I just got back from a short trip to the west coast. I got to my Spit that
I left in the airport garage here in Savannah early Friday evening. It was
75 degrees and clear as I drove home. Nothing sweeter.
Everything was fine with the car. I was worried a bit that I had to leave
the Spit unprotected for 3 days in a public parking deck.
I got home with no problems. As I walked out the garage, I saw a series of
worrisome drops of oil, a string of drop, just a few inches apart. I looked
outside to see (to my horror) a steady line of oil that was in line of my
entry into the driveway. How much oil did I lose? What was leaking?
Well, I checked the dipstick to find that I was down only a little over a
quart. I cranked the engine and saw a steady stream of oil shooting (yes,
shooting) downward out of the three pronged oil pressure sending unit. I
installed a t fitting to keep the stock oil light as well as the fitting for
the Smiths dual oil/temp gage. I had plenty of oil and oil pressure, so I
figured that I made it home ok because it must have just failed. On the way
home, I had noted that the oil pressure gauge was reading 50 psi at highway
speed, and 25 psi at idle. I had no clue that there was a significant oil
leak.
The last time I had a oil pressure sending unit fail, it was in a 1970
Toyota Carina. The sending unit blew out, and we went from "what's that
ticking noise?" to "clink-clink-CLUNK" in about 5 seconds. I had to replace
the engine with a junkyard unit back when I was still in college.
I think that I dodged a bullet here. So here's my question. If I had lost
oil to the point that my oil pressure fell and my oil pressure "Idiot" light
came on, and if I immediately shut down the engine, would the loss of oil
pressure would have already caused significant damage?
Dan Parrott
Savannah Ga.
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