I request wisdom (Lost Oil pressure)

[Brain75]

A suggestion on how to "snake oil" it - you might already have something in mind.
1) high pressure air or oil try to blow out the plug jamming it in backwards through any sensor ports you can
2) since it is a lot cheaper than seafoam, I would treat it to a couple sessions of 50/50 ATF+diesel (put 1 qt of that mix in with 3 quarts oil to make a 4 quart oil change), run it idle for 10 ish minutes, drain it out and repeat.
3) then seafoam it.
Don't trust that you "got it" till you can make it spew out every plug and port.


But also be aware that if the engine is just truly on it's last legs, you most likely will be stripping any beneficial varnish layers (ZZDP and baked on oil) and if that is the case you may push it to it's grave. That is what I did to my 226 flathead, after doing the ATF and seafoam I had excellent flow but still zero pressure, dropped the crank (in the truck) to mic it and found out everything was beyond worn out and the bearing caps were a mix of ford (with date 1952) and clevite - so most likely the last rebuild was in '52. I pulled it and replaced it (nobody knows how to machine a flathead anymore and the cost is insane) but it still ran and pulled like a mule.

 

[DarrenA]

Thanks for the advice. Definitely worth a shot at the least, especially if it can get me some more use. I don’t think my engine has ever been rebuilt, so the 40 year old bearings are probably holding on for dear life. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to update for a couple of weeks while I attend a training I have for the reserves. When I get back, I’ll update here with the results. That drill pay is about finance this whole operation.