72 chev p/u w/ new engine... started it on a cold night... ran fine for about 10 miles... then all of a sudden i had loss of power and ticking sound... i towed it back to my house immediately...but want to fix it now.. oil on pass. side of eng. well

That ticking sound could be many things. A stopped up PCV valve. Maybe the valves in the head need resetting or if the fuel pump on those motors back then were bad. Sometimes they made a ticking sound. And if the bolts on the valve covers were loose. They may cause oil to leak by the gasket. Same on the bolts to the fuel pump. A quick way to find if that sound is coming from one of these areas. Is to take about a 4 foot piece of wood & with motor running, press 1 end of it to one of those areas & the other end in your hand & near your ear. Thats one way to find those ticking sounds. Just be careful not to touch a moving part like fan or belts. LOL.... If the oil is coming from below the head & on side of motor. It could be a cracked head or head gasket. If that is the problem & lets hope its not. They have a acid that they use to check for any cracks in the Heads. Only doing this will mean taking the head off the motor & to a place to be checked out. There are some jackets in the head were the water goes through & some were the oil goes through. They can sometimes but very unlikely on a new engine, get blocked & cause this problem. And may blow the head gasket or even cause a cracks in the head its self if the motor gets to hot. Check the oil level & see if its came above the mark & if it looks like it has water or a white color to it. If so that can be a sign of a cracked head or gasket or both letting water inter with the oil. Something you don't want to happen because the anti-freeze will soften the rod & main bearing fast & lead to bigger problems. It might be wise to take it to a auto repair place & have them look it over. I myself am not a expert in this. Only I have rebuilt many motors from cars , trucks, tractors, power units on sawmills, hi-lifts, bulldozers etc. So I do have a little behind the belt. But no I'll never claim to be a expert. For I am still learning each and every day. Lets hope your lucky & maybe its just a stopped up PCV value....M.C.S.

well, the problem is not the oil filter or any lines... i did build this engine and did all the maintence on it.... but, i was thinking because of the extreme cold (-20 degrees below zero) that maybe the head gasket (at very least) or the head itself cracked... tho i did build the engine... i am not a expert on heads... and i would love some insite on if the heads themselfs... how to find cracks... how to know if the heads are warped... or should i just bring it into a mechanic for a more expert knowledge... thanks for the advice... but again i would start at the head gasket and end with a cracked block and/or bent push rods...

Seriously, be careful who you take advice from. First of all, You should try to figure out where the oil came from. there is very little oil passing between the block and the cylinder heads under pressure. If you had a blown head gasket or a cracked head, you would usually see way more coolant than oil. You should consider what kind of ticking sound it's making. If it's making a ticking sound like a pen tapping against a desk, it could be caused by low oil psi. The main thing is, how much oil did you lose and where did it come out of? You should also think about whether or not you overheated. Even if it's extremely cold outside, an engine can easily overheat. This can cause a whole world of problems. Good luck with your truck. I love the '72 chevy p/u by the way it was a good year.

I would first check the oil level & if it is low or shows none at all. Then check the oil plug down on the oil pan. Then maybe the oil filter if its on that side. For they can sometimes blow the rubber ring between them and the motor due to not being tight or leaving the old seal on. If that is not the case then look up along side of motor. If the motor is covered with oil above the oil filter or started. Then it may be coming from your value cover gasket or head gasket. If the motor shows no loss of oil on the dip stick. Then check the lines coming down alone side of the motor to the transmission, if it is a automatic. For they may of came apart or cracked....Good luck hope the problem is just miner & not major.........M.C.S.