Re: IML: Catastrophic oil loss

["Pete Engel" <peter.engel@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Fred,

My first thought was rear main seal but others have mentioned a good  (and
much easier to fix) possibility: oil sending unit.  That part, if it "lets
go" WILL mimic a bad rear main seal since the leaking oil will run down the
transmission bellhousing and drip off the bottom.

I can only add that your car, having the Safeguard Sentinel system, will
have TWO oil pressure thingies at the back of the engine.  The big one is a
sending unit (variable resistor) for the gauge; the small one is switch
(open/closed) for the Safeguard Sentinel system.

Hope and pray that one of these parts is the problem since it's a 5 minute
fix.  I'll bet you get lucky.

Pete in PA
70 LeBaron 4DHT (with recently blown coolant pump)



From: "Frederick Joslin" <fljoslin@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2006 12:59:45 -0500
Subject: IML: Catastrophic oil loss 69 LeBaron

<snip>

I backed the car into my driveway and then into the garage. After I got
out of the car I could see several large oil puddles and a very
significant oil trail. One of the puddles where I had stopped the car for
a few seconds was about 1' x 2'. I was shocked.

I quickly grabbed an oil drain pan and put it under the car. The oil
seemed to be coming from the bell housing. I jumped into my trusty
Intrepid and retraced the route I had taken to buy gas. I figured that
something had probably happened coming up the hill. I traced the oil
trail all the way back to the gas station (2 miles) and then could see
that the car had been dripping on the way to the gas station. I then
traced the trail all the way back to my house. It looks as if the oil
started to leak right as I left my house on the trip to the gas station.
Leaving the house I did not jump on it, give it a hard shift or anything
and the car had been warmed up and driven about one mile before this.

I hope that I have not damaged the engine. I was running synthetic 20/50
weight oil, but I am sure that there is none left since I was able to
follow the oil trail for 4 miles. Does anyone have ideas about what
happened. The engine did not leak oil or burn oil prior to this and was
not over filled

Fred Joslin




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