Ok so ive noiticed here recently my oil pressure is startin to read higher then it used to. Its this a sign that the engines about to go and needs a rebuild, ive heard Windsors are bad about the oil system goin...if it is would i be better off rebuildin my 351 or gettin a 460? I plan to keep the truck now and build it as a trail rig at Wyotech. Engine has 170K miles on it...still runs strong but now this is happenin....
High oil pressure
- Thread starter Redneck86
- Start date
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BroncoJoe19
Active member
Do you have a mechanical oil guage? OR are you relying on the oil sending unit and the electrical guage on the dash?
I'd bet it is the later and that your sending unit is going bad.
Did you check your oil? Does it have water/antifreeze in it? Does it look creamy or frothy?
joe
Broncobill78
New member
Do you have any actual numbers or are you relying on the factory dummy gauge ? If it's just the factory gauge the the *first* thing I'd do would be to install a mechanical gauge to get good reliable numbers (just saying that the pressure is running somewhere between the "M" and the "A" doesn't really tell you anything)
Have you changed anything recently ? Has the oil been changed and did you maybe go to a heavier grade ? Changing from a 10/30 to a 20/50 will produce higher oil pressure so if it was done accidently this is just what you'd see. Generally speaking the pressure drops as the engine wears, unless you have a restriction somewhere that causes the pressure to be higher near the sending unit.
Now as to whether or not you're better off rebuilding the 351 or stepping up to a 460 that really depends on how you plan to use the truck. There's NO question at all that rebuilding the engine you currently have will be *much* cheaper. The kit to swap in the 460 will run you close to $2K all by itself (but that's including the kickass fenderwell headers that you get with it. You can go with the standard headers instead but the fenderwell exits are pretty damn cool). You can plan on spending a good $2K-$3K rebuilding the 460. Once that's done however, you'll have yourself a mill cranking out an honest-to-God 420+ horses and I can tell you that engines like that are a LOT of fun. On the other hand, with fuel approaching $4/gal you may want to give some serious thought to rebuilding what you have. You can get an easy 300HP from your 5.8 and it'll cost you less than a third of a 460 swap. If you're going to be using this as a daily driver you'll want to give it even MORE thought, but if you're dead-nuts serious about your 4-wheeling then I have to say that there's just NO replacement for a well-built 460. You're the King of every hill and with aggressive tires (something like a Ground Hawg or Super Swamper) you're unstoppable. The truck will ALWAYS keep moving, you'll be going either forward or down but as long as the tires are spinning you'll keep going. It's a painful shot to the wallet but a 460 Bronco is WAY more fun than a roomfull of drunk strippers (you'll spend just about as much $$$$ on it but at least it comes home with you every night)
In the end you'll have to run the numbers and decide what you want and how you want to use it. There's nothing wrong with building it to the max & then picking up a little rat-ass 4cyl ranger to drag your ass back & forth to work (by the way,most insurance companies give you a multi-vehicle discount and if you keep the daily-driver insurance to a minimum then you can probably break even. I actually pay about $20 LESS per month for my insurance once I added my Bronco because of the discount & the fact that I carry collision with a high deductable and no comprehensive. These are the sorts of things you'll need to think about and kick around before making your decision.
I think the 460 swap is WAY fun and since you're going to Wyotech I assume you're fairly serious about a career as a mechanic. The Bronco body/frame is an outstanding place to start, you'll never find anything better or stronger. adding a 460 to the C6/NP205 combo and then a set of D60's front & rear will make it pretty much a benchmark truck against which all *others* will be measured. the 460/C6/NP205/D60 combo CANNOT be beaten, it's the 4x4 Holy grail. But don't ignore the fact that it's not cheap to build OR run. I wouldn't go down that road unless you planned on picking up something small, cheap and inexpensive to own/drive/maintain. A small Ranger/explorer is an excellent choice but however you do it a 460 Bronco is NOT a good choice as a daily driver/grocery getter. I've built several of them over the years, shoot me a PM if you want to discuss it further.
