I almost killed my pagoda today! Oil Leak

[dseretakis]

No Richard Gere had nothing to do with it. I was driving it back north today. DC to Boston and somewhere in Delaware on I95 I happened to glance over at the oil pressure gauge and noticed it to be reading low. I immediately pulled over on the breakdown lane and popped the hood only to see oil everywhere. Some cheap *ss previous owner spliced in a  fuel line patch to repair a cut oil line to the oil pressure gauge.  This patch failed as oil was spurting all over the place.  It only lost 3-4 quarts of oil so no damage was done. I had it towed to the nearest pep boys and replaced the spliced in line with another section of fuel line. This is of course temporary just so that I could get home.  

[jacovdw]

That's just downright scary...

Sorry to hear about it Dimitri and glad that no damage was done (except for the mess).
What you just said about the previous owner's "fix" just proves my point that some people should not be allowed anywhere near a car.

I can probably write a nice book about what the previous owner did to my pagoda...

[Ulf]

Good thing that you actually watched the gauges - a lot of people forget. After 18 years with various classics, it has become routine for me and have actually saved me a lot of money over time. Ironically, my oil pressure gauge is not working at the moment but after reading this, I'm highly motivated to get it fixed soon

[thelews]

Another good reason to have the car looked over by a qualified professional or enthusiast before or shortly after buying the car.

[Richard Madison]

Somewhere, maybe in our archives, there was an article about installing a buzzer to warn if the oil pressure dropped...may not be original but for those who don't watch the dials, it could save an engine.

Richard N, NYC

[RickM]

Somewhere, maybe in our archives, there was an article about installing a buzzer to warn if the oil pressure dropped...may not be original but for those who don't watch the dials, it could save an engine.

Richard N, NYC

Sounds like one of the best investments for any vehicle.

[Cees Klumper]

Hi Richard - I think it was an article Tom Sargeant wrote, and maybe it was in an early Pagoda World, although I'm not sure about that. Seems like a good idea to install such a buzzer, because I think I rarely look at that gauge while driving along.

[dseretakis]

In this particular case the oil pressure gauge read low with still 3-4 quarts of oil in the engine because it was the line to gauge that ruptured. I wonder how low the oil level would have to be before the pressure gauge reads low in the case of a leak from another source, say the oil cooler for example.

[johnshenry]

Any one have a link to that buzzer article/mod?  I'd love to do that.  Is there an idiot light also for low oil P?  (I've only had my 113 for a few months, spare me ....).  If so that would be easy to wire a buzzer too.  I look at the gauges frequently, but this is really my wife's car...  ;-)

If there is an idiot light, that would be an easy mod.  I have to get into the dash to do the heater levers soon anyway .....

JH

[dseretakis]

There is no idiot light. As much as I don't care for idiot lights one would be useful in this instance.

[Naj ✝︎]

If there is an idiot light, that would be an easy mod.  I have to get into the dash to do the heater levers soon anyway .....

JH

Hello, John,

I have fitted such an idiot light.

You need an adaptor (10mm x 1.5mm thread) to go between the oil filter head and the oil pressure pipe to the gauge which also accomodates a low pressure switch. The switch provides a ground for the light or buzzer when the pressure falls below the limit of the switch. The feed for the light comes from the ignition wiring.

On the 230 SL there is an unused window for this light in the instrument cluster, but on the 280, mine is fitted on top of the speaker grille.

Haven't any good pix at the moment but will get some in due course.

naj

[dseretakis]

So does this light also come on at idle when the pressure is lower?

[Naj ✝︎]

The switch I have is set at 10 psi, i think.
No, never comes on at idling even after a hard run when the pr. drops to just below 30.

naj