I went down to the border last week for four days pulling my little 18 foot travel trailer. About 150 miles into the 300 mile trip I smelled hot oil. Looked at the oil gauge, looked OK, looked at the temp gauge, and that looked OK as well.
Pulled over in a wide spot (two lane road) 18 mile north of Ajo AZ., popped the hood, and saw oil running in a full stream onto the tail pipe out the back of the engine.......Shut her off and called a friend, he brought me my Diesel truck, put the dodge on a tow dolley and continued on.
Got home Friday (Oct. 19) and just today had time to look at the problem.
Had a friend fire up the engine with me up in the engine compartment, and located (can't see it) oil coming out in a steady stream right behind the distributor and down a little bit. Put my hand back there and felt some sort of a plug (I think)......
Can anyone please tell me what that plug is, and how is the best way to get it out and replace it ????? :huh:
Gotta fix quick, gfoing back down next Monday for three days and want to take the 4X4 dodge as there is a lot of soft sand where I stand my watch :help:
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh BTW, spotted 196 illegals in one 8 hour shift, arrested 84, and thrteen of them were from them rag head countries.......
jakerboy
10-22-2007, 10:23 PM
oil pressure sending unit maybe?
Parson4
10-22-2007, 10:55 PM
Thanks jakerboy, but I don't think so.....It seems to be at the top of a kinda square piece or something......I sure don't know :dunno:
But there are a bunch on here that know these engines inside and out, and they will know for sure .....I think....or.....I HOPE :D
DiverDwnPowrRam
10-22-2007, 10:58 PM
ya a "popped" sending unit is my guess
Parson4
10-22-2007, 11:57 PM
OK, where is the sending unit located????
I think y'all have forgetted just how dumb I is :crazy:
Does anyone have a picture showing the backside of a 318 or 360 engine I could look at??....PLEASE ??? :huh:
B-300
10-23-2007, 01:25 AM
The best picture I could find is shows were the sender would go, directly below the vacumn advance mechanism on the distributor. (Note the small tube is connected to a mechanical gauge)
It's possible that your truck has a mechanical gauge with a rubber hose connecting it to a tube to the gauge or like most an electrical sender in this spot.
bherder
10-23-2007, 09:06 AM
Rick, being as we both have the same year/engine (79' 360 2bbl) I know what your working with and this is my best guess....
As others have said, the only thing back there is an 1/8" pipe thread port for your oil psi sender.. Since you said the gauge looked fine when you noticed the problem, I'll bet it's not the sender.
You more than likely have another little 'sender' (Not really a sender, but a switch) about the size of a bottle cap back there. This is a switch that allows the circuit to be completed to your electric assist/heater for your choke thermostat. That there so that the choke thermostat only starts to heat up after the engine is running. In other words, no oil psi= switch open.. oil psi= switch closed.
That little sender/switch could be leaking. Now that little switch and the oil psi gauge sender both screw into a tee-fitting that screws into the block. That tee-fitting could also have broken also. (Yeah, I know it's just a hunk of metal, but I've seen it happen before.. Usually the male thread end of it)
Anywho, getting back there is a real SOB. Even with the dist pulled, there is barely enough room for your hand let alone a wrench. Good luck, it's not fun.
Parson4
10-23-2007, 10:27 AM
Thanks all for the advice and help. Today I will get back up in there and do the "ol mirror trick" and see what I gots. The preveious owner (many mooooons ago) did have a mechanical gauge installed, but I have never figured out where the little oil line from the gauge went to......MAYBE I WILL KNOW NOW :D
Megunticook
10-23-2007, 10:41 AM
Hey Rick, this is a shot a recently took of a t-fitting I installed a couple months ago in just the location bherder describes:
The coil is removed and the distributor is rotated so that the vacuum advance is out of the way. I have gorilla hands, though, so it was not easy or quick work.
Note that the stock oil sending unit is threaded into the top of the T, and a tube to an aftermarket mechanical gauge is threaded into the side. Originally it was just the stock sender in there.
Be sure on reinstalling to apply some teflon pipe sealer to the threads--some people use tape, but I've been told that it's not uncommon to have tape fragments end up in your oil, which isn't ideal.
