At 2:46 PM -0400 7/3/01, Jay L Snyder wrote:
>Did you lose prime because you had the sender out?  Wouldn't it drain with
>this out?  Just a guess.  Ignore if stupid.

Jay,

Certainly not a stupid idea.  I think we're all on the list to
learn--at least I  sure am!

A couple of thoughts about the open sender hole(s) letting the oil
drain back down:

1) I *think* there is an anti-flow back valve in the oil filter to
prevent loss of prime once oil is flowing in the system (or at least,
if there's oil between the filter and the pump).  If there were no
such valve somewhere in the system, then loss of prime could be a
chronic problem, I would think, since the pump itself sits well above
the normal oil level in the sump (hence the need for a long pickup
tube to pull the oil up from the sump to the pump) and the oil would
drain out every time I shut off the engine!

2) Okay, supposing I *did* lose prime because the sender was out and
the oil could reverse flow and settle down to the sump again.  If
that were the case, it seems to me I should be right back where I was
originally, no?  But I'm not.  I could pull the oil up through a dry
empty pump *once*, and blow some oil out the sender hole, but not a
second time less than 15 minutes later.  This seems really strange to
me.  Trial #1: dry sump, spin shaft, pump primes and I get oil
pressure.  Trial #2: dry sump(?), spin shaft, and I cannot get oil
pressure.  No change in set-up between trials #1 and #2.

I'm ready to paint my bus red, and am looking for the Johnson kid.
(Sorry, "Kids in the Hall" Canadian comedy reference...)

T.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tobin Copley        Bowen Island, BC, Canada      49deg 23'N-123deg 19'W

'82 Westfalia 1.6L NA diesel ("Stinky")
'97 son Russell                                   =============
'99 daughter Margaret                            /_| |_L| |__|:| clatter
                             SPEED KILLS!        {.            .| clatter!
                         Drive a Vanagon diesel   ~-()-==----()-~