This past friday, I'm driving to a store after work. The drive is 5 miles, about 15 minutes, a few stop lights. At each light, I smell maybe burning oil. No trucks in front of me, I wonder if it's a diesel TDI VW car. I get to the store, get what I need, and I'm wondering about my car ('00 300m). I get back to the car, pop the hood, check the oil. If there's any oil on the stick, it's maybe the last 1/2 inch (hard to tell, that's where there's a twist in the dip stick). I'm not impressed. WTF!
I need to go buy some oil. Nearest place (a walmart) is maybe 1/2 km away, a straight-shot from where I am. I get in the car and drive there. I figure I'll get 2 quarts (liters) because it's got to be a slow leak - right? Should be enough to get me home. $11 later I've put 2 liters of their cheap 10-w30 in, and the oil is at the "add" mark on the stick. Ok, I head home. 5 miles, 15 minutes. During the last maybe mile I'm hearing a slight tappet sound. But I get home, put the car in the garage, put on my work clothes. Oil is back to the low end of the stick. The oil I just put in is gone. Car driveability is fine during all this. No dashboard warnings, engine temp is fine. Ambient outdoor temp is 25 F.
I changed the radiator 3 years ago. At the time, I couldn't get the lower oil-cooler line free'd from it's connection at the radiator. The retaining nut was frozen around the steel line. I took a small pipe-cutter and rolled it around the steel line about 2 inches from the fitting and cut the steel line. Then I was able to easily remove the stub line from the rad. When I put in the new rad, I screwed the stub in, and used a short piece of fuel line to bridge the connection to the engine-side of the oil line. Used a pair of screw-band clamps. Didn't flare the ends of the steel lines. Well, after 3 years this line finally decided to leak big time - I was able to slide the hose off the stub end with my bare fingers. Oil is everywhere under that side of the car. More or less evenly distributed. I took the bumper cover and headlights out and cleaned as much as I could reach. I took the stub out and roughed it up with a file (to make it less slippery) and put on a new piece of gas line. Used 4 clamps (they say they are for high-pressure fuel-injector lines, a more robust looking band clamp).
I bought a new short piece of steel line, flanged at both ends with a pair of retaining nuts on it. I'll cut it into a stub and flare it when I get a chance later. Or maybe there's something like this already made up (screw-in nipple?).
But I was surprised how far and for how long you can drive the 3.5L with almost no oil. I love this engine. It helps I'm sure that it was cold outside. But I must have had some oil pressure - didn't see any oil light come on...
I need to go buy some oil. Nearest place (a walmart) is maybe 1/2 km away, a straight-shot from where I am. I get in the car and drive there. I figure I'll get 2 quarts (liters) because it's got to be a slow leak - right? Should be enough to get me home. $11 later I've put 2 liters of their cheap 10-w30 in, and the oil is at the "add" mark on the stick. Ok, I head home. 5 miles, 15 minutes. During the last maybe mile I'm hearing a slight tappet sound. But I get home, put the car in the garage, put on my work clothes. Oil is back to the low end of the stick. The oil I just put in is gone. Car driveability is fine during all this. No dashboard warnings, engine temp is fine. Ambient outdoor temp is 25 F.
I changed the radiator 3 years ago. At the time, I couldn't get the lower oil-cooler line free'd from it's connection at the radiator. The retaining nut was frozen around the steel line. I took a small pipe-cutter and rolled it around the steel line about 2 inches from the fitting and cut the steel line. Then I was able to easily remove the stub line from the rad. When I put in the new rad, I screwed the stub in, and used a short piece of fuel line to bridge the connection to the engine-side of the oil line. Used a pair of screw-band clamps. Didn't flare the ends of the steel lines. Well, after 3 years this line finally decided to leak big time - I was able to slide the hose off the stub end with my bare fingers. Oil is everywhere under that side of the car. More or less evenly distributed. I took the bumper cover and headlights out and cleaned as much as I could reach. I took the stub out and roughed it up with a file (to make it less slippery) and put on a new piece of gas line. Used 4 clamps (they say they are for high-pressure fuel-injector lines, a more robust looking band clamp).
I bought a new short piece of steel line, flanged at both ends with a pair of retaining nuts on it. I'll cut it into a stub and flare it when I get a chance later. Or maybe there's something like this already made up (screw-in nipple?).
But I was surprised how far and for how long you can drive the 3.5L with almost no oil. I love this engine. It helps I'm sure that it was cold outside. But I must have had some oil pressure - didn't see any oil light come on...