Mark Shaw Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 (edited) Since I got my 24 Buick Cut Down Pickup, I have changed the oil each fall before putting it to sleep through the winter. However, due to a rod bearing failure last summer while on tour in the mountains of Idaho, I finally dropped the pan to find a big surprise... Evidently, the oil pump pickup screen became clogged with slime! I found a little bit of water trapped between the upper and lower screens that had actually collapsed against each other. Evidently the bottom screen became clogged and trapped some water between the two screens when the bottom screen became plugged. Otherwise, my annual oil changes would have eliminated any accumulated water if it was not trapped in the screen. Otherwise, it would have shown up as milky oil on the dipstick that I would have noticed. My best guess is that the slime fed off of the organics in the oil when the engine warmed it up to make it an almost ideal environment to grow slime. No other parts of the pan or the engine had any slime at all.I cleaned up everything and used a spring to separate the upper and lower screens that had collapsed; further reducing the filter area of the oil pickup. I cut off one end to open up the spring wire so I could screw it into a small hole in the screen. The compressed end of the spring helps it stay put between the two screens. See photos... Edited November 28, 2012 by Mark Shaw (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Ahhhhh, Blame Slimer. Now we know where he has been hiding. ... Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 YUCK!!! Would be interesting to have slimy analyzed. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_Heil Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Dear Slick (sorry, couldn't help myself)Keep an eye on the oil color/quality going forward just to make sure you don't have an internal coolant leak causing this issue. We've all seen gumbo in the bottom of a pan but this hanging goo has an odd look about it.If you really want to get serious, you can put tracking die in the coolant and check the oil with a black light to see if any of it is getting to the oiling system.Signed,Your Slimy Pal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Shaw Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Brian, The oil has always looked OK, but I will keep an eye on it. Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now