I found a spring in my oil pan!!!!!

Frank Coppola · #1 (**permalink**) 07-29-2002, 05:38 AM

..did I mention my car is cursed?

since my P.O.S. Canton pan developed a stress crack I decided to replace it with a custom pan from Stef's (for only $700). When I dropped the old pan I noticed a small piece of spring in the bottom. The piece is about one and a half revolutions and is the diameter of a nickel. I sent it to my builder and he said there is a valve in the motor which opens if the oil filter gets clogged so the motor still gets oil. Now that did happen to me a while back when I hooked up my remote filter lines backwards. (Yes, I am an idiot) This happened a while ago and I still have plenty of oil pressure.

Here is my question: Where is this valve located? It doesn't look like it's in the pump as I can't figure out where it came out.

...and for those of you familiar with my saga, the replacement bladder for my fuel cell cost only $650. I have now replaced everysingle thing in this car with the exception of my transmission, frame, and shell. I am not kidding.

Double Venom · #2 (**permalink**) 07-29-2002, 05:59 AM

Frank,
There is a spring in the oil pump housing. Need I say, pull the pump and replace? That spring has to be "gone". Chewed up by the oil pump gears.

How it came out is beyond me. It has a pressed in cap on one end and a "roll pin" on the other.

If this is in fact where it's from, I sure would like to see pictures.

DV

Frank Coppola · #3 (**permalink**) 07-29-2002, 06:07 AM

It's IN the pump? How the heck did it get out?

I'll pull the pump, take it apart, take some pictures and get back to you all.

ps. I am going to SCREAM!!!!!!! I could have bought a brand new car, my trailer, and made a nice donation for DVSF for the money I've poured in to this *$#@*&& car!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

-thanks I feel much better now.

Double Venom · #4 (**permalink**) 07-29-2002, 06:33 AM

Frank,
Eat a cookie and relax a little

It will get better!

That is the question! (How did it get out?) If this is in fact the oil pressure bypass spring...How did it get out? And what happened to the rest of it? Just a guess here but it's about 1 1/4" long in whole.

I can't think of any other place a spring of that size would be in the engine.
DV

Frank Coppola · #5 (**permalink**) 07-29-2002, 06:42 AM

DV,

The cookie sounds like good advice!

I'll get back to you.

thanks!

wilf leek · #6 (**permalink**) 07-29-2002, 07:05 AM

Frank - I too found what looked a bit like a piece of a spring in my oil pan during the early days of my engines life - came out of the drain plug hole at an oil change. I spent some time cutting open the old oil filters (being anal I had kept them) to check for any debris that could have gone through the pump - nothing in those of any consequence.

Engine builder and I finally tracked it down as a piece of helicoil - must have been from the heads we think, since all Edelbrock ally head threads are helicoiled. Never had any more trouble from that or any other source within the engine.

Anyway - for a piece of the oil pressure relief spring to have gotten through the pump and end up in the pan is a neat trick, can't figure how it could do that - like DV says I too would like to see the pictures!!

boxhead · #7 (**permalink**) 08-01-2002, 05:07 AM

My money says it will be a helicoil tag end broken off. Is the "spring" cross section round or is it squared off?

750hp · #8 (**permalink**) 08-01-2002, 05:33 AM

Don't some of the sandwich plates that spin onto your oil filter thread (adaptor for oil cooler) have these springs as well as a ball about 1/2 the size of a marble?

Frank Coppola · #9 (**permalink**) 08-05-2002, 05:25 AM

What is a helicoil?

I pulled the oil pump yesterday and took it apart. It was NOT the spring in the pump. Yes DV, that would have been a good trick if that was it. The piece of spring I found was a bit larger in diameter than the check valve spring in the oil pump. My builder said he did not use a spring in front of the cam shaft.
Craig, I'll check the sandwich plate.

750hp · #10 (**permalink**) 08-05-2002, 06:25 AM

Frank, there definitely is a ball and spring assembly in most oil cooler plates, but the spring would be smaller than the oil pump check valve spring.... In any case, you may as well check it. If it's not too much trouble, you'll have to pull the oil filter adaptor off, then the centre threaded section that this adaptor attaches to. From there you can get to the back of the sandwich plate. Hopefully, there's still a ball in there!

Now, when reinstalling everything, remember to attach your oil filter lines the right way

Double Venom · #11 (**permalink**) 08-05-2002, 06:35 AM

Frank,
How to explain a heli-coil? My attempt: First, it is not a spring at all. It does appear to be a spring at first inspection but there is no gap between the coils. It is actually machined from one piece of steel. The edges could be considered, "sharp", not round as a spring would be.

A Heli-coil is used to repair stripped threads, say in a head. The stripped hole is drilled out, oversized. Then a matching tap, (for the heli-coil) is used to tap out the new over sized hole. The heli-coil is then screwed in a special tool. (Some will use just a screwdriver.)

In essence, you have oversized the original tapped hole, put new threads in (heli-coil) and brought the hole size back to what ever it was originally. Just a note, heli-coils will not "back out", when you remove the new bolt the edges of the heli-coil act like a reverse "chinese finger" gripping tighter and tighter.

A lot of heli-coils will have a "tang" on the bottom that is meant to "break off" once installed properly. It is this small piece that you may have found in your pan.

Any chance of taking a picture and posting it?

Can anybody explain this better than I did?

Still waiting for this one to be solved.

DV

Frank Coppola · #12 (**permalink**) 08-05-2002, 06:41 AM

It's not a helicoil then.

My reasoning: I sent the piece to my builder (Tony Feil of Nascar fame and fortune- yes he normally does Chevys but he did mine and I think Evan's motor as well), he said it was a spring, and It definately lookied like a piece of spring to me.

One think I remember about it was that the spring was filed at one end, just like the ends of the spring in the oil filter check valve.

I'll check the sandwich plate tonight, double check to make certain there was no spring in front of the cam, and will call Tony Feil tomorrow for some more suggestions.

Intresting isn't it?

John Wais · #13 (**permalink**) 08-05-2002, 06:42 PM

I found one of my Hyd. lifter retainers in the oil pan once.
Maybe??
John W.

Andy Dunn · #14 (**permalink**) 08-05-2002, 07:29 PM

Could it be like a retaining ring like a spirolox to keep the piston on the pin?

How about one of those rare spring loaded link bars used on roller lifters in some aftermarket kits. These bars lift the lifters clear of the cam when the pushrods are removed, so cam changes can be done without removing the intake manifold?

How about a rev kit spring?

Instead of a helicoil, how about a key locking threaded insert?

maybe those 4 will jog some additional ideas

Andy