Good luck!
p.s. you'll need a special 1 1/16" socket to remove the stock sender--something like this:
Well as usual, y'all hit the nail right on the head.....As I said before, I had a manual oil sensor gauge installed about 15 years ago, and the little line had broken loose from the nut, soooooooooooooooo dere be da leak or spraying fountain I might say.
Thank y'all a bunch from jakerboy (who diagnosed it right off) to all the rest of ya that helped....All I gotta do now is find a tee ninnnny widdle ferrel :huh:
Parson4
10-24-2007, 12:10 AM
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPIE It Worked, No Leakies :D :thatfunny :thatfunny :D
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPIE It Worked, No Leakies :D :thatfunny :thatfunny :D
I didn't doubt you for a minute Parson,now git yo behind back down thar and
run down,I mean grab a bunch o dem ragheads :gr_patrio
Parson4
10-24-2007, 01:23 AM
Leaving right after church Sunday and will be back Thursday ! Y'all come on and join us "ya here" ????
I loves to catch them "rag heads" let me tell ya......To the Mexicans we say things like "siéntese abajo" or "manos para arriba", but to the rag heads we say .... "SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP" orrrrrr "RUN SUCKER IF YA FEEL LUCKY" !!!! :D :D
bherder
10-24-2007, 09:30 AM
Hey Rick... Just a word of advice here.... When you get back from 'hunting season' ;) and have some spare time...
You ought to replace that plastic line with copper line. That cheap plastic line is good for a few years, but it gets hard and brittle after time (Hot oil, ya know) and will break. Like what happened to you... 150 miles from home...
If you use copper, you'll never have to worry about it again.. :D
Parson4
10-24-2007, 09:44 AM
It was a copper line Bruce.......I think when I get back I will get a new one and put a couple of swirl rolls in it to take away the vibration.....It has been in there for over 15 years, so guess I can't complain to much... :huh:
When I removed the coil so I could get to the sender, there was a little white resister there with some kind of a switch, but it only had onew wire going to it, so I left it out......any idea what that resister is supposed to do???
bherder
10-24-2007, 04:09 PM
It was a copper line Bruce.......I think when I get back I will get a new one and put a couple of swirl rolls in it to take away the vibration.....It has been in there for over 15 years, so guess I can't complain to much... :huh:
When I removed the coil so I could get to the sender, there was a little white resister there with some kind of a switch, but it only had onew wire going to it, so I left it out......any idea what that resister is supposed to do???
It is copper? Huh... Imagine that... I thought that would have been good forever ;) (Then again, I've never owned any rig for more than 15 years... ;) ... I'm getting close though now.. :D )
Yeah, you're right though, I've always made 2-3 loops around a beer bottle in the line between the block and where it goes through the firewall... Gives it lots of 'jiggle-room' ;)
That little resistor and the little thing about the size of a 'Certs' is part of the electrical for the choke heater... In a nutshell:
You start the engine... Oil psi comes up and closes that switch I was talking about before near the oil sending unit... current goes through that 'Certs' thing (I think it's a bit of time delay, but not really sure) and the resistor to drop the voltage a tad... And then onto the choke thermostat heater....
Of course, when you live where you do, I doubt you ever need the choke to close.. :D :D :D
Parson4
10-24-2007, 04:18 PM
Yeah Bruce, I am trying to find some of that small copper line. I have it in aluminum in the shop, but I want copper........
BTW....Last week I gave a group of 11 illegal allians your home address as they passed by, sooooooooooo they should be getting to your house any day now.....I told dem you was one nice"Gringo" !! :D :D
Speed Dragon
10-24-2007, 05:41 PM
Oh snap, bherder got a new avatar!
Parson4
10-24-2007, 05:49 PM
Actually looks more like him don't ya think Speeeeeeeeedo ???
bherder
10-25-2007, 09:41 AM
Yeah Bruce, I am trying to find some of that small copper line. I have it in aluminum in the shop, but I want copper........
Any auto parts store should have it. Even a good hardware store will too..
BTW....Last week I gave a group of 11 illegal allians your home address as they passed by, sooooooooooo they should be getting to your house any day now.....I told dem you was one nice"Gringo" !!
Ohhh, I see some 'Tragic Hunting Accidents' happening ... ;)
Oh snap, bherder got a new avatar!
Ya like that? :D I was getting tired of the old one....
