi but waht you have still works. I have had numersous race engines at that pressure level. I would not be putting in thick oil and having cold start oiling delays.

I know you are in the Walmart price world but a full synthetic will give you protection that low oil pressure does not effect and you can't get with dino oils. I had an oil system failure (blown turbo oiling line) when racing on Mobil 1 full synthetic and decided to just run 'til the end come what may (win or blow!). Drove 2.5 minutes with sometimes no oil pressure, and another 2.5 minutes with NO oil pressure whatsoever and the 275 HP 4 cylinder turbo engine never slowed down or nuthin; it just kept racing. A complete teardown afterwards showed NO scratches on bearings, journals, or in the oil pump and NO bore wear or piston wear or scuffs. Bottom line; NO wear or signs of hot or worn wear surfaces ANYWHERE. (And yes, I have a witness to the oil pressure loss event and also to the teardown results.)

5 qts is arond $28 at Walmart. Put it in and be happy. Better start-up oiling, very little viscosity change when hot, awesome proetection, and little or no thermal breakdown. (That last aspect is based on the oil condition after 100-200 mile races with full synthetic vs good quality dino.) I've used Mobil 1 for about a milliion street miles with similar reduction in engine wear (based on actual engine examinations) and a couple of oil pressure loss incidents with the same type of happy outcomes as racing. I change it on street cars in the 5k to 10 mile range, depending on the car.

And I don't sell oil or anyting related to it and don't own stock in Exxon-Mobil. I just have been using Mobile 1 since 1976.

I'm done now! On with your regularly scheduled program....

How come? I'm guessing here's your trouble.
Factory spec in '72 is minimum 8 pounds at idle, 30–70 pounds at 2000 rpm. Factory spec in '66 is 20 pounds at 500 rpm, 45-65 pounds at 1000 rpm. Difficult to imagine what actually changed in the metal between '66 and '72, so take those specs for what they're worth

How much attention did you pay to the oil pump and pressure relief valve? Old? New? Rebuilt?
At the expense of rapid wear on pretty much all moving parts every time you cold-start the engine...
All too thick. Find and fix the problem, don't throw band-aids at it like this.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I've torn down quite a few Chrysler V8s, both big block and small block. Most had bad cam bearings with pieces flaking out. That's most likely where you're losing oil pressure.

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Joshua

The oil pumps were both new Standard and a mopar performance . The reason I did not replace the cams bearings was just did not have the money. The bearings are cheap/ getting them install was like 150.00 Looking back that was a bad move. I won't make that mistake again !

_________________
Mostly Old Parts And Rust
1933 Desoto Coupe 426 Hemi
1946 Dodge dumpbed pickup 2.5 Turbo 4cyl
1964 Dodge A100 pickup 273 automatic
2002 PT Cruiser Woody edition

I'm sure of that also.

_________________
Mostly Old Parts And Rust
1933 Desoto Coupe 426 Hemi
1946 Dodge dumpbed pickup 2.5 Turbo 4cyl
1964 Dodge A100 pickup 273 automatic
2002 PT Cruiser Woody edition

For $150 you can own your own cam bearing tool. I'm fortunate to have a friend with one.

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Joshua

Yep i bought one a while back for about that much..

It's very similar if not the same as this one:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/pro-66820/overview/

It paid for itself in 2 uses.

If you get the Universal one, you can use it for other bearings and bushings also.


Greg

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http://www.youtube.com/hyperpack

The last LA smallblock I did was a few years back....it had low oil pressure when I bought it as a rebuilder. I had issues with a new cam I bought. It was a new billet ground by a local company. The prob was the new billet had far narrower journals than the original cam. Combine that with a little core shift in the block and it was far enough out to barely cover the rather large oil holes in one of the cam journals. From memory the hole was like .020" inside the bearing....it was THAT bad! I have no doubt if I ran it like it was,or had old cam bearings in it there would be oil pressure issues. I ended up getting an old original cam reground. I have no doubt there are still billets floating around like the one I had. The 273 was a solid cam engine from memory? I'm pretty sure the oil system is similar to the Ford Clevelands,fed via lifter bores and all other places before we give a little oil to the ummmm,what are they?? Oh yes,the bearings...maybe they should get the left over oil !! My point is,if the lifter bores are worn,then you run used cam bearings that may be a tad loose it's not surprising you have low idle pressure. From memory the oil pressure is read from the rear,but that's where the pump is,so actual pressure at the front of the engine may be even lower. I'd feel a little uneasy about that idle pressure,sure it may be within limits,but a new engine should have solid pressure about 10lbs below normal cruising pressure in my book. As far as oils go,I can't really suggest anything for your climates,but If you have large clearances with that thin oil,it's going to show up any issues sooner ,but that being said,if it's a good engine you should be able to run that viscosity without hassles. In my book bearing clearances you measured are fine... a little tight if anything. Full grooved bearings are not on my shopping list and may also be costing you idle pressure,there is no advantage to them. There are many,many guys in OZ running 500+++ HP Clevos with CHI heads turning 7000rpm and they never run full grooved mains...they dropped that idea with cross drilled cranks,it's old theory...and the Cleveland isn't known for its state of the art lube systems!i feel the LA engines would be in the same boat..If you need a crank ground it's usually better to measure the ID of your bearings and get the crank ground to the clearance you want,.001" per inch plus.0005" is a good yardstick. If the STP is helping,then maybe a heavier oil could boost things a little,but it's not really a fix,but it won't hurt ... I've used STP in engines that need oil pressure to tension the timing chains,it helps shut them up at idle...sure replacing the chain is the fix but it certainly extended the time before I did the chain service. I looked at a rod bearing when it was torn down and it was perfect,no issue,a new chain and guides and all was good,so I don't feel it would hurt....but you shouldn't need it.
To sum up all my rambling I think I'd be checking lifter bore wear,cam bearing condition,cam journal width and alignment,go to half groove bearings and check oil pump RV..the fact you have had issues with 2 different pumps tends to indicate that's not the issue,but check....the other two alternatives are to..run it as is,or run heavier oil...what's to lose? If the oil doesn't fix it you'll pull it down later rather than sooner,it's really just a matter of preference. Less than 20 at idle and 50 at high rpm and I think I'd be stripping it. And yes,I used the "F" word (Ford) on here..

Yeah I should have know better. Sometimes when money is tight we make bad choices that bite us in the As* . I really don't plan to pull it out. I do have a spare 1985 318 (condition unsure). But you can be sure if I go through that one. The first this it will get is cam bearings.
At this point I will be trying so 10w40.

_________________
Mostly Old Parts And Rust
1933 Desoto Coupe 426 Hemi
1946 Dodge dumpbed pickup 2.5 Turbo 4cyl
1964 Dodge A100 pickup 273 automatic
2002 PT Cruiser Woody edition