sweetleaf Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Had my car running perfect. Was doing some tuning yesterday. Ran great, parked it for the night. Went to move it this morning to work on a new Audi. I started it up and about 10 seconds later my oil sending unit burst and shot oil everywhere. Just wandering if anybody else has had one burst, or might know of a reason why it did. Everything seems great and I had perfect oil pressure before it happened. I'm hopping it just went bad and something else isn't wrong. I'll have pictures up in a couple of minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetleaf Posted August 21, 2009 Author Share Posted August 21, 2009 Here's the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skib Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Fram? cmon now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 What was the PSI when.... " I had perfect oil pressure before it happened". A stuck pressure relief valve in the oil pump can cause this on a cold start, (high pressure). I remember an old BMW 318/320I had a similar problem, the oil filter exploded. Replaced the pump assembly, problem solved. What changes/repairs were made recently,prior to failure??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAG58 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Jasper's right, the return spring got it self lodged in there. Replace the pump or take that big nut off and un stick it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetleaf Posted August 22, 2009 Author Share Posted August 22, 2009 Thanks for the ideas. I'll check the relief valve, before I put the new sender in. What would cause it to stick? Just so I know what to check on it If I un stick it. I do have a couple extra pumps laying around too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh817 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Fram? cmon now... I thought the same thing when I saw it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAG58 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Thanks for the ideas. I'll check the relief valve, before I put the new sender in. What would cause it to stick? Just so I know what to check on it If I un stick it. I do have a couple extra pumps laying around too. If you have crud in your oil from that recockulous fram filter it could make it act like glue, or the ball has a little rust on it, or the ball has a wear line from banging in and out of the seat it sits on, these could all make it stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetleaf Posted August 22, 2009 Author Share Posted August 22, 2009 Yes the fram is temporary . So was the oil witch is now out. LOL. I flush the hell out of motors when I first put them back together. This is the 3rd flush before good oil and filter. Thanks for the tips. I'm going to disassemble ,clean, and inspect the pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockchucker Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 At least she's running! It's been too long. I would go with a stuck check ball allowing too much PSI on startup also. Get that FRAM off of there! =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAG58 Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 Necroposting to bash FRAM. hmm. Excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh817 Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 Other than the product placement in the picture... I think I went to O'Rilleys at one point last summer asking for an oil sending unit and they had one for like $5. I don't like the electric units but I'd rather have that compared to an oil line running into the cabin. Get another Tee fitting, one that was 3 outs since you are using a 2 out one already. Screw on an oil pressure warning unit. From there you can hook it up to do just about anything, turn on a light, turn off the fuel pump so you motor quits before its too late, etc. This way you can still utilize the electric oil pressure gauge but have the safety of a quick acting warning system because we all know that if oil pressure drops the gauge won't tell us until several seconds later when it finally reaches rock bottom and during those several seconds you've been running dry. http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/BOR0/S4000.oap?year=1976&make=Nissan&model=280Z&vi=1209237&keyword=oil+pressure&partType=03438&parentPartType=C0039 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowlerMonkey Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Since it's cold where you are now, it is possible that whatever oil you are using is too thick at cold temperatures for the regulator to bleed off. Older mazdas used to blow out oil cooler lines because of this when it got really cold if you used the wrong oil for the temperature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Normally the filters will bulge, or the base gaskets blow out if the oil pressure is that high. WELL before a GOOD oil pressure sending unit will pop. My bet is latent defect in the sending unit, given the oil filter doesn't looke bulged, and it's base gasket is in tact. I have had people blow that oil filter base gasket while driving down the freeway, you would be amazed how much oil can coat underneath the car while going 70mph before dripping or hazing the guy behind you! Luckily in that case, he saw oil pressure flickering and smelled something, so he declutched and shut down with about 20CC's short of catastrophic engine failure. We put a new filter on at the roadside, and put 5 quarts in his sump to get it to the 'operation' level (above 'add', not into 'full').... He made a gasket retaining ring out of aluminum to prevent that from happening in the future, so the base gasket now has something radially to seal against as well, like a real O-Ring housing. The only way that one blows is if the filter splits! (And I've seen that happen on VW's with Aluminum Spin-On Filters---always get a STEEL housing!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockchucker Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Necroposting to bash FRAM. hmm. Excellent. No not really. I have personally watched this build from the beginning. I am glad to see that it is up and running. It was in my garage for a long time. I watched it go from rolling Chassis all the way in WA to the beautiful car that it is today in Chi-town. I do believe the car is coming back over here for storage for a while though. I used Fram Filters for years. I personally am not a fan. Just an opinion. Everyone has them. Back on topic... Did you pull the pump and check it out Kalle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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