Hi all:
After dropping a cylinder back in July, it has taken a bit of time to get
'ol blue' back on
the road. But thanks to Rick McCurdy (piston & rings) and SS for lots of
other stuff, it's
back and runnin' again. So - here's the question: How much oil can a
Series V
pump out of a broken oil cooler line in 5 seconds or less? Here's what
happened to raise the question.
I decided to run over to my dad's this past weekend. No big trip, no big
deal. It's about
200 miles one way. The weather was great with a blue sky, a gentle breeze
pushing me
from the backside, and light traffic on I-94. I'm just rocking along at
4000 rpm's
(obviously no overdrive), listening to some tunes and really enjoying the
day. About the
time a lady in a Buick Park Avenue comes along side me I saw a HUGE cloud of
smoke coming from the back of my car! A quick check of the oil pressure
gauge
showed "0". I cut the engine and rolled to a stop, noticing a decided
unevenness to the
left front wheel's braking ability. After raising the bonnet and waiting a
few seconds for
the smoke to clear, it was painfully obvious what had occurred. The oil
line between the
cooler and the filter adaptor had opened just ahead of the carb side of the
engine.
What a mess! Oil everywhere in the engine compartment, oil on my
windshield, oil on
the drivers side door, oil on the wheels! Man, oh man, I saw oil in places
I didn't ever
expect to find it, even on a typical Series V.
A quick assessment of tools, rags and oil in my trunk produced the
following. No rags,
paper towels or other appropriate wiping devices, but there was, however, a
good
assortment of tools and two quarts of oil. Good ol' South Dakota grass was
gonna have
to serve for whatever hand wiping I was gonna need.
For whatever reason, the DPO placed an aluminum hose connector in the return
line
from the oil cooler leading back to the filter adapter. It was clamped
with hose clamps
on each side of the connector and was, I thought, completely secure.
Obviously, some
gremlin loosened a clamp on one side and the line separated from the
connector. The
result was the mess described above.
I guess the learning curve must be falling now that I'm over 50. I was sure
all clamps
were properly tightened, all bolts secure, etc. etc. I was sure I checked,
double checked
and completely went over all nuts, bolts, clamps, etc., both with the engine
on the stand
and again after the installation back into the car. Obviously I missed at
least one.
So, the answer to the question - about 3 quarts. After reattaching the oil
line and
putting my two spare quarts of oil in the engine, the dipstick showed nearly
a quart low. I
knew I was only about 3 miles to the next exit where there were several gas
stations, so I
proceeded to wipe off as best I could and started the car. The oil pressure
came up
right away so I don't think anything was harmed. It took a while for my GM
alternator to
generate any current, but it too eventually came back to normal. My only
other concern
right now is how to effectively clean the rotor and pad on the driver's side
wheel. I'd
welcome any suggestions. Even after the 400 mile trip the brakes still pull
to the right,
meaning, I think, that the driver's side braking is still impaired.
The good news - following the near disaster (thank the Lord for oil pressure
gauges),
the engine seems fine. It starts and runs very well and has as good
performance as
ever. The gas mileage was good - some over 30 mpg for the trip - even while
running at
4000 rpm's for much of the way. The next project is to install the Toyota
5-speed tranny I
recently bought. I'll keep ya posted.
Checking and rechecking from now on, I'm still havin' a great time with 'ol
blue.
from sunny South Dakota,
Dr.Paul Almjeld
Department of Music
Dakota Wesleyan University
palmjeld(at)dwu.edu
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