Greg,
Thanks for helping that obviously automotive-ignorant new GMCer. And for
letting us know the results. He'll probably make it to Raleigh OK, but as
you suggested, he'll probably need to have the engine rebuilt before long.
Hope he takes your advice -- and finds a good mechanic to learn from.
Ken H.
On Wed, Dec 15, 2021 at 5:15 PM Greg Crawford
wrote:
> Okay, here's the update. He arrived today about 11:15. It did not sound
> bad, except for some exhaust leaks. It's a 76 Glenbrook with 93,000 miles on
> it. The first thing we did was remove the oil pressure sender and plumb in
> a mechanical gauge. It took a bit for the black looking oil to spiral up
> the plastic tubing, but it did, and hit about 15 psi. I mentioned that the
> oil looked really black for having just been changed. He replied "But it
> looks really clean on the dipstick" and pulled out the transmission
> dipstick to show me. I gently informed him that the engine oil dipstick was
> up
> front under the driver's side hatch. I went out there and pulled the
> stick. No oil showing. He was very upset that he had paid someone to change
> the
> oil (in Iowa, 800 miles ago) and they did not. He had mistakenly been
> checking the transmission. Finding it low once, he added a quart of engine
> oil
> (out front, in the correct place). We all know how the transmission level
> fluctuates between running/not running/sitting. I had some new oil of
> various viscosities and I dumped in three quarts. Now it was about a half
> quart low. Fired it up, and low and behold! We have about 30 PSI at idle
> rising to 45 at about 2500 rpm. No unusual engine noises. We ran it for a
> bit, then drained the oil, changed the filter (A FRAM!), primed the new Wix
> filter, and dumped in five quarts of Mobil 1 10W30. Oil pressure is still
> good.
> I cut open the Fram, and found a lot of grit in the bottom of the filter
> that appears to be ferrous metal, since a magnet attracts it. I showed this
> to him, and told him to plan on an engine rebuild in the near future.
> I next observed that the radiator overflow reservoir hose was missing. I
> found it laying nearby, cracked and brittle. We installed a new hose,
> clamps,
> and added about a half gallon of antifreeze mixture to top off the
> radiator. We put a screw in one of his T skirts that was swinging in the
> breeze. He
> said he had good brakes, and the people who were supposed to have changed
> the oil had put new brake lines on it and bled the brakes, and he was happy
> with the brake situation. It doesn't miss going down the road, and runs
> okay. He said that it wouldn't go much over 65 or 70 going up some of the
> hills coming into East Tennessee. Since he was loaded up with stuff from
> his house for moving, I told him it was probably fine. So I asked if he
> needed anything else, wished him luck and sent him on his way to Raleigh.
> I hope everything goes good for him. That's my story. Thanks everyone for
> exercising the gray matter in our speculation. When he said it was full of
> oil, I had to take him at his word until it got here.
> --
> Greg Crawford
> KM4ZCR
> Knoxville, TN
>
> "Ruby Sue"
> 1977 Royale
> Rear Bath
> 403 Engine
> American Eagle Wheels
> Early Version Alex Sirum Quad bags
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>
Thanks for helping that obviously automotive-ignorant new GMCer. And for
letting us know the results. He'll probably make it to Raleigh OK, but as
you suggested, he'll probably need to have the engine rebuilt before long.
Hope he takes your advice -- and finds a good mechanic to learn from.
Ken H.
On Wed, Dec 15, 2021 at 5:15 PM Greg Crawford
wrote:
> Okay, here's the update. He arrived today about 11:15. It did not sound
> bad, except for some exhaust leaks. It's a 76 Glenbrook with 93,000 miles on
> it. The first thing we did was remove the oil pressure sender and plumb in
> a mechanical gauge. It took a bit for the black looking oil to spiral up
> the plastic tubing, but it did, and hit about 15 psi. I mentioned that the
> oil looked really black for having just been changed. He replied "But it
> looks really clean on the dipstick" and pulled out the transmission
> dipstick to show me. I gently informed him that the engine oil dipstick was
> up
> front under the driver's side hatch. I went out there and pulled the
> stick. No oil showing. He was very upset that he had paid someone to change
> the
> oil (in Iowa, 800 miles ago) and they did not. He had mistakenly been
> checking the transmission. Finding it low once, he added a quart of engine
> oil
> (out front, in the correct place). We all know how the transmission level
> fluctuates between running/not running/sitting. I had some new oil of
> various viscosities and I dumped in three quarts. Now it was about a half
> quart low. Fired it up, and low and behold! We have about 30 PSI at idle
> rising to 45 at about 2500 rpm. No unusual engine noises. We ran it for a
> bit, then drained the oil, changed the filter (A FRAM!), primed the new Wix
> filter, and dumped in five quarts of Mobil 1 10W30. Oil pressure is still
> good.
> I cut open the Fram, and found a lot of grit in the bottom of the filter
> that appears to be ferrous metal, since a magnet attracts it. I showed this
> to him, and told him to plan on an engine rebuild in the near future.
> I next observed that the radiator overflow reservoir hose was missing. I
> found it laying nearby, cracked and brittle. We installed a new hose,
> clamps,
> and added about a half gallon of antifreeze mixture to top off the
> radiator. We put a screw in one of his T skirts that was swinging in the
> breeze. He
> said he had good brakes, and the people who were supposed to have changed
> the oil had put new brake lines on it and bled the brakes, and he was happy
> with the brake situation. It doesn't miss going down the road, and runs
> okay. He said that it wouldn't go much over 65 or 70 going up some of the
> hills coming into East Tennessee. Since he was loaded up with stuff from
> his house for moving, I told him it was probably fine. So I asked if he
> needed anything else, wished him luck and sent him on his way to Raleigh.
> I hope everything goes good for him. That's my story. Thanks everyone for
> exercising the gray matter in our speculation. When he said it was full of
> oil, I had to take him at his word until it got here.
> --
> Greg Crawford
> KM4ZCR
> Knoxville, TN
>
> "Ruby Sue"
> 1977 Royale
> Rear Bath
> 403 Engine
> American Eagle Wheels
> Early Version Alex Sirum Quad bags
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>
