Re: Oil pressure problems, maybe.

Posted by HH56 On 2016/7/17 17:04:46

I am one who votes for a mechanical gauge discreetly mounted somewhere. Many of us have it in the engine compt to be able to verify the sender is functioning properly. Some even have an additional mechanical temp gauge although the lack of a good second position for the sensor in the water flow makes that one somewhat harder to implement.

Did the coolant come out the radiator overflow or was it somewhere else. If the coolant level is more than approx 1 inch lower than the bottom of cap opening it will often be forced out the overflow. A frequent leak spot if it was more in the middle on the right side is the thermal valve for the heater. The rubber seal can leak and coolant can run down behind carpet and out a mounting bolt location on the floor without the operator ever being aware it is leaking. Occasionally there might be a smell of coolant that goes along with a leak but no obvious puddles inside the car. Another frequent spot more toward the center of car is one of the radiator hose connections on the Ultramatic oil cooler rusting thru..

Did the valve lifters ever clatter. That is a typical symptom of low oil pressure. One cause of wildly fluctuating pressure could also be sludge in the oil pan shifting and covering the oil pickup. Engines have been known to self destruct if the pickup becomes clogged so if you never dropped the pan and cleaned it that might be a worthwhile project.

Did any of the other gauges --temp, fuel -- fluctuate? If they did then the instrument voltage regulator could be suspect.