So how bad does this look

[Kim K Kaiser]

Headed out for drive. Oil pressure good tempnat one quarter on gauge,  went about  1.2 miles looked bl at oil pressure it was at ZERO! I hv mech gauge, so  i thumped it didnt budge, immediately pulled over and shut down. Didnt hear any noies or smell anything.  Opened hood, oil splattered all over engine bay from about oil  filter back on passenger side. Hadno lights or tools and bay was a mess s so i couldnt assess anything as to origin.

Well i started up the road for the 2 mile walk to house and saw the oil trail.  As you can see, pretty significant. Something clearly went boom.   The oil trail is about one quartr mile long.  I can see were it started .  Initially looks like from were oil is most concentrated on engine, its around the oil pump or filter.  Any idea what could cause such a blowout ?  I hope i caufht it soon enough to shut down.

[Kurt]

Once on my car when I changed the oil and filter I had not noticed but when I took off the old oil filter the gasket was stuck on the oil filter housing on the car. When I put the new oil filter on, there were now 2 gaskets between the filter & housing.When I started the car and the oil pump pressurized the oil, it made an oil sprinkler (huge mess!). I don't know it you could have a similar problem. Check out the filter and make sure it's tight enough, no holes in it, etc.

[0wmawhs0nd6nt]

Agree with Kurt. Looks like you were going downhill when it happened so that's good. Better than if you had your foot in it going up hill. If the filter is still tight, it would probably be a good idea to screw a new pre-filled one on, top up the oil and try it. Probably also a good idea to get some brake clean and spray the area around the filter down first. 

[Kim K Kaiser]

Yeah, thanks Kurt for insight, Dan as well.  I got 2 cans of brake cleaner to try and clean. 4 qts of earl to refill.  

Funny,  i put a mech gauge on th car so i could monitor OP, and yet i missed the earliest signs of oll pressure loss.  In this one  instance, the light may hv given me a hundred yards of earliervwarning.   Nvr expected such a complete loss of oil pressure so fast. Im just hoping i shut it off in time  And didnt dmg engine.  It happened so fast.  Looks lkie i hv csomething to do tomoro in the mid of virus.

  

[1bt7pektvt387]

How long ago did you install the oil pressure guage? I'm assuming you tapped into the area around the sensor for the oil pressure warning light. I would check that or wherever your guage is hooked up. 

[Kim K Kaiser]

Well, i found it.  You hv the bittom cap on the oil pump, yhen, the next connection up from the bottom cap,  apparently, for watever reason. The cork gasket got pushed out . I can see a part of it pushed out.  I put 4 quarts in , cranked it up, and it was gushing out.  Like pour water out a pitcher.     So replcing that shoukdnt be a pro lem but how could that happen .  Weak gasket?  Pressure? Something bend it?

[Kim K Kaiser]

Photo of torn gasket

[Kim K Kaiser]

Took about 4 tries to get it in.  I used the paper gasket supplid in felpro kit,  total bust. Prior person used a sheet of cork gasket matrial and cut out the gasket, so i had a couple shhets of that and cut it out to size of prior user.  Put it in, yotal bust ,poured out.  Tried again, total bust.  Went to a thicker sheet of cork, maybe 1/8 or 3/16, cut tonsize, put it in and ot held.  Engine sounded ok.  No noises but didnt drive.  Just ran it for about 10 minutes cking the seal.  Will get it tomoro,  anyway, i put some cheap oil in cause i was not sure how many quarts i would need to find or solve the problem.   Will chg that nxt day or so and go back to good stuff.    Hv an exra gasket already cut out in case this one does hold up.  

Thanks for all the ideas.  

[Kim K Kaiser]

felpro has a gasket kit that includes the gasket and the thin black paper one is the one it came with the kit,, i can ck online but finding specific gaskets is hard sometime, for instance, they kind of force you to buy the front end engine gasket kit,, has gasket of water pump, the three gaskets you need for the oil pump, the oil filter brakes, and maybe 9 or ten additional gaskets if you were to take apart the front end..  i havent found them individually,   maybe i dont know where to look, or specifically what to call that particular gasket.  If anyone knows, the name or a part number, I'm all ears..

[Kim K Kaiser]

It comes in a felpro kit under timimg cover gasket set.  I used a sheet of cork.  I figred its good for valve covers.  Shouldcwork for this

I may go back tonmy oil pressure sensor as oppsed to thecmechanical gauge,  at least w the sensor, your get a warning light.  Unless you are constantky watch ing oil pressure gauge,  you wint be warned as mine has not warning light on the gauge.   Guess you hv to pick yout battkesxwhen it cmes to these gauges

[3ft7bqmb7dryo]

You may not have a great sealing surface, causing the paper type gasket to push out.  I use them alot with no problems. 

[Kim K Kaiser]

Any suggestion gasket wise if thats the case.  I hv searched internet for iil pump gaskets in general, cork vs paper vs ruber vs composites.   Nothing spefic comes up as good or bad,  just generalizations except for ones used on antifreeze applications

[0wmawhs0nd6nt]

If you are using a thicker gasket you might want to avoid silicone based gasket makers. If you are using RTV types, you need to just snug them up and tighten them to spec 12 hours later.

Permatex Anaerobic gasket maker is awesome in that it actually cures in the absence of air meaning it will set after installation and torque up. I use it on my intake manifold gaskets. It isn't good for things like oil pans because of the large gaps in the transitions. 

RTV means room temperature vulcanization and is good stuff when used properly. The only truly install it and use it product is "The Right Stuff" which is great but super strong and make it difficult to take things apart after. 

Here is a link to the anaerobic sealer which would probably be best for what you are doing. Just be mindful of the curing time.

https://www.permatex.com/products/gasketing/anaerobic-gasket-makers...