QuestionQUESTION: John,
First, thanks for the advice about the front prop shaft. I crawled under and sure enough, the rear joint was shot. I replaced both joints last night and that is all better now. As to the intermittent oil light I mentioned before, I should have mentioned that it only appears after the engine is heated, AND at idle RPM. Any blip of the throttle returns to normal oil pressure. That combined with the fact that it didn't do it for the first 1.5 years I had the truck, but began the day after I changed oil pan gasket, intake and gaskets, etc. That defies reason as how can an oil pump or main bearing go bad sitting in a garage over night? New second issue: I lose coolant and oil, but make no puddles. Sure, it has to be going somewhere, but have you seen a head gasket failure cause loss of both. but no performance issues, no overheating, and pass emissions testing?
Thanks!
Michael
ANSWER: When you took the pan off you may have broken the oil pickup tube seal, so it sucks air.
With respect to the leaks . . . small leaks often stream and evaporate in the wind, leaving no puddle
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: John,
I removed the pickup and cleaned it on the bench and made a new gasket for it upon refitting. Is that the seal you are referring to, or did you mean the welded joint at the flange? That is intriguing. Would you guess it worth it to try a new pickup altogether?
Thanks for taking time to discuss this with me. I do see oil wetness in the area of the pressure sensor, and the old one did leak, but i never can seem to "catch it in the act" as in, I cannot ever see specifically where the oil is coming from. As for the water loss, I used to have a leaky thermostat housing, and I replaced the stat and gasket then it began working past the hose at the thermostat, and the hose was replaced, then the intake began leaking and that was replaced. It is simply maddening to always be losing coolant somewhere, but now not able to find where!
AnswerI have seen the welded joints crack but usually problems are with the gasket you changed. As to the coolant loss . . . besides evaporation there is the possibility of slight consumption within the motor. We see that go on for long periods of time before there is an actual failure. And oil does get burnt in the motors in normal operation. Some Rovers burn a quart per thousand and they are just stable and fine that way
