77 318 lifters rattling - color me at a loss for ideas.

From : hugoz

Q: i have a 77 b200 van with a 318 and a 727 trans. motor has 50k miles since a complete rebuild. it sat for about 6 months i fired it up and drove it around for a day or two and all was great except the carb accel pump was leaking. i had it inspected then had the oil changed with 10w30. again it sat for a week while i rebuilt the carb. i put the carb back on and fired it up last night and the lifters went crazzzzzy both sides were rattling so loud i was afraid i would wake the neighbors. i had replaced the idiot light with a direct reading pressure gauge and it has always had high oil pressure when cold 50 to 60 psi range but last night it was closer to 80 psi. i let it run for a little bit but was afraid to run to long without oil in the top end. at this point i am unsure as to the next step. could they have messed something up in changing the oil i know they forgot to tighten the drain plug and i lost a little oil on the drive but it is still full. could they have messed up the filter also i recon it would help to know the oil path thru the motor to even have a clue what could be plugged up. i am lost any solution i can think of involves running the engine with no oil in the top end and that does not sound like a good idea. thanks for any and all suggestions.... hugo z hacknbush the other professor uhtbmunpxaohfu@lnubb.pbz .

Replies:

From : max340

oil is pumped up to the back end of the block where the sending unit monitors pressure. it then goes to the lifter galleys. the lifter galleys get oil to the main bearings and the rocker shafts get oil from the mains via the cam bearings. imo youll almost have to disassemble the engien to find the clog or missing plug. however if you pull the intermediate shaft and run the oil pump with a primer shaft and drill you could dump the oil and use kerosene to flush the engine. this may get rid of your problem but it may not. there is no easy fix here. max life liberty and the pursuit of any jackass that threatens it. embellished usnavy slogan .