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Aaargh! (OT)

Doggone it, anyway.

This darn brown Suburban is starting to become my own personal great white whale.

After I got the leaking block heater replaced, I've been driving it exclusively for the past few days, to get a few miles on the engine and see how it behaves. So far, it's run just fine, plenty of power, and never failed to start easily.

So, having put on about 4 - 500 miles, I decided to treat it to an oil change. Drove it a few miles today, enough to get it up to operating temperature. Brought it home, parked a few minutes while I put my groceries away. Moved it around to the shop, and let it idle a few minutes while I put new halogen bulbs in my garage security lights. The Suburban's headlights illuminated the area nicely, thanks.

Got my ramps out, and drove the front end of the 'burban up on them, and shut it down. Drained out the hot oil, cleaned and replaced the drain plug. Nary a trace of water or coolant in the oil, either. Spun off the old filter, wiped down the sealing surface, and filled a new filter with fresh oil, and spun it on. Put the balance of the 5 liter oil jug into the crankcase. Not enough to fill it full, but enough to start it, and get a dipstick reading.

Started the engine, 10 seconds, 20 seconds go by, no oil pressure. I roll off the ramps, and shut it down. No oil leaks in evidence. Add two more liters of oil. Dipstick is at the full mark. Start it up again, no oil pressure. I idled it as long as I dared, no oil pressure. I think the oil IS circulating, since the fresh oil has become brown, implying that it has been mixed with the residual oil in the block. The spinning crankshaft doesn't dip into the oil, so I figure the pump IS working, although I can't be certain for now.

Well, it's not going to get driven until the mystery is solved. Possible causes:

  1. catastrophic failure of oil pump, or drive shaft from vacuum pump. I could see this happening if it were 40 below out, and the oil as thick as tar. But it was right mild today, and the snow is melting fast.

  1. catastrophic failure of oil pressure sender or dash gage

  2. wire came off the oil pressure sender (pick me, pick me!)

  1. Some weird problem with the new filter. I don't think this is too likely, as I filled the new filter with fresh oil, and I could see the level drop as the oil soaked through the media. No way it's 100% blocked.

I guess my trouble-shooting plan tomorrow will consist of the following:

  1. Start it up again, and see if it came good overnight.

  1. Remove air filter to have a look at the pressure sending unit and see if the wire came off it. If not, check for loose connection, try again. If still no reading, unscrew sending unit and screw in mechanical gage. See if it makes pressure.

  2. If yes, try another sending unit. If no, remove vacuum pump, and see if long spindly drive tang for oil pump is intact. If it is, take drive tang from spare vacuum pump, and spin up oil pump with a drill, and see if it works. If drive tang is busted, try removing broken stub, and again try turning oil pump by hand or with drill, and see if it puts out.

  1. If the oil pump appears to be OK, then remove the new filter, and replace with another one I have on hand. Check to make sure that the disc valves in the filter base are in place and intact.

If I do wind up having to replace the oil pump, it appears it should be fairly easy to drop the pan without removing the engine, although I sure don't relish the prospect.

Anyone else got any bright ideas?

Gord Richmond

Reply to
Gordon Richmond
Loading thread data ...

Dynamite?

Reply to
Mertz Racing

While not too familar with diesels,I do remember the gas GM motors sometimes had a sender threaded into the filter boss.Is it possible there was one you didnt see and it got bumped by your arm during filter r&r?Did any other wireing have to be moved or get bumped which would hav made a lousy connection? That is my best easy SWAG.

(Whats a SWAG? Strategic Wild Ass Guess)

Reply to
Mertz Racing

Drove it a

let it idle a

liter oil jug

get a dipstick

Dipstick is at the

crankshaft doesn't

the wire came

try removing

it puts out.

with another

Reply to
Oujdeivß

Go ahead and put on a mechanical gauge or put the old filter back on as a test.

Karl (I'd do the gauge first, if easy to get to.)

Reply to
midlant

Yep, likely I'll try the gauge first, if ananswer doesn't suggest itself in the morning. If I change the filter, though, it'll be a new one from a different source. Dirt may have entered the old one.

Gord Richmond

Reply to
Gordon Richmond

ISTR having to replace the oil pressure gauge in my dad's '73 Chubby once because the needle was stuck; it is an old school mechanical gauge on that truck. I don't know if that holds true through '88 or not but as I recall the dashes look similar. It's got copper tubing running to the engine that ought to be familiar to any Stude enthusiast so I would assume that there would be similar potential failure modes as well. As I recall R&Ring the instrument cluster was fairly straightforward; pull the radio knobs and headlight knob (pull to headlight position, reach under dash and hit button on headlight switch to release shaft, pull out) remove trim and then all the screws holding cluster in are evident, only tricky bit is the little string that works the column shift gear indicator. I'd probably try a known good mechanical gauge right on the engine before pulling the IP to replace the gauge.

good luck

nate

Reply to
N8N

Woo Hoo!

