Oil Pressure

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Tom-D

Tom-D

Taxi to Parking
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Feb 23, 2005
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Tom-D
I learned my customer replaced his engine because of a bad oil pressure gauge.
I removed his old engine, and replaced it, Turn it up and the new engine had no oil pressure.
placed a known good gauge in the line and wa-la 40 PSI.
 
Tom-D said:
I learned my customer replaced his engine because of a bad oil pressure gauge.
I removed his old engine, and replaced it, Turn it up and the new engine had no oil pressure.
placed a known good gauge in the line and wa-la 40 PSI.
Click to expand...
I gotta quote this one before you edit it.
 
Salty said:
I gotta quote this one before you edit it.
Click to expand...
Do it,,, nothing is going to change.
But I will answer questions, and respond to statements, But of course you'll criticize that as always.
 
Tom-D said:
Do it,,, nothing is going to change.
But I will answer questions, and respond to statements, But of course you'll criticize that as always.
Click to expand...
This one is all you my friend.
 
O...

M...

G...

I can't wait to see where this one goes.

:popcorn:

:popcorn:

:popcorn:
 
Mike Busch just posted a very similar story this week; OPRV with crud stuck under it, O. was told “O/H” by shop.
 
Stuff happens like this all the time !

If the customer complained about low oil pressure, I feel certain Tom would have found the problem. If the customer wants a new engine...you install a new engine....some people think they know more than their mechanic.
 
Tom-D said:
I learned my customer replaced his engine because of a bad oil pressure gauge.
I removed his old engine, and replaced it, Turn it up and the new engine had no oil pressure.
placed a known good gauge in the line and wa-la 40 PSI.
Click to expand...
Why did you go through all the trouble of replacing the engine? The quote above leads one to believe the engine was replaced due low oil pressure.
There's more you aren't telling, I hope.
 
Just another example of why, when it comes to diagnostics, always start with the cheap and easy.
 
Salty said:
My watch wouldn’t keep time, so I had my arm amputated and the watch still didn’t work on the prosthetic arm. Then my doctor told me the watch was probably broke. He’s amazingly smart.
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See "Salty" this is typical of what you do.
If I did this to your post, you be having a fit. Crying to the moderators.
 
Doug Reid said:
Stuff happens like this all the time !

If the customer complained about low oil pressure, I feel certain Tom would have found the problem. If the customer wants a new engine...you install a new engine....some people think they know more than their mechanic.
Click to expand...
This is true. The oil pressure simply was the final symptom to make the decision.
 
I am the customer and I have no regrets. To understand you need to know the rest of the story.

To begin with this engine has not been apart since installed in my 140 before 1980. It is significantly past TBO. It is using lots of oil. Some months ago I lost a cylinder on take off which made for a heart throbbing experience getting it turned around and back on the runway. Turned out to be a hydraulic unit I think. About four years ago I was about 900 miles from home and lost all oil pressure requiring the pressure regulator to be removed and cleaned. A month or two ago, the oil pressure fell dangerously low, and that was the straw that broke the camels back. The engine was past due anyway.

This is a wonderful plane, but is worth very little with a runout engine. I will enjoy it now as long as I can continue getting a medical. When the time comes that I can’t fly anymore, then I will have a very marketable plane to sell.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
Why did you go through all the trouble of replacing the engine? The quote above leads one to believe the engine was replaced due low oil pressure.
There's more you aren't telling, I hope.
Click to expand...

With Tom, there is always more!
 
MBDiagMan said:
I am the customer and I have no regrets. To understand you need to know the rest of the story.

To begin with this engine has not been apart since installed in my 140 before 1980. It is significantly past TBO. It is using lots of oil. Some months ago I lost a cylinder on take off which made for a heart throbbing experience getting it turned around and back on the runway. Turned out to be a hydraulic unit I think. About four years ago I was about 900 miles from home and lost all oil pressure requiring the pressure regulator to be removed and cleaned. A month or two ago, the oil pressure fell dangerously low, and that was the straw that broke the camels back. The engine was past due anyway.

This is a wonderful plane, but is worth very little with a runout engine. I will enjoy it now as long as I can continue getting a medical. When the time comes that I can’t fly anymore, then I will have a very marketable plane to sell.
Click to expand...

And there it is! lol

Sounds a lot different than the first post.

Tom-D said:
I learned my customer replaced his engine because of a bad oil pressure gauge.
I removed his old engine, and replaced it, Turn it up and the new engine had no oil pressure.
placed a known good gauge in the line and wa-la 40 PSI.
Click to expand...
 
