Magnet18's 1983 310

[Magnet18]

Originally Posted by Magnet18

Well, I ordered them, I'll post if they do or don't fit

Looks like these are coming from Mexico and will be here in a prompt 6 weeks

At least the front right is the least important turn signal, fingers crossed no cops decide to pull me over to take a look at the motor-home next weekend!

[Magnet18]

Backstory
Got 5 miles down the road towards the motorhome meetup in Michigan, ended up on the side of the road with a giant puddle of oil under the engine

Originally Posted by bkahler

Did the oil cooler in front of the radiator have a failure? It's a combination of rubber hoses and aluminum tubing that lead from the oil filter adapter up to the oil cooler. Possibly one of those hoses failed.

Oil cooler hoses are a thought, where do they mate up to the engine? Trying to see what I can see from the doghouse. It's raining and there's a gallon of oil under the engine, and we're on the side of the road, so I can't crawl under at the moment. Got 3 hours until the tow truck shows up, might as well be productive.

Wherever the oil came from, it got on the belts and got flung everywhere, making roadside pinpointing difficult

[bkahler]

Ouch, that's a mess for sure.

The oil cooler plumbing that I'm familiar with will have an adapter that fits where the oil filter connects to the block and will likely look something like the picture below.



Where the two plugs are would be either two tubes or hoses that route up to where the oil cooler is mounted on the front of the radiator.

It's also possible you have a pin hole in the cooler itself. I hate to say it but the easiest way to find the leak is to refill the engine with oil and start it up then spot the leak and turn the engine off quick!

Good luck.

Brad

[Magnet18]

Thanks brad, when I get home I'll take more of a look. Fill it up with oil and crank it over, can't be that hard to find!

All the hoses to the oil cooler were replaced less than a year ago with the engine, so I'll be interested to see what it is.

Every day is an adventure!

[Magnet18]

Got it home safe, tow guy was awesome, helped me diagnose and verify its the oil pressure sender switch. Was also Steve's thought, he did indeed call it.

Also AAA just paid for itself for the next 5 years!

I scratch my head, because I have no dummy light on the dash, so what's this switch even for?

[Keyair]

I called it cos I have been there done that..... and I have a hat or T-shirt to prove it!

The amount of oil dumped in a short time suggested a pressurized source.... I just guessed the Oil cooler pipes, or oil pressure sensor.

The truth is they fail for a few reasons...
1/ Age.
2/ Poor quality.
3/ Add Vibration to the above two... exaggerated by the "T" extension...

[WayneG]

Originally Posted by Magnet18

Got it home safe, tow guy was awesome, helped me diagnose and verify its the oil pressure sender switch. Was also Steve's thought, he did indeed call it.

Also AAA just paid for itself for the next 5 years!

I scratch my head, because I have no dummy light on the dash, so what's this switch even for?

Was it a switch or a sender for the dash oil pressure gauge?
Either could be located in the same port.
If it is a switch, it is usually used as a safety device with a electric fuel pump to turn off the fuel pump if there is no oil pressure.
If there is a fuel leak that kills the engine, then there is no oil pressure opening the contact to the fuel pump or relay, killing the fuel pump to reduce the risk of turning your rig into a malotov cocktail

[Magnet18]

It was pouring out of the electrical connectors to the switch
My electric fuel pump is wired to a toggle switch on the dash, so I can turn it on a few seconds before startin,g to build pressure, then shut it off after starting (guess the 310 is short enough it's really not needed)

[bkahler]

Wow, that sucks. Nothing worse than an oily mess to have to clean up. I don't know that I've heard of a pressure switch failing like that before but I guess it shouldn't surprise me.

In looking for the positive in all of this, if you were at all concerned about your oil pressure I don't think you have to much to worry about as you obviously have pressure


Brad

[Magnet18]

Definitely plenty of pressure!
70 psi normally

Sucks the weekend plans were ruined over something so simple, but it gives me a chance to take care of some other things.

By some inexplicable coincidence, the toad jeep brakes went out simultaneously.
They were fine before, then the wife mentioned it didn't feel right while hooking up, but i was trying to make sure it was hooked up and didn't think anything of it

She followed the airstream home and confirmed they have no pressure, gotta pump furiously to stop, so yea, had that unused oil pressure switch not failed 5 miles from home, we woulda attempted to Michigan with no brakes in the toad

Guess I'll change the motorhome oil and tighten the belts too

[Air345Fly]

Originally Posted by Magnet18

Definitely plenty of pressure!
70 psi normally

That sounds pretty high, is that normal? I would have thought that
half that would be normal. Perhaps you have a stuck pressure relief
valve?



