I mean, when you are just driving along and suddenly the oil pressure goes to zero. Maybe you were hitting it hard, whatever, but you lost oil pressure. Not that your sender went bad but that you actually lost pressure. If so, tell us about it. I suspect this is a rare even.
Anyone actually lose oil pressure
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Years back it was fairly common for Ford 289/302 to lock the oil pump and twist the pump drive shaft, was due to pieces of the nylon toothed timing gear or broken valve stem seals sucked into the pump... Never happened to me but I've seen my share(last a '78 Fairmont)...
Had a '79 Chevy Malibu with 3.3L V6 that would loose oil pressure occasionally... Oil light would pop on and the valves start clattering, all I had to do was shut it down for a few seconds and it was fine on restart... After a half dozen times or so it never did it again...
Had a '79 Chevy Malibu with 3.3L V6 that would loose oil pressure occasionally... Oil light would pop on and the valves start clattering, all I had to do was shut it down for a few seconds and it was fine on restart... After a half dozen times or so it never did it again...
Drive down Potomac Avenue from Mt.Lebanon Pittsburgh and stop for the light before you go onto Banksville Road, and there is a good chance all the oil in your engine will be towards the front most part of your engine so that the oil pick-up sucks air. It it more common with a rear wheel drive vehicle with the engine mounted inline with the drive shaft, than with a front wheel drive vehicle.
The ex-wife of one of the guys who used to work where I do has this problem a lot. She's got an Aveo with over 120k miles on it and has had the oil changed 4 times. One can reach inside the oil fill hole and scoop sludge out with a finger. Avery time she lets it drop to idle speed it loses oil pressure.
A couple more months and it'll be paid off...
A couple more months and it'll be paid off...
Originally Posted By: TFB1
Years back it was fairly common for Ford 289/302 to lock the oil pump and twist the pump drive shaft, was due to pieces of the nylon toothed timing gear or broken valve stem seals sucked into the pump.
I have seen that several times. Twists the drive shaft up like a Piece of Licorish.
I burned up a 340 Chrysler once. Had a badly smashed oil pan. Ran ok in the city but sucked the pan dry on the hwy
Years back it was fairly common for Ford 289/302 to lock the oil pump and twist the pump drive shaft, was due to pieces of the nylon toothed timing gear or broken valve stem seals sucked into the pump.
I have seen that several times. Twists the drive shaft up like a Piece of Licorish.
I burned up a 340 Chrysler once. Had a badly smashed oil pan. Ran ok in the city but sucked the pan dry on the hwy
I've gotten a shock making a hard stop in the Midget if the oil level is getting low. I've have seen the oil pressure drop to next to nothing, and it jumps back up as soon as I've come to a stop or stop braking. I've had the oil pan off and discovered that while there's nothing mechanically wrong with the pickup that I can tell, it seems I have the oil pickup from the Triumph Spitfire, which is a little different from the Midget's pickup even though the engine is otherwise identical.
I can only assume it's been that way since new, but I'm guessing the engine sits at a slightly different angle in the Spitfire which is why it has that problem. I just know to keep the oil at the top mark and be careful when making hard stops.
I can only assume it's been that way since new, but I'm guessing the engine sits at a slightly different angle in the Spitfire which is why it has that problem. I just know to keep the oil at the top mark and be careful when making hard stops.
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Originally Posted By: TFB1
Years back it was fairly common for Ford 289/302 to lock the oil pump and twist the pump drive shaft, was due to pieces of the nylon toothed timing gear or broken valve stem seals sucked into the pump... Never happened to me but I've seen my share(last a '78 Fairmont)...
Had a '79 Chevy Malibu with 3.3L V6 that would loose oil pressure occasionally... Oil light would pop on and the valves start clattering, all I had to do was shut it down for a few seconds and it was fine on restart... After a half dozen times or so it never did it again...
Another common variant of this phenomena was guys putting HV oil pumps in them and then running 20w50. They'd licorice stick the drive shaft and break it.
Years back it was fairly common for Ford 289/302 to lock the oil pump and twist the pump drive shaft, was due to pieces of the nylon toothed timing gear or broken valve stem seals sucked into the pump... Never happened to me but I've seen my share(last a '78 Fairmont)...
