No problems just preventative against the cracked gears folks seem to find. In retrospect my chain an d pump gears were OK so I really didn't have to do it.

 

What would the antifreeze in oil pan have to do with the bearings being out of spec? Wouldn't that be because a gasket is failing somewhere and allowing coolant in? Also I am using 10w40. should I try 15w40 and larger filter instead of jumping to 2050? Also, there is no knock and it idles very smooth until the temp climbs and then it develops a slight lumpy idle.

 

If coolant is getting into the oil sump then it is diluting the oil which would cause bearing failure over time. In this case hopefully it was not running long enough to do any permanent damage.

As for you; I would suggest that your next change you go to 15-40 these engines don’t seem to like 10wt too much. In the dead on summer maybe 20-50 but that all depends on your location.

People tend to like the shell Rotella diesel oil, because the diesel's do not get there oil change at short intervals, so they are formulated to hold dirt and particles suspended longer in the oil so that the filter can clean them out.

 

The AB oil pump gears are not marked but, there is a subtle difference between the two sides. Get your old gears and have a look. On the outer most gear on the out side perimeter of that gear, one side is chamfered or rounded off while the other side is squared off. The rounded edge side is placed down into the timing cover and is supposed to compensate for the original tooling of the timing cover not being perfectly 90 deg. Even if installed incorrectly the gear should machine itself into the soft aluminum cover and be fine. Also, if the gears spun freely in the cover after you tightened the gear cover plate then you probably got it right.

 

A known fact.
Antifreeze in the oil destroys the surfaces of the main bearings.
And then the oil pressure goes down.
Lots of oil pressure is directed to the crank shaft.

SB main bearing failure [Archive] - Chevelle Tech

 

If it ain't broke...

I've got nothing else to contribute, sorry, not trying to be a jerk, these guys have it under control.

 

Well since I've had a backup car to drive while this thing sat I had not touched in in awhile.

I finally messed around with it again and hooked up a oil pressure gauge. With Shell Rotella 15/40 and a massive Mann oil filter I was getting 50psi cold dropping to 25 when hot. 2000 RPM netted me around 50 psi while hot.

So, pressure was fantastic, pointing to oil pressure sender. Replaced this, no more intermittent light. However i am still getting the light for a few seconds upon cold start with alot of valve clatter that goes away once light goes off. I'm wondering if this is due to the large high pressure Mann filter. I plan on changing to a regular Purolator to see how this affects it.

As far as the coolant temps, I pressurized the system and found it was holding pressure. This told me that there was more than likely air in the system. I then bled the system of air and now it holds temp between 190-204 on a hot Atlanta day with the a/c on.

I only posted this because of the wild conclusions I got about my bearings being shot, etc. Even i had figured my head gasket was blown.

 

Light is normal to be on at cold start, until oil pressure reaches 8 PSI, which should be like 2-3 seconds. May not be the filter since you have good psi numbers cold. 1 bottle of Lucas oil conditioner may help. BG oil flush may help. Unless you are up for removing valve cover gaskets, and taking out rocker arm gear, dismantle and clean up, etc. Oil passes thru one port in the head, pressurizes the rocker arm rail, and oil is squirted out each rocker arm. Plenty of places for gunk. And then there are lifters....

 

Just wanted to follow up to expose everyone to whats been going on since my last post.

Back in Sep or Oct I swapped oil to 10w-40 and that helped with shortening the interval at start-up to when the oil light would go away. This also helped quite down some of the chatter at start up as I assume things were being lubed a bit better. I also then added Lucas however this made no notable difference. I've been driving the truck around during the winter and have noticed that on colder days i get less chatter at start up than I do on days where its warmer (in Atlanta that means 30F is cold - 55F+ is warm). I may try to post a video of the start-up chatter to help describe the sound, but once the engine comes to normal temps it is very smooth and quiet. I've driven around 2500 miles and the sound has'nt improved/worsened except for changes in ambient temps.