Dang Tom, you're in NE Texas now?

Hope you're gonna be back in time to supervise my annual this year! ;-)
 
MBDiagMan said:
I am the customer and I have no regrets. To understand you need to know the rest of the story.

To begin with this engine has not been apart since installed in my 140 before 1980. It is significantly past TBO. It is using lots of oil. Some months ago I lost a cylinder on take off which made for a heart throbbing experience getting it turned around and back on the runway. Turned out to be a hydraulic unit I think. About four years ago I was about 900 miles from home and lost all oil pressure requiring the pressure regulator to be removed and cleaned. A month or two ago, the oil pressure fell dangerously low, and that was the straw that broke the camels back. The engine was past due anyway.

This is a wonderful plane, but is worth very little with a runout engine. I will enjoy it now as long as I can continue getting a medical. When the time comes that I can’t fly anymore, then I will have a very marketable plane to sell.
Click to expand...
In other words, you did not replace the engine because of a bad oil pressure gauge.
 
wilkersk said:
Dang Tom, you're in NE Texas now?

Hope you're gonna be back in time to supervise my annual this year! ;-)
Click to expand...
We will be home long before that,,,, hopefully :)
this trip was a combined trip to see the kids and the engine install.
 
Salty said:
In other words, you did not replace the engine because of a bad oil pressure gauge.
Click to expand...
Customer knows the history of the engine better than I, There is but one reason to install a new engine, "He didn't trust it". (oil pressure gauge was a big part of that)

So far this aircraft has gotten a new carb, a light weight starter, 2 mags rebuilt, So the customer has gone all out, and basically gotten a firewall forward. It should be good to go for a long time.
 
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I have a tacklebox full of various AN fittings, comes in really handy when I want to so do something like hook up a calibrated compression tester to an oil pressure sense line and check an oil pressure gauge with shop air.
 
well....there is more than one way to throw the baby out with the bathwater. ;)
 
Tom-D said:
Do it,,, nothing is going to change.
But I will answer questions, and respond to statements, But of course you'll criticize that as always.
Click to expand...
I don't know. The expression that everyone spells wrong is the French voilà.
 
bnt83 said:
I have a tacklebox full of various AN fittings, comes in really handy when I want to so do something like hook up a calibrated compression tester to an oil pressure sense line and check an oil pressure gauge with shop air.
Click to expand...
Do you carry all these fitting with you when you are on the road.
 
bnt83 said:
I have a tacklebox full of various AN fittings, comes in really handy when I want to so do something like hook up a calibrated compression tester to an oil pressure sense line and check an oil pressure gauge with shop air.
Click to expand...
A little dead weight tester is easier.
 
MBDiagMan said:
Great idea Brit
Click to expand...

I should also mention, I have a bag full of old engine hoses that can be a real life saver to hook up a test. They also work great for mock-up hose routing when adding stuff like fuel flow transducers and whatnot.
 
I'm surprised
MBDiagMan said:
I am the customer and I have no regrets. To understand you need to know the rest of the story.

To begin with this engine has not been apart since installed in my 140 before 1980. It is significantly past TBO. It is using lots of oil. Some months ago I lost a cylinder on take off which made for a heart throbbing experience getting it turned around and back on the runway. Turned out to be a hydraulic unit I think. About four years ago I was about 900 miles from home and lost all oil pressure requiring the pressure regulator to be removed and cleaned. A month or two ago, the oil pressure fell dangerously low, and that was the straw that broke the camels back. The engine was past due anyway.

This is a wonderful plane, but is worth very little with a runout engine. I will enjoy it now as long as I can continue getting a medical. When the time comes that I can’t fly anymore, then I will have a very marketable plane to sell.
Click to expand...
I'm surprised your mechanic didn't recommend replacing the oil pressure gauge with the engine overhaul. Seems to me you wouldn't want to be firing up a brand new engine for the first time with a gauge you think is likely to be faulty. But that's just me. I'm not an A&P.
 
All I have to say is this sh*t is golden.

You couldn't make it up if you tried, along with so many other posts over the years.

I see a coffee table book in the works.
 
Salty said:
I'm surprised

I'm surprised your mechanic didn't recommend replacing the oil pressure gauge with the engine overhaul. Seems to me you wouldn't want to be firing up a brand new engine for the first time with a gauge you think is likely to be faulty. But that's just me. I'm not an A&P.
Click to expand...

We checked with a known good gauge. New gauge on order.
 
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