< I take the oil pump apart very carefully and find a small sliver of
metal is stuck in the pressure relief valve.>
Many years ago I bought a customer's '65 Cadillac that had a motor with the
lower end wiped out. I went to a junkyard and bought a used engine and
installed it. I drove the car for several thousand miles. Then...while on a
trip to Southern California, I had the oil changed. They told me that they
had trouble getting the oil light to go out, but it finally did.
I headed home and noticed that the light would blink on slightly while
sitting at a stop sign in gear. I didn't think too much about it, just
bombed on up I-5, (the light was out), but after stopping in Stockton for a
bite to eat, when I started the engine, the oil light would not go out. We
caught a bus home and returned to tow the Cadillac home. I pulled the engine
and replaced the crankshaft and bearings. To be on the safe side, I replaced
the oil pump gears and relief valve. Less than 400 miles later the bearings
were gone again. That is when I found out that the oil pump cover where the
relief valve was located was prone to warping and seizing the relief valve.
I replaced the crankshaft and bearings again along with the oil pump cover.
Another lesson I learned was that the oil light would not come on unless the
oil pressure dropped to below 5 psi. (I also installed a mechanical oil
pressure gauge on this car and a subsequent '65 Cadillac Convertible I
acquired.) Normal operation for most oil lights in production vehicles is
set too low for it to save an engine.
I tell this story to remind everyone out there that an oil light must be
calibrated to come on at a much higher pressure if it is to be of any use.
Tom, Redding CA - #216 D/FCC
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