So in prep for my headers, I dropped the rack, sub frame, and oil pan. I have been having cold start oil pressure issues since I've had the car. Needed to make sure to rev the engine a bit on startup to get the oil pressure up. Seemed to behave like there was a bad seal on the oil pickup...Oil pressure was fine when the engine was warm.

Here are some pics of the underside (it's a 91S4 AT engine). I was happy to find a nice thick thrust bearing, clean innards, no metal in the pan, and no scoring of the bores (that I could see..will rotate the crank to check each bore from the underside). It took me a while to find it, but I found the culprit (actually Adam saw it first)...see if you can identify my issue

Plans are to add the old style pickup, pan spacer, old style cloverleaf and screen, and a windage screen. ...and to the pics..(sorry about the fuzzy cell phone camera)

 

No bolt holding the oil pickup up!

WOW

 

Taken with an Iphone?

 

Yep, Colin..and no bolt lying in the pan, so whoever put the engine in (91S4 engine in a 82 body) must have done a pan gasket and forgotten to put it back in there.... there were bolts on the support bracket nearer the pickup (so no fear of it not staying up in there) but I could easily push up on the tube near that missing bolt.

Cell phone is Motorola Bionic..running android ICS.

 

This is why having left over parts after a rebuild always bothers me.

 

This would circumvent that: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/loc.../N-8oiZ1z0hk4n

 

How so? The bolt was never put back.

 

Tom,
Check one more issue off the list. Glad everything looks OK!

Good to chat with you yesterday.