Bypassing oil cooling

I think you should be checking the oil pump. There is a bypass valve and spring used as a regulator. It could very well be stuck. The first step would be to check the pressure at high rpm's. I would also look at that block that the cooler lines run to for a bypass in the case the cooler gets plugged. Maybe it is.....you could blow some air through it to get an idea. What I mean is it seams that if there is too much oil to go through the cooler it would need to bypass it. It could be that if it couldn't bypass then it could cause your problem. Anyway, check the pressure so you know what your dealing with. My guess would be anything over about 70psi is worth investigating. Maybe someone here will read this and know exactly how the cooler block works(I've never really looked, just fixed leaks) :)Good luck.

How about what grade of oil is in it too!

ya, probably shouldn't use straight 40 wt. when its freezing outside :)

i had an oil change shop do it . I guess i'm lucky if they used motor oil at all.

I assumed from reading your post it happened more than once? If not, it could be just a loose oil filter.....And that comment about them using oil at all is oh so true. After my first and last 2 times (2 diff shops,

2 diff cars) I can't trust anyone at a lube joint to change my oil. Kinda sad really. At one place I had to teach the manager how to properly lube my truck(after the other guy didn't lube it at all & after I told them not forget my upper ball joints 3 times-I doubt they even know what ball joints are now that I think about it). At the other one my oil filter started leaking because it was VERY loose.

Yes the oil gush happened on three different filters. the techs believe there is a blockage in the oil cooling lines at some point so when the oil wants to be sent back thru it from the filter it can't and so is being forced out the weakest point being the filter seal. They have a part on order expected Tuesday to allow the filter to screw on to the block bypassing the oil cooling lines and say they are pretty confident that will prove to be the fix.I've spoken to a few Chevy mechanics at the local delaership where i rented a car for the time being and they all agreed this sounds like the best bet if i don't wnat to replace the oil colling lines and cooler which they all say i can live without and will be much less costly than the replacing said system. I'll post if this works.With so mnay miles i am willing to do such seat of your pants unorthodox fixes just to get another however many miles out of this beast who overall has served me very well.

Greetings,

Check to make sure that there is not a second oil filter seal ring still attached to the mounting surface of the oil filter adapter from an old filter. This could easily allow oil to spray out from the filter base. It happened to me once and I'm glad I noticed it quickly as I lost almost all of my oil in only a few minutes. Some filter mounts have a groove that the seal from the oil filter fits into, and if that seal comes off of the filter when it's being replaced it looks quite natural still attached to the mounting plate so it may not have been noticed, even after several filter changes. Also, there is a chance that the threads that hold the filter are stripped from being cross-threaded or over-tightened, or if a cheaply made filter was used that had bad threads (a common amateur mistake at the discount oil change places).

Something sounds fishy about your tech's explanation of a blocked oil cooler. Oil filters have a bypass valve that allow the oil to recirculate if there is a restriction (like a clogged filter or blocked cooler), so I would have them disconnect the oil cooler lines then force some compressed air into the sending line and see if any oil sprays out the return line. If it does, it's not a blocked cooler.

Good luck - Jonathan

appreaciate

Thanks for the tips Johnathan. The mechanics did say they tried to disconnect the lines to test them but they were too badly rusted on both ends so they couldn't perform that test.About that filter bypass valve, where does the oil recirculate if the path( oil cooling system ) is blocked?it can't go out of the filter the way it came in and with the full contents of the oil system being forced into the filter with no way out i guess i can't conceptualize just where it recirculates. If i understand the system properly oil is sent under pressure from the block to the filter then out of the filter thru the oil cooling lines thru the oil cooler then back into the block thru the engine and out again to the filter if it can't leave the filter thru the cooling lines because of blockage would the volume of oil being sent into the filter eventually have to escape?Where else could it go to recirculate as you said?

appreaciate

The bypass valve in the oil filter does what it says, it opens and lets oil bypass the filter media. The pressure relief valve in the oil pump bypasses some oil back to the pan. If the oil pump is the problem the oil pressure gauge should be pegged. If the cooler or its related plumbing is the cluprit, oil pressure should be low. This assuming the oil pressure sender is on the top of the block by the distributor. If, as a few models have them, its by the oil filter, then in ether case pressure should read high.

Whitelightning

Very helpful. The oil pressure was low not pegged so that encourages me bypassing the cooling lines may work.

Well the culprit was a pressure valve in the oil pump. They also went ahead and bypassed the oil colling lines as the pressure had ruptured one and i had aksed them to keep the costs down if they could fix it. Rolling again, maybe i'll make 400,000 miles!