Thanks, Larry - it's beginning to look that way. This morning I removed the thermostatic oil valve.... looked ok.... removed the oil cooler and lines and found a few flecks of aluminum particles in the cooler.... replaced the OE plugs in the oil filter adapter and started the engine. Oil pressure was a little better, but still dropped as the engine got hot. Lifter tapping is pretty noisy now.

When I have some time, I'll remove the oil pump and see what I find.... if anything.

Frank

'89 [color:"white"]G-Raider[color:"white"] [color:"black"]Supercharged 3.0L, MegaSquirt 2, lockup A/T, 2.5" exhaust, 172k, Cibie H4s/Oscar SCs, Hella Micro DE fogs, Cobra CB, Superwinch hubs, LSD rear/Aussie Locker front, Bilsteins, Lifeline AGM, Rust-Oleum