[TR] Oil Pressure Loss

[Chris Simo]

Been there, done that.  Sheepishly. Oil all over the floorboards...

3 qts sounds like a lot in that time period.  I don't believe you starve
any thing to a significant degree with the oil pressure gage disconnected .

I ran mine for maybe 10 minutes disconnected.  What a mess. Drove it the
next day on a 4 hour trip, no issues.  Even today, no oil pressure
concerns.

Happy holidays!  I think you are OK.

Chris


On Dec 24, 2016 2:45 PM, "david brady" <dmb993 at earthlink.net> wrote:

Hi Folks,

Big blunder on my part. Long story short, I inadvertently started the cold
engine with the oil pressure tube disconnected. Runtime maybe 15 seconds
with a couple of low rev throttle blips. I noticed a smell so I immediately
checked the oil pressure gauge saw no pressure so I  shut off the engine.
The smell was oil leaving the engine. I started the engine outside the car
with the bonnet open which is typical for me. I need to manually hold the
weber chokes shut with my hand as I turn over the engine.

Here are the particulars:

1) cold engine
2) seven quarts of fresh 10w-30 Brad Penn oil in sump
3) start engine, maybe 15s (probably less) of runtime, no-load
4) 3 quarts of oil pushed out the oil pressure gauge fitting
5) engine has cam bearings.


I replenished the lost 3 quarts of oil, started the engine, and went for a
20 mile drive. No external signs of anything wrong. Engine runs great.

Several questions:

1) with the oil pressure loss out the disconnected fitting is there any
chance of even a dribble of oil being fed to the oil galleries?
2) I understand about oil flow rate being important and about the
hydrodynamic oil film required with plain bearings which actually generates
the oil pressure in the bearing's oil film itself. I'm more concerned about
the heat buildup at the bearings due to lack of flow. What are the chances
of bearing damage due to heat buildup in this case?
3) which bearings would be the first to show damage? Main, connecting rod,
cam?
4) is it recommended to drop the sump and roll out a bearing to check
condition?

Here's how it happened: a month or so ago I was testing the accuracy of my
oil pressure gauge so I bolted on a new gauge. I then ran my tests and
disconnected the tube from the crankcase in preparation to reconnect the
stock tube, but I was then pulled away from project and failed to reconnect
the stock pressure gauge tube. Fast forward a month and I completely forget
that the engine's not buttoned up and I start the engine! Yikes!

Thanks for your input,
Merry Christmas,
David
'68 TR250


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