Too high a pressure tends to blow all the weaker stuff out like oil coolers,

oil filters, and pressure sensors.

[WayneG]

My 84 454 has about 60psi on the dash gauge, but I never did check the calibration. My Argosy's motors usually topped out at 40 psi

[Magnet18]

Originally Posted by Air345Fly

That sounds pretty high, is that normal? I would have thought that
half that would be normal. Perhaps you have a stuck pressure relief
valve?



Too high a pressure tends to blow all the weaker stuff out like oil coolers,

oil filters, and pressure sensors.

Originally Posted by WayneG

My 84 454 has about 60psi on the dash gauge, but I never did check the calibration. My Argosy's motors usually topped out at 40 psi

Looking around online, 70 psi peak is considered acceptable for the 454. Seems like it's got a really wide acceptable range, I'm seeing everything from min 10 to max 85 depending on temperature and rpm . I'll break out the p-30 manual and take a look


According to the previous owner, the gauge is a bit low, they had a calibrated gauge on it at the shop that read 70 psi when the dash gauge read 60

[Magnet18]

Bad wheel cylinder was to blame on the toad, rebuilt both the rear drums yesterday and it's good as new

Today I crawl under the motorhome

[Keyair]

Cool!
Dont try to lift your MH with that 2 post... :P

That oil pressure is about what I see on my 8k mile Jasper rebuilt motor when cold. If i remember correctly, I was seeing 60psi hot at cruise and 30ish hot at idle.... thats healthy in my book.

I believe the pressure relief spring is set at about 75psi, so that sounds about right, cold with sparkling new oil.

[Magnet18]

Originally Posted by Keyair

Cool!
Dont try to lift your MH with that 2 post... :P

That oil pressure is about what I see on my 8k mile Jasper rebuilt motor when cold. If i remember correctly, I was seeing 60psi hot at cruise and 30ish hot at idle.... thats healthy in my book.

I believe the pressure relief spring is set at about 75psi, so that sounds about right, cold with sparkling new oil.

Lol, don't think I could even get the moho down the driveway to that barn

[Magnet18]

Traced the wires for the oil pressure switch, verified they went nowhere
Got the switch and the T off, put the sender straight into the block
8 qts of mobil 1 full synthetic 10w30 and a wix 51060 filter and we're back up and running

Clean and repack the ujoint caps

Drain the water from both air tanks and paint the generator muffler while I'm under there

Oil the leveling jack pivots and spring with some motor oil for kicks

Sand the engine pulleys with 400 grit, hopefully that helps with squeaky belt(s)


New multifunction switch in the toad as well, fixed the intermittent turn signal/headlight issues



Question, why do I have tire style air ports mounted up front behind the hood?? See pic

[Waipio Rim]

I don’t think that the air valves are standard, my ‘84 10 doesn’t have them. First guess is that they are plumbed into the air suspension, one for front and one for rear, so that you can check pressure and air up if needed while under the hood. That’s the only air-powered system on mine.

[WayneG]

Right & Left front air bags on those Schrader valves. Mine came out below the grill on the left & right. I replaced mine with toggle lever valves on the dash coming from the compressed air tank. I also have a pressure regulator on the same dash panel to control how much pressure I send to the rear air ride bags.


If that pressure switch goes nowhere, I guess you dont have an electric fuel pump?

[Magnet18]

Originally Posted by WayneG

Right & Left front air bags on those Schrader valves. Mine came out below the grill on the left & right. I replaced mine with toggle lever valves on the dash coming from the compressed air tank. I also have a pressure regulator on the same dash panel to control how much pressure I send to the rear air ride bags.


If that pressure switch goes nowhere, I guess you dont have an electric fuel pump?

Thanks

I have an electric fuel pump, but it's wired to a toggle switch on the dash to turn it on and off. The 310 is short enough it's not needed though, I often don't use it.

The previous owner would just use if if the motorhome had been sitting a few weeks, flip it on a minute before starting to help get fuel back through the lines, then turn it off after starting the engine.

I like having it on the dash, but I'm afraid I'll forget to turn it off, so my plan is to find a 60 second timer switch or something so I don't have to remember to turn it off