GOD DAMN IT !!! This car is starting to frustrate me. I was cruising around for a little bit, maybe 5 minutes. Got on it a few times and hit 8.5 psi (not redlined but just some quick little bursts of speed )

About 5 minutes later my low oil light comes on, I thought nothing of it because it sometimes does that for no reason. However it stayed on. I drove about 3 miles to an Advance Auto Parts and parked it. My gauge on the cluster was showing 0psi .. I checked the dipstick and sure enough .. bone dry. (I just replaced the sender unit so I know the gauge is functioning properly).

Anyway I tried looking underneath the car but its covered in oil and its pitch dark out so no idea where to even start looking at. However it does appear that everything on the driver front side is wet while everything else seems dry.


While I was driving to Autozone I got on it a few times to see what was going on .. my gauges were all showing that it was still holding 8.5 psi but it didn't feel like it to much. I Killed the car when I got to Autozone and then tried starting it twice. It fired up no problem whatsoever. No rough idle and it didnt sound lumpy.

What's going on and what do I check?

 

Well for starters, if the motor is wet on one side, get some brake clean and spray it down (cold engine for safety). Fill the oil, drive around a bit, look for a new wet spot.

 

prolly oil cooler lines

 

here..http://fc3spro.com/TECH/PROBLEMS/P1/...IL/leakso.html

 

Yep, most likely the oil cooler lines. That happened to my friends FC. Just finished doing an oil change and the lines broke and dumped it all out.

 

Almost positive it's those lines. If you rupture or split one, they can **** out all of your oil in the matter of a few seconds. It happened to me when one of the hoses ruptured from repeated rubbing against the radiator support. Steel braided lines were the solution for me, seeing as how they're not that much more expensive than the stock ones.

 

you have a gigantic oil leak that should probably be addressed in the near future.

 

You'll be DAMN lucky if that engine isn't damaged by a spun bearing etc.

I once bought an FC partscar and did a little tinkering to it and got it running, decided to drive it around the neighborhood. I get about 0.4 miles away over about 2 streets in my subdivision, and the buzzer goes off...I glance in the mirror, see a trail of oil on the road, and kill it right then. This took about 5-10 seconds at most.

Get out...look underneath, oil everywhere. I walk home and get my truck and pull it back home.

Look under the hood, start removing the battery/fan/etc. to get to the lines...oil cooler line burst. Some dickbeater previous owner apparently put GARDEN HOSE with brass fittings and hose clamps as a fix to an existing bad line.

I replaced the line and fired it up. It seemed okay at first, but as I test drove it I knew the engine had been damaged...it had a slightly more piston-engine like rhythmic lope to it, as well as a rod-knock type noise at 2500-3000rpm. Turns out it'd spun a bearing.

 

kevin,

im going to run a compression tomorrow and see whats going on. id be more concerned at the moment, however the car was still showing oil pressure until I parked the vehicle and killed it (showed 0 as i turned it off).

I'll post up the results

Jordn

 

A comp. test won't always show a spun bearing..but sometimes it will. IF you hear any knocking or rhythmic sounds from the engine you'll know right then, though.

Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones.

 

Ya thoses fricken lines are known for doing that, , when u get the new ones do not repeat do not get them from the dealer ship. mazda triks .com has them for a good price, best of luck

 

yea i ended up getting mazdatrix lines from a fellow rx7club member

the engine didnt sound like it was knocking or going crazy while i was slowing it down and pulling in. so we'll see, cross your fingers for me

 

Yep, running with low oil press. combined with a d/c from the oil cooler is the worst.

But you did say you had some oil pressure when you killed it, maybe you have a chance!

 

i blew a oil cooler line on my car, it actualy got a hole rubed in it, but it was only the size of a head of a pin so i didnt leak that fast. but i still had to put about 1/2 to a full quart of oil in my car were ever i went.

 

if his ENGINE is wet......it wouldnt be likely that its the oil cooler lines right? The oil cooler is in front of the radiator so how could it be.

Although, what do i know, my oil cooler lines are going and i gotta replace them soon too but mine dont spray all over the engine.

 

the oil cooler lines run from the rear of the engine to the cooler, and from the cooler to the front of the engine.

 

Yeah, my lines were loose too. On the first running, I saw oil on the ground and paniced. Shut it off and did some investigating and it turned out to be a loose fitting at the engine. Problem solved.