It's healed. Evidently the sending unit bit the big during the course of the oil change.

I had to unbolt the glow plug controller and set it aside to access the sending unit, which was nice and clean, and had the single wire securely attached. Unscrewed the sending unit and screwed in my test gage, which is an ancient air compressor gage on a Stude oil pressure flex hose. Fired it up, and I had 50 psi at idle before I could get out of the seat and come around front to view it.

Well, I had a spare sending unit in my 6.2 parts stash, so I found it (minor miracle right there, LOL) and installed it. Hooked up a clip lead to ground the glow plug controller, and started the engine. Bingo! Oil pressure a tad over 1/2 way on the truck's own gage.

So I finished putting things back together, and the Suburban's idling away as I write this.

It's nice to know that it never really didn't have oil pressure, too. No risk of harm to the engine.

The "dead" sending unit is sitting on my workbench with "bad?" written on it. I may try it with air and an ohmmeter. I did find a shred of Teflon tape in the orifice, but I scarcely think that alone could have blocked the reading 100%. And when I use Teflon tape on a pipe thread, I'm usually very careful NOT to get it on the entry threads, so it should stay out of the actual fluid passage. But maybe some tape lingered in the female fitting from a previous worker's efforts.

Nice when they are so simple. And I scarcely got my hands dirty.

Gord Richmond

Reply to
Gordon Richmond

Your tale reminded me of something I had managed to remove from my memory banks. About thentime i was starting to cnsider moving back to the US, something happened to my OHC enginer car which required some shop machining. When I assembled the engine I was careful and stuffed paper towels in and around the hole where the belt went down to the lower sprocket to catch any tools that might want to get down there too.

After all was done, I removed the towels and buttoned the damn thing up and added all fluids and made electrical ecnections. The car started quickly, but soon the OIL light came on. I stopped the engine, checked underneath, dipsitck and electrical connections, coming to the conclusion that the pressure sender had crapped-out. I took it for a run of a couple miles and all was fine.

I took the other car to work the next day or two and o the weekend checked all carefull, even to putting in another sender that I had picked up. No luck.

Then I noticed that the oil felt and looked a bit funny. I pulled the pan (not an easy job) and found all sors of paper towel remains in the oil and strainer.

I drove the car daily and sold it to a fellow-employee (who was a F-off) whom I didn't like as I packed to go. My unknowing assistanr had even told him what a great car and price it was. Sold him both my cars, come to think of it. A while later I got a letter from another co-employee. Tony was having probelms with "my" car. It seemed that someone had rear-ended it and it was a write-off.

Maybe cars don't really need oil!

Karl

Reply to
midlant

the sending

miracle right

may try it

I scarcely

tape on a pipe

should stay out

Just got back from a short road trip with the same Suburban. No problems whatsoever. I visited Heavy Metal Auto Wrecking near Trochu. Found no likely candidates for Crosley spring leaves, but I did get a pair of courtesy light door switches for the Suburban, which has had "issues" in that department. And I found a Studebaker...

Actually, they told me they had it. It's a '59 Lark VI 2 door sedan, and except for the front clip, the body looks fairly sound. Floors have been mended with galvanized sheet metal and sheet metal screws. It has a '63 or '64 OHV six in it, with the full flow filter. Engine is not stuck, but is exposed to the weather, so it will become stuck at some point in time.

Interior soft trim is trashed. This car would be a heck of a good candidate for a Pro Street car with a big V8 stuffed in it. As a restoration candidate, it's pretty far gone, IMHO. I didn't ask the price, but I doubt they want the Earth, Moon and stars.

Gord Richmond

Reply to
Gordon Richmond

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Reply to
karinhall

Isn't life better now that Viagra has replaced tape

"karinhall" wrote... > Couldn't resist the temptation, but your last sentence begs a comeback. OCF, where are you when we need you? :)

Reply to
Jeff Rice

karin, karin, karin...........but teflon is a lubricant I just cannot foresee KY tape. BTW, San Fran pickup line of the week "Can I push your stool in for you?"

messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...big

get it on the entry threads, so it should stay out of the actual fluid passage. But maybe some tape lingered in the female fitting from a previous worker's efforts."

where are you when we need you? :)

Reply to
oldcarfart

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