Oil Strainer popped...

[D1A3]

I know all about the 9.4 pounds of torque on the oil strainer bolt, but I think I went a little over as I did not have my torque wrench doing an oil change today. I only tightened it down using a crescent wrench, not too hard, and I heard a loud pop. My thought is that I cracked that part up in the case that I have heard you "don't want to do." It could have also been the strainer was caught and popped in place for all I know...

Question is, if I did crack that part up in the case what are my options? Can I drive it to a shop at least as is? Assuming it is popped, would driving it make any kind of sound or noticeable anything? I f it is popped, can it be fixed or do I need an entirely new case? The PO had the engine rebuilt not too long ago and if I need a new case, can I break this one down and just rebuild it without having the innards re-polished, milled etc?

Just trying to figure out what my best option is since the weather in Georgia right now is perfect for driving and I'm scared to move move the car or oven turn the engine over since hearing this popping sound.

If I do need to have it broken down and I choose not to do it, the only shops I'm aware of around Atlanta are AA and Performance Imports. Any other suggestions?

MUCH Thanks,

[Plays with cars]

Drain the oil, pull the strainer and take a look. It's hard to remotely diaginos subjective information ("it popped"); and it's hard to describe too: was it a loud pop? a solid sound or 'thin' like the tin the strainer is made from?.... Pull the strainer out and take a look. With some objective feedback to work from the expertise in the group can pull you out of some deep poo-poo.

You're out a coupld of quarts of oil, but you'll have a lot better information work from to determine if you should drive the car or not. A couple of quarts of oil is money well spent if it save you from burning up a recently rebuilt engine. Just my .02.

[D1A3]

Hi Mark,

Good point. The "pop" noise I heard was fairly loud and a solid sounding noise. I would best describe it as sounding like those clicker party favors (metal clicker noise maker?), maybe a little stronger and louder.

I looked up in there and could not see anything. The screw that comes down is centered in the metal tube it comes out of and seems to be pretty sturdy in there. It does have some ever so slight flex to it, but it seems normal. When I put it all back together, I torqued the nut to ~9.5 lbs and it seems to be holding fine.

What exactly does that screw attach to in the engine? If I over torqued the nut, and "broke" whatever is up in there, would'nt the screw be loose or crooked or something? Coudl whatever the screw attaches to break and the screw still hold strong?

Much thanks for any help that can be provided,
Jason

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The bolt holding the strainer up has a loop in the top of it. One of the through-bolts that holds the two halves of the crankcase together goes through this loop. (It's the bolt that is between the lifter bores.) If you overtighten the strainer nut, you bend the through-bolt. This can crack the part of the case that it threads into--which is right under the camshaft. It is then possible either for the cam bearing in that spot to move around, or possibly for some other mechanism, to damage the camshaft and pretty much waste the engine.

I am told that it may sometimes be possible to re-weld that part of the crankcase without completely disassembling the engine, but I don't see how you'd do it frankly.

--DD

[SteveStromberg]

Here is a look at the part in question.

[D1A3]

Is there any way to get that screw out of the case with the engine in the car? I'm wondering if I pull it, I might be able to see somehting on the threads at the end to determine if the case cracked on the inside. Or, if I pull the screw, will that oil pickup move enough to see if there is any "debris" up in there?

STEVE - THANKS for the pics. Puts things ina whole new perspective...

-Jason
(teener still on jack stands...)

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

You can remove the through-bolt, but I don't know how easy it would be to tell that you had damaged something. If it were severe enough damage, it would probably be obvious, but you might miss less-severe problems. Maybe--not sure.

The bolt-head for the through-bolt can be found in between the lifter bores on the right side of the engine. Just reach in there and feel around, you should be able to locate it. Or use a couple of mirrors and a flashlight to see it.

--DD

[D1A3]

Lucky me! With the help of a local fellow I met here on Pelican BBS (Al Meredith), we have the engine case split and found no damage to the cam support as outlined above. I guess that saves me the hassle of looking for a new engine case! :-)

Any idea's what could have caused the pop I heard then? Perhaps the oil pickup was not quite lined up and tightening the nut brought it back to center qucikly, the friction of the bolt's eye on the case bolt causing the noise?

In either event, I'm very happy to hear the news and with the great weather we are having now in Atlanta I hope to be back on the road soon!!! :-)

--Jason

[Tidybuoy]

Any idea's what could have caused the pop I heard then?

My "914 Tech Tips" book states "do not over tighten the oil strainer bolt. This could result in bending of the oil baffel plate"

Maybe the sound you heard was just that. It's possible that the baffle plate bent or popped - I would think that could be the source of the unknown sound.

Vern

[D1A3]

Hi Vern,

Strangeley enough, the plate and all internals look good. I inspected the bolt closely and coudl not find any wear or defect.

This is like one of life's great mysteries... "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll pop?" THE WORLD WILL NEVER KNOW! :-)

--Jason

[Tidybuoy]

I was thinking that the oil baffel plate just "popped" but didn't dent. Kind of like a big dent in a car that pops back out & makes a loud sound in the process.

Vern