Newbie needs some help/suggestions - Oil Pressure light coming on

[greghen]

Hello.. I am new to car repair, working to come up to speed. My 73 is about 30 days on the road after a new transmission and some light work to get it up in running after sitting for a number a years. It's a 351. Was driving it this morning and the oil pressure light came on. I checked the oil level it seems fine. I did notice a bit of oil on the driveway about mid way down care seems to be dripping off the transmission. I also poked around under the hood to see if I could notice any oil. There was a small pool of oil at the back of the engine.. See the picture.

Any suggestions what I should start checking.. Would like to see if I can learn from this before heading to the local garage.. Thanks for you input and thoughts!

 

[marks73]

Sounds like dried out to me. Pull the oil sending unit (where the arrow is pointing) and reseal it. How much oil did you lose? If it only leaked out there, and you were not that low on oil, install a mechanical pressure gauge to see what you actually have.

 

[FastE]

Hello.. I am new to car repair, working to come up to speed. My 73 is about 30 days on the road after a new transmission and some light work to get it up in running after sitting for a number a years. It's a 351. Was driving it this morning and the oil pressure light came on. I checked the oil level it seems fine. I did notice a bit of oil on the driveway about mid way down care seems to be dripping off the transmission. I also poked around under the hood to see if I could notice any oil. There was a small pool of oil at the back of the engine.. See the picture.

Any suggestions what I should start checking.. Would like to see if I can learn from this before heading to the local garage.. Thanks for you input and thoughts!

Probably a bad sending unit. Go down to the local auto supply and buy a new one. They have been known to leak.

 

[greghen]

If this points back to the oil sending unit, that was just replaced a few weeks back when I had some minor work done to get it up and running.. Any way to test if that is the issue before bringing it to the garage? Thanks guys.

 

[marks73]

If you just had it replaced, they never sealed it. Get some teflon tape (about a $1) take it off with some pliers and put the tape on the threads about 3 wraps.. That should do it.

 

[greghen]

Nice will give it a try tonight and let you know if it does the trip. Thank you!

 

[Don65Stang]

I also think the Teflon tape will fix it. Then you can slap the easy button and drive away.

 

[Tnfastbk]

On the tape I have found that the yellow (used for gas pipe) is far superior to the white. We will not even use the white at work anymore.

 

[turtle5353]

+1 on the yellow stuff [/i]

 

[MeZapU]

Oil light brings back painful memories in my car. I'm crossing my fingers that the new sender unit does the trick for you.

 

[greghen]

So your right the oil sending unit is a problem. I removed it and there was no seal. Now when I replaced it the same issue happened. So I asked my wife to start it up and I watched to see where the oil was coming from. It was coming out of the top of the oil sending unit. I'm guessing it's bad and needs to be replaced? If that is the case is it readily available at autozone or O'Reilly?

Thanks for all the help.

 

[marks73]

They'll have one. Sounds like they may have put it on too tight and broke the top. When you put the new one on be sure to get it hand tight, then a 1/4 to a 1/2 turn. Should be fine. Check for leakage afte motor has been run and up to temp because it may need a little more after.

 

[Totalled]

The parts of today are often bad out of the box. Maybe try one from Napa or the like that is a better quality parts line.

 

[72fastback]

Also for your own peace of mind. I would suggest getting an oil pressure gauge instead of the dummy lights. Usually when the lights come on it is to late. Unless you are looking for a bone stock look to the car. I am sure a few people here will agree with me.

 

[c9zx]

So your right the oil sending unit is a problem. I removed it and there was no seal. Now when I replaced it the same issue happened. So I asked my wife to start it up and I watched to see where the oil was coming from. It was coming out of the top of the oil sending unit. I'm guessing it's bad and needs to be replaced? If that is the case is it readily available at autozone or O'Reilly?

Thanks for all the help.

Several to choose from. http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search/Oil+Pressure+Switch/03438/C0039.oap?keyword=sending+unit&year=1972&make=Ford&model=Mustang&vi=1132861

 

[coilwire]

X2 on the oil pressure guage. Idiot light is just what it refers to.

Jim

 

[greghen]

$5 for a new unit little Teflon tape a quick trip around the block and no oil seepage or no light. Will give it a longer ride this afternoon and see if it holds.. Thank you so much! Best thing is I was able to fix it without going to the shop. Very satisfying. On to the next issue...

When it starts up cold the engine shudders when I give it the gas. To the point of almost stalling. Seems to only happen when it has been sitting for a bit.. Once I can punch it and get the engine to respond it runs fine. Maybe a carburetor adjustment?

 

[coilwire]

I have a 351c and it a cld blooded sob. Ocne it gets a little warm I can keep it running. Have tried several carbs, but was told it is the nature of the beast.

Jim

PS. welcome to the site

 

[c9zx]

$5 for a new unit little Teflon tape a quick trip around the block and no oil seepage or no light. Will give it a longer ride this afternoon and see if it holds.. Thank you so much! Best thing is I was able to fix it without going to the shop. Very satisfying. On to the next issue...

When it starts up cold the engine shudders when I give it the gas. To the point of almost stalling. Seems to only happen when it has been sitting for a bit.. Once I can punch it and get the engine to respond it runs fine. Maybe a carburetor adjustment?

It sounds like the choke and or the fast idle speed need to be adjusted or repaired. If it is a 73 (and many 72s built after 03/01/72) it should have an electrically heated choke and they are notorious for going bad. Do you have a copy of the for shop manuals? If so it describe the adjustment procedure. If you don't have a copy let me know and I'll outline it for you. Chuck