Big Problem!!! Please Help!!!

[Silver03]

I havent driven the Cobra in a few weeks and decided to drive it to work today. I pull it out of the garage and let it warm up for a few minutes, hop in and drive to work. I get home this evening and there is a huge puddle of oil just outside the garage where the car was warming up.

I crawl under the car and best I can tell is the oil came out of the oil cooler where the hose toward the front of the car attaches. I checked the oil and there isnt a drop on the dipstick. I drove it a total of about 14 miles without any oil in it.

Most importantly, I need to know what I need to do to make sure the engine isnt damaged and secondly, I need to know how to fix the oil cooler. Thanks for the help.

I took a photo with my phone and as soon as I can get it off of there, I will upload it somewhere.

edit:
Here's the photo of the oil cooler

 

[ricksterman]

Sorry to hear, that really has to blow. If you really did run the car for 14 miles without ANY oil in it the engine is trashed, no question about it, not only that, I believe a bearing would have spun or something broken (not to mention a nice increase in temperature). The question I have is how did you not see any warning lights or look at the oil gauge (even though it is ony an 8-9 psi switch) at some point? The dipstick was dry, but that doesn't mean you had NO oil, you may have had 3-4 quarts left in it -which may also explain why the gauge/ warning lights looked ok.

If the oil cooler is cracked (and from reading other posts it does seem to happen), replace it or take it out (oil filter relocation kit) don't bother trying to fix it. It may just be a gasket or (based on the picture) maybe one of the outlets that's plugged, so check that as well. If the cooler cracked you may have antifreeze in the motor. If you have oil around you can always see how many quarts it takes to fill it back up again, that way you know how low you got, and you can check for funny smells, particles etc.

Again, sorry to hear, I hope everything is ok, but I would invest in a good water temperature/oil pressure gauge.

 

[04MystiCobra]

Pull the oil filter off. The threaded insert that holds the cooler to the block may just be loose. Happened to me but I caught it during an oil change. Also make sure you dont have 2 orings on the oil filter.

 

[Silver03]

Thanks for the input man. I just didnt happen to notice that there was no oil pressure...if it even indicated so. It was still running fine when i got home so I dont know if it is damaged or not. I guess the only thing i can do at this point is to put some oil in it and start it up to determine exactly where it is leaking from, although it is fairly apparent that it is leaking from the OC. I'll drain it first to determine if any oil at all is left in the pan.

 

[VirtualSVT]

Pull the drain plug and put a magnet in it and see what you get.

 

[Silver03]

Pull the drain plug and put a magnet in it and see what you get.

Will do. Thanks for the input fellas!

 

[Silver03]

BTW does that coolant hose look bulged to anyone else? Is that an indication that the cooler is clogged?

 

[Silver03]

OK, I found where the oil is leaking from. Circled in the pics...that is a HOLE in the oil cooler. I have no idea how that would have gotten there unless is a pressure release or something like that. It is dead bottom on the cylinder. I'm tempted to slap some JB weld on there and call i good but if its a pressure release I obviously dont want to do that. Does anyone have an oil cooler theyve removed or happen to be changing their oil soon so you can check for me if that hole is on all of them? Thanks again for the help.

 

[Silver03]

The good news is that a quart or 2 of oil was still in the pan when i drained it and didnt pick up any metal with a magnet. Engine still sounds good.

 

[BLK03SVT10TH]

I don't think that there is suppose to be a hole in the casting. Probably a crappy casting with some porosity that finally connected together and the oil found a way out under pressure. I had the other half of the oil cooler assembly that holds the oil pressure sensor crack where the sensor threads into the casting.

 

[Silver03]

So do you think that can be repaired either with something as simple as JB Weld or conventional welding?

 

[BLK03SVT10TH]

So do you think that can be repaired either with something as simple as JB Weld or conventional welding?

Well, to be completely honest, if it