I had one of those once, but, thankfully, she moved to Portland.
Posted on 08/20/2016 2:26:32 PM PDT by gaijin
96 Camry V6, 166k miles, engine = 1MZFE (I think)
Flushed engine, changed oil, got a low oil-pressure light, pulled over.
Dropped oil pan, cleared out a TON of oil boogers that were in the pan, YIKES..! Also swished the oil pick-up tube around in some flush solution, cleared the screen.
Drove around a week and it was FINE..! Then oil pressure light returned :(
Swapped out the oil pressure sender switch (don't have the oil pressure tester gauge but I ordered one) and the oil pressure light did come with the new switch.
Hoping it's more oil boogers in the pan not the engine bearings, I want to drop the pan again:
Turns out I overtightened one of the two nuts that secure the pan. The nut is in great condition and is flush to the pan surface but turns FOREVER without backing off the stud and it's in tight quarters.
"Get a screwdriver behind it and pry a bit while untightening with the socket..!"
Yeah, I tried that but when the stud got stripped the nut was RIGHT UP against the pan --I cannot get a screwdriver under there.
"Try a knife!" Yeah, I did that and it didn't work. That IS thinner, but there still isn't enough space. :(
"Put some freepin' vice-grips on that suckah and pull DOWN while going lefty-loosy..! You'll get it back on the threads, bro..!" Yeah, I tried that but that nut STILL won't back off the threads. Vice-grips pull off that slippery nut :(
I own a Dremel but it's not a cordless one and the car is parked across the street from this Starbucks from which I'm typing, and I can't access an outlet.
WHAT DO..? This sucks. :(
With some of the bigger jobs needed for both my ragged Jeeps coming up and my health causing some problems, I’m about to that point.
I hate paying for stuff I can do but my joints protest a lot these days.
Front line stuff I’ll do gladly. Big time underneath stuff will have to be farmed out.
There is a crowd in my area that specializes in 4WD stuff and vintage Jeep.
I hope to have the rest of the steering box parts in soon. The lift kit next. I’ll keep doing the small electrical stuff and minor bolt turning in the meantime on the Willys.
At least the CJ7 isn’t anywhere nearly as deteriorated as the Willys and parts are more available. I know it’s core problem. The engine is blown. I knew that when I got it.
I worked for one.
It was misery. How that fat hag was married twice and even had a kid is beyond me. I can’t imagine the amount of beer goggles it would take.
I’m with OP and Dr. B suggestions. I’ve been in similar.
clean it up with solvent and then glop it up with permatex until you can get it in a place you can work on it. then break the nut off with a nut splitter, turn out the stud with vice grips and put a new one in
This. Run another nut onto the stud and unscrew them together. If that doesn’t work, quit jerking around and take it to a Toyota dealer.
I think it calls for 5w-30. I’d stick with that. I took an engine apart for that. Lotta work, but ran great.
My guess is that if the oil change and oil pressure sender happened at the same time and you still had a low oil pressure problem, you likely have significant bearing wear that will only be temporarily patched with heavy oil, assuming you can get the sludge blobs out.
I agree with this. The nut is a lost cause. Remove the stud instead. Then put in a new stud (and nut).
I’m a big fan of Shell Rotella myself.
Bearing wear test:
I should run a simple oil pressure test, and if at idle I get lower than 10 psi then....maybe I’m screwed..?
What is the commonly accepted min oil pressure figure at an idle of, say, 1,000 rpm..?
The point is to run cheap oil with a clean I g agent and change it frequently.
It does sound like the engine might be on it’s last legs.
I wonder how much a used engine would cost? The engine on my 1974 Datsun went out at only 95,000 miles. I am pretty sure because of no lead in the gasoline. The cylinder head was broken to pieces.
I bought a used engine from a junk yard and literally changed it under a shade tree. Not that bad of a job but I was a lot younger. It was 1981 and the engine cost $300. It ran well until I sold the car.
I made one mistake. The junkyard told me I would be better off keeping the old carburetor. I didn’t take their advice and sure enough the one on the used engine gave a bit of trouble. I ended up having to rebuild it.
All things considered.
IMHO, the simplest solution considering where your car is located and the tools you have available.
Instead of trying to “remove” the nut, try “over tightening” the thing until the head snaps off. This is assuming it will still thread in that direction.
If so, you can do everything you need to do and replace the pan with one nut missing.
EZ-Out and probably a Heli-coil when you get home.
I’ve never experienced overtightened nuts, but I have had cannon balls. Swelled up from chigger bites.
What is the commonly accepted min oil pressure figure at an idle of, say, 1,000 rpm..?”
That is somewhat specific to the engine. Theoretically if you have any oil pressure, it will hold together for awhile. There should be a “normal” spec on the interwebs that will give you what a healthy engine will run. How far you get out of that defines what shape the bearings are.
When it starves for oil, certain parts starve before others and more damage will occur there. Rod bearings with a lot of slack increase the chance it will spin or fail sending the rod through the side of the block.
If you end up having to do buy an engine, try CL or car-part.com.
Good luck.
Do you recall if the bolts that hold the pan on are studs that are threaded into the engine block?
If so you may be able to back out the entire stud (including the nut).
If you break it off you will have to drill the broken stud out, oversize (very slightly) the hole, retap, and then install a helicoil that will fit the original size.
Call a mechanic who is familiar with that make and model, he could probably tell you if it is a stud and which way it turns out (some threaded studs operate on the LEFTY- TIGHTY, RIGHTY-LOOSEY method).
Push comes to shove, have it towed to a place where you can work on it with all your tools and jacks available.
You could try a nut cracker (a tool designed to break a nut that is still threaded onto a bolt or stud) if you have room to get it in there.
Sorry I couldn’t be more help, last time I busted 2 studs on my oil pan (Ford F-250) I had the good sense to do it about 20 feet outside my shop door.
Heat wrench baby. Heat wrench. ;)
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