So had the engine built and put back together with a working built head off another member on here. Took it to the tuners with a custom top mount kit which they installed for me. When we were tuning we had low oil pressure and no vtec. When the engine is hot it sits around 18psi at idle and 45 psi around 3-4k rpms.

My question is what action needs to be taken to check what's wrong? I told them already to pull the oil pan and check for metal shavings. I don't care if this motor has to come out either way it's gonna get fixed..... 3 motors and 3 turbo kits later...I will be damned if I don't get This thing running this summer..any suggestions? Thanks

 

Always change to a new oil pump when you freshly build an engine. You did this, correct?

Your oil pressure should be around 80 psi at 3k-4k rpm. Something definitely isnt right if its only half that. VTEC needs ~50 psi to work properly if I remember right.

 

Oil filter relocation kit possibly hooked up incorrectly?

 

If it was, the low oil light would be on right away. That's how I destroyed my engine.

 

Says who? You can pull the pump and clean it, and check for clearances/etc to make sure it's within spec. If it passes go for it, there really isn't much at all to those pumps.

 

oil pump change is cheap insurance. I would CERTAINLY change it if you have a 00 or 01 model year. What year was the block when built? Built block clearances are looser than stock so oil pressure may be slightly lower. This has caused me to run slightly thicker oil and do some other small steps to increase pressure. I changed my -10 oil return lines to -8 and put a restrictor on the oil line for the turbo. This helped with oil pressure. As mentioned above VTEC needs about 50-60 psi to shift and hold the pins in place.
I would have them check the pressure at the VTEC pin position before they tear off the oil pan. Its all documented in the helms manual. Check back with a little more info on the MY of your car and other aftermarket parts that may be effecting oil pressure.

 

I've seen too many engines go away to reused oil pumps after a build whether they were in spec or not. It has always been recommended to change the pump with a fresh build.

 

My s is an 2002. Oil pump was reused, engine had just been over 1000 miles just for break in. Went ahead and ordered a new pump, which will come in Tuesday we will see what happens then. I will keep posted and let you guys know what the issue is for future reference.

 

Did the use oem crank and rod bearings or aftermarket? Did u clearance them tight or loose?

 

Bearing clearances were 0.0018 - 0.0020 on both the mains and the rods with acl race bearings, thrust was dead nuts in the middle of spec.