Chevy Dealer Parts Connection Wanted (ot).... (rant)

Which goes on to beg the question, "Was the temp gauge being monitored?"

Oh wait... Modern cars mostly have that stupid "Check Engine" light which covers most things from itchy rear ends to hunger pangs..

JT

Jeff Rice wrote:

Don't get me started... F**d trucks have a gauge cluster that appears to be fairly good, but the oil pressure gauge is really an idiot light with a needle.

There's a rant building up in there, but I don't want to post it yet. If at all.

nate

(actually has a backdated send> Which goes on to beg the question, "Was the temp gauge being monitored?" >

I assume Nate is beginning to figure out why his boss wanted to sell the truck.

Lee

Actually I'm totally confused by the @#$% thing. Driving home the other night I could have sworn the engine had weeks to live, it was making a classic rod knocking noise - that quiet little "taptaptaptap" that you only hear at light throttle. I checked the oil and it looked very low. So I threw two quarts in it and dropped it off to the guy at the end of the street and said "tell me how bad it is." He told me on the phone today he couldn't hear a thing and threw some oil treatment gunk in there just for insurance... well I figured he just had a tin ear, picked it up after work and drove it around for a good 20 minutes, I figured I'd get it to make the noise again and then come back and take him for a ride, well I only got it to make the noise once and then it never did it again. Got home, checked the oil, guess what it shows a quart and a half over full WTF??? So I didn't have an oil pressure gauge handy so I went ahead and pulled the gauge cluster and bypassed the little resistor in line with the oil pressure gauge, and installed the real gauge sender, then drove it some more. Oil pressure gauge behaves just like you'd expect it to, and even with the engine good and hot (you could tell when it really got warmed up because the oil pressure would drop off at idle) I never got it to make the noise again, although I tried all different modes of acceleration. I would like to hook up a

*CALIBRATED* gauge just so I could tell what "between 'N' and 'O'" is in psi, but it seemed OK.

At this point I don't know WTF this truck is trying to tell me. I guess maybe I'll change the oil and throw in some Auto-RX that I have laying around in case it is a sludge/drainback issue, and keep driving it. I can't think of what else to do, although I'm going to have a hard time trusting it on long trips.

The guy that sold it to me paid people to fix the thing; he's not mechanically sensitive enough to even notice the kind of stuff I've already fixed on the truck (completely blown shocks, for one...)

nate

Lee Aanderud wrote:

Nate, I don't remember which engine is in your truck but it does sound like sludged up drain back holes may be your problem. The changing oil levels are one clue. By pouring in more oil it you may have raised the oil level high enough in the head to where the oil is draining back through pushrod holes or other places that the oil normally doesn't drain back through. The other big clue will be if you get a real big puff of smoke on start up. If oil is indeed staying in the top and the valves are "swimming" in it the thing will smoke. I have pulled valve covers on many a neglected engine only to have a quart or more of oil come dumping out. Unfortuanately, if you pull the covers and start knocking the crap loose some of it invariably ends up in the oil pump pickup and that ain't good... Studebaker George

It's a 300 I-6, and pulling the valve cover involves removing the intake plenum.

nate

Oh, and I don't see any smoke, but I do see signs of oil leakage from the VC gasket. No worse than the Porsche, though, which generally doesn't need topping up more than every 2K miles or so.

nate

Nate, That 300 cid six is a very tough engine. I would just go ahead and flog and not worry about it. Paul Johnson

Yeah, that is one tough engine and one of the best F**d ever did...BUT it is susceptible to oil pump screen clogging. Keep an eye on the oil pressure. Studebaker George

the thread that refuses to die......Lou

Hmmm... I wonder why, it was dead on July 4th until tonight when you replied.

Lee

Explain yourself sir....I see many replies since the 4th....so it did not die on the 4th as you say...it lives on.......