1957 SDV Oil Line question

[Dave Burke]

Hi All,

Well I have learned a lot about my car over the past year, thanks in large part to Y'all.  I recently learned that if the idle screws aren't opened up enough, I can't adjust the idle speed using the bypass screw.  But that is a different story...

So I am going to drop my oil pan in a week or so and replace the oil pump because I just don't think that it is lubricating the engine enough.  But I also have been wondering since I tore the engine down last year about the diameter of the oil lines from the block to and from the oil filter housing.  They are PUNY - 3/16 inch lines.  I am suspicious of them.  Are they the right diameter, and if not, what is?  And if they are the right diameter, does anybody know a reason why I wouldn't be able to put larger diameter lines on the oil filter, because I wouldn't mind increasing the oil flow.

Thanks Again!

Dave Burke
CLC#27968

[Walter Youshock]

Sounds right to me.  If you increase the diameter, you increase the flow but DECREASE pressure.  This isn't a full-blown system and partially relies on the pressure to push tho oil through the filter and back to the block.

[35-709]

You not only have an oil pump but also an oil pressure regulator --- see your shop manual.  I can't imagine going through all you propose without knowing the actual oil pressure that your system is putting out now, put an oil pressure gauge on it.  Again, see your shop manual for the numbers.  I think what Mr. Youshock meant to say is that this is not a full flow oil filtration system as seen not much later.     

[Walter Youshock]

You're right.  I did mean "not full FLOW".  These damn phones.

[Dave Burke]

Thanks Guys,

I'll take a look at the manual and do a pressure test, but man, those lines sure do look small!  And I am sure that all of the sludge that I pulled out of the engine (you should have seen the 2-foot-long sludge plugs I blew out of the rocker rails!) was due to the previous owner only driving it 80-100 miles per year.  In my first year of owning my car, I put almost 13K on it and it drives like a champ - and will be even better once I get those new rear springs!

Best,

Dave

[Jon S]

I seriously doubt that.  I drive less than 500 miles a year and as I've stated previously, when I changed the valve cover gaskets and valley pan gasket, there was absolutely zero sludge/varnish in the engine!  I change the oil and filter every 2,000 miles.

[dplotkin]

Thanks Guys,

I'll take a look at the manual and do a pressure test, but man, those lines sure do look small!  And I am sure that all of the sludge that I pulled out of the engine (you should have seen the 2-foot-long sludge plugs I blew out of the rocker rails!) was due to the previous owner only driving it 80-100 miles per year.  In my first year of owning my car, I put almost 13K on it and it drives like a champ - and will be even better once I get those new rear springs!



Best,

Dave

Dave:

First of all, while full pressure lubrication was an improvement the old style bypass system functioned well for years but relied on vigilent oil changes. Cadillac service procedures called for dropping the pan in those days.

Your sludge is only partly from little use, most of it is because the engine was probably infrequently brought to operating temperature to boil out the condinsate (water) and by-products of combustion (water and unburned fuel) and the raw fuel that makes its way into the crankcase from cold starts & rich mixtures condensing and puddling in the intake manifolds. All this crap mixes together to form sludge if the car is not driven 20+ miles EACH time it is started cold and/or oil changing is ignored.

The condition you have found has nothing to do with your bypass oil filter nor would it be improved by a full flow system. Oil filters are for trapping particulates & dirt, not sludge.

To avoid sludge, NEVER start a cold engine without taking it for a good ride. Fellows who start their cars and let them run 10 minutes during the winter are causing harm, not good. If you can't drive it, don't start it...and...change the oil at least once a season on a car that gets use.

Second, as previously mentioned no lubrication system can be evaluated without an oil pressure check with the engine at full operating temperature. Do that before you worry about the size of the lines that trained Cadillac engineers specified for the car.

Dan