Had a '79 Chevy Malibu with 3.3L V6 that would loose oil pressure occasionally... Oil light would pop on and the valves start clattering, all I had to do was shut it down for a few seconds and it was fine on restart... After a half dozen times or so it never did it again...
Another common variant of this phenomena was guys putting HV oil pumps in them and then running 20w50. They'd licorice stick the drive shaft and break it.
Use "Google Earth" and go to the intersection of Potomac Avenue and Banksville Road, place the little man in the intersection and look at the vehicles on Potomac to see what I mean.
There are a couple of hills on the south slopes of Pittsburgh that are less seldom used, but a even steeper. One of those hills with steps going up instead of a sidewalk use to be used back in the days of rear wheel drive vehicles to make a J. You got the vehicle drifting backwards down the hill with it in neutral, rev the engine and drop it in drive. The wheels are spinning forward while the vehicle is going backwards, IF nothing breaks. A friend of mine did that once with a station wagon and the engine mounts broke loose, the engine jumped forward, and the fan moved forward with the engine and ate the radiator. A heck of a mess with the antifreeze all over the place and then the engine stalled. Kids (teen age drivers) can do some dumb things.
Some of these hills are sooo steep, that even though the vehicle had the proper amount of oil in it, if you are going down them and break hard, you can suck air instead of oil.
There is a video on youtube about a truck going down a mountain and the driver lost control when the power brakes failed after the engine stalled by sucking air.
There are a couple of hills on the south slopes of Pittsburgh that are less seldom used, but a even steeper. One of those hills with steps going up instead of a sidewalk use to be used back in the days of rear wheel drive vehicles to make a J. You got the vehicle drifting backwards down the hill with it in neutral, rev the engine and drop it in drive. The wheels are spinning forward while the vehicle is going backwards, IF nothing breaks. A friend of mine did that once with a station wagon and the engine mounts broke loose, the engine jumped forward, and the fan moved forward with the engine and ate the radiator. A heck of a mess with the antifreeze all over the place and then the engine stalled. Kids (teen age drivers) can do some dumb things.
Some of these hills are sooo steep, that even though the vehicle had the proper amount of oil in it, if you are going down them and break hard, you can suck air instead of oil.
There is a video on youtube about a truck going down a mountain and the driver lost control when the power brakes failed after the engine stalled by sucking air.
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Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
There are a couple of hills on the south slopes of Pittsburgh that are less seldom used, but a even steeper. One of those hills with steps going up instead of a sidewalk use to be used back in the days of rear wheel drive vehicles to make a J. You got the vehicle drifting backwards down the hill with it in neutral, rev the engine and drop it in drive. The wheels are spinning forward while the vehicle is going backwards, IF nothing breaks. A friend of mine did that once with a station wagon and the engine mounts broke loose, the engine jumped forward, and the fan moved forward with the engine and ate the radiator. A heck of a mess with the antifreeze all over the place and then the engine stalled. Kids (teen age drivers) can do some dumb things.
I tried that with a lawn tractor when I was 18 years old. Put it in forward, held the clutch disengaged (belt drive), and let it roll backward down the driveway. Popped the clutch at the bottom and the tractor stood on end. I was laying on the ground with the tractor clawing the pavement and doing a little dance on its hind end. Quickly grabbed the front end and let it down, then looked around to see if anyone was watching my stupid move.
Good thing the driveway was not terribly steep or I might have been crushed. A 8 horse Briggs and Stratton engine and the tractor would have been quite a lot of weight to come crashing down.
Driveway was steep enough that my '77 F100 with the broken parking brake would roll to the bottom if parked in gear without a wheel chock.
There are a couple of hills on the south slopes of Pittsburgh that are less seldom used, but a even steeper. One of those hills with steps going up instead of a sidewalk use to be used back in the days of rear wheel drive vehicles to make a J. You got the vehicle drifting backwards down the hill with it in neutral, rev the engine and drop it in drive. The wheels are spinning forward while the vehicle is going backwards, IF nothing breaks. A friend of mine did that once with a station wagon and the engine mounts broke loose, the engine jumped forward, and the fan moved forward with the engine and ate the radiator. A heck of a mess with the antifreeze all over the place and then the engine stalled. Kids (teen age drivers) can do some dumb things.
I tried that with a lawn tractor when I was 18 years old. Put it in forward, held the clutch disengaged (belt drive), and let it roll backward down the driveway. Popped the clutch at the bottom and the tractor stood on end. I was laying on the ground with the tractor clawing the pavement and doing a little dance on its hind end. Quickly grabbed the front end and let it down, then looked around to see if anyone was watching my stupid move.
Good thing the driveway was not terribly steep or I might have been crushed. A 8 horse Briggs and Stratton engine and the tractor would have been quite a lot of weight to come crashing down.
Driveway was steep enough that my '77 F100 with the broken parking brake would roll to the bottom if parked in gear without a wheel chock.
google "the 5 steepest streets in Pittsburgh"
Look at East Woodford Avenue. That is the street that my friend tried the J in a stationwagon in. That was 1974 or 1975. The wagon belonged to the father of one of his friends, and he had borrowed it. At least we worked on vehicles a lot back then and he could put the new radiator and engine mounts in it himself.
Those were some interesting days and vehicles. 68 Camaros with 327 202 power packed heads 4 barrel 4 speed, and four door sixties Impalas for anything from free to 50 or a hundred bucks. Swap in a new engine and transmission from one with a bad frame and drive it like it was unbreakable. Lots of fun. We were lucky that no one in the gang I lofted with ever got hurt though there were a few scary close calls.
Look at East Woodford Avenue. That is the street that my friend tried the J in a stationwagon in. That was 1974 or 1975. The wagon belonged to the father of one of his friends, and he had borrowed it. At least we worked on vehicles a lot back then and he could put the new radiator and engine mounts in it himself.
Those were some interesting days and vehicles. 68 Camaros with 327 202 power packed heads 4 barrel 4 speed, and four door sixties Impalas for anything from free to 50 or a hundred bucks. Swap in a new engine and transmission from one with a bad frame and drive it like it was unbreakable. Lots of fun. We were lucky that no one in the gang I lofted with ever got hurt though there were a few scary close calls.
A friend of mine has a Volkswagon Golf GTi. We were driving the nuts off it in an empty lot once when he made an observation.
"Every time we drift really hard the oil light comes on!"
This went on hundreds of times with no ill effect on the engine that I can see, though I certainly don't recommend doing so.
"Every time we drift really hard the oil light comes on!"
This went on hundreds of times with no ill effect on the engine that I can see, though I certainly don't recommend doing so.
Yeah last year. As close to zero as the "oil light of death" comes. Think its 4psi. Was a clogged oil filter. contrary to what is believed, if a filter clogs bypass alone may not be enough.
Jim,
Potomac Ave and East Woodford are indeed a treat. I work for a company based in Cleveland and make it a point to take visitors there. Then I get them to buy lunch at Fiore's.
Potomac Ave and East Woodford are indeed a treat. I work for a company based in Cleveland and make it a point to take visitors there. Then I get them to buy lunch at Fiore's.
yup. Built a saturn motor out of parts from a couple other saturn motors. Worked good for a few starts then it started up with no oil pressure. Drove 100 feet down the road, thinking it was a bad sender, but the valves started ticking.
Has a geroter pump in the timing cover. I tried dumb stuff like revving to redline in case it lost its prime, but it didn't come back.
Finally I took off the oil filter, looked inside, dumped some oil out, and put it back on. Everything was fine after that. The air bubble I created, presumably, allowed the pump to get past its issue and start sucking oil up again.
Has a geroter pump in the timing cover. I tried dumb stuff like revving to redline in case it lost its prime, but it didn't come back.
Finally I took off the oil filter, looked inside, dumped some oil out, and put it back on. Everything was fine after that. The air bubble I created, presumably, allowed the pump to get past its issue and start sucking oil up again.
Yes!
1966 Mustang with a fresh, intact and strong engine. It was a 1000 mile highway trip in colder weather. Fuel dilution was partially responsible. Castrol GTX 10w30. Oil change fixed the problem.
1985 Chevy ladder truck w/6 cylinder. The engine worked very hard pulling this truck and the bearings wore out very rapidly. Oil pressure dropped over the course of a work day and the engine failed.
1994 Turbo Miata "R" package. I used 0W-20 oil in an attempt to get a free'er revving engine and ended up with bearing failure.
Extra 300L aerobatic aircraft. I was a passenger in the front seat. Oil pressure went to zero while doing extended knife edge flight. Come to find out, the aerobatic oil system does not work in knife edge flight.
1966 Mustang with a fresh, intact and strong engine. It was a 1000 mile highway trip in colder weather. Fuel dilution was partially responsible. Castrol GTX 10w30. Oil change fixed the problem.
1985 Chevy ladder truck w/6 cylinder. The engine worked very hard pulling this truck and the bearings wore out very rapidly. Oil pressure dropped over the course of a work day and the engine failed.
1994 Turbo Miata "R" package. I used 0W-20 oil in an attempt to get a free'er revving engine and ended up with bearing failure.
Extra 300L aerobatic aircraft. I was a passenger in the front seat. Oil pressure went to zero while doing extended knife edge flight. Come to find out, the aerobatic oil system does not work in knife edge flight.
I lost oil pressure when I rolled one of my Jeeps. I typically roll over several times a seaason, but that one time the angle was such that I couldn't reach the ignition right away. I have since installed an ignition tether.
All in the name of fun.
All in the name of fun.
'89 accord 5spd would throw the light in really hard corners.
I drove an 86 civic 300 miles one summer day, not knowing that at 60,000 miles it was still on its factory oil. the owner had the dealer do regular maintenance, so the car looked to be in great shape, but he wouldn't let them change the oil - just top-off. I had no idea.
Many times on that drive, it'd starve, I'd shut it down, level was good, start up, go until it'd starve again.
The dealer we took it to hot-tanked the engine, said it looked absolutely horrible, but found no damage.
I drove an 86 civic 300 miles one summer day, not knowing that at 60,000 miles it was still on its factory oil. the owner had the dealer do regular maintenance, so the car looked to be in great shape, but he wouldn't let them change the oil - just top-off. I had no idea.
Many times on that drive, it'd starve, I'd shut it down, level was good, start up, go until it'd starve again.
The dealer we took it to hot-tanked the engine, said it looked absolutely horrible, but found no damage.
Not related, but something related to steep hills ...
For my old job, I had to travel a lot. I had to go to a mansion that had a STEEP driveway. Much steeper than anything on that 5 steepest streets in pittsburgh.
I was going up the hill and the car was struggling to do it in 2nd gear. My foot was on the floor and the engine was trting, but I could only do about 15 up the hill in the driveway.
I had to stop to let a scissor lift by.
I'm good at driving manual, but I just could not get it to start out on the hill. Tried the hand brake trick. As soon as the clutch would engage, the car would stall.
I ended up rolling down the hill a bit got the right tire on the grass and did a clutch dump to get the car moving.
The driveway was so steep, the truck behind me trying to pull a bobcat out of there was "stuck" on the dry pavement. It was burning off the right rear tire trying to get moving. I didn't feel so bad.
For my old job, I had to travel a lot. I had to go to a mansion that had a STEEP driveway. Much steeper than anything on that 5 steepest streets in pittsburgh.
I was going up the hill and the car was struggling to do it in 2nd gear. My foot was on the floor and the engine was trting, but I could only do about 15 up the hill in the driveway.
I had to stop to let a scissor lift by.
I'm good at driving manual, but I just could not get it to start out on the hill. Tried the hand brake trick. As soon as the clutch would engage, the car would stall.
I ended up rolling down the hill a bit got the right tire on the grass and did a clutch dump to get the car moving.
The driveway was so steep, the truck behind me trying to pull a bobcat out of there was "stuck" on the dry pavement. It was burning off the right rear tire trying to get moving. I didn't feel so bad.
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Great story Miller 88. Would have thought that would affect your oil pickup on such a steep driveway. Guess you must have a deep sump area in the pan that will not run dry on a slope.
Remember Model T's had gravity feed of fuel to the carburator, so if the tank wasn't fairly full on a steep hill the fuel would move away from the drain hole and it would stall. I understand many Model T drivers would go backwards up steep hills to avoid this problem.
Remember Model T's had gravity feed of fuel to the carburator, so if the tank wasn't fairly full on a steep hill the fuel would move away from the drain hole and it would stall. I understand many Model T drivers would go backwards up steep hills to avoid this problem.
I'm not sure where the oil pump is on the focus, but it's a transverse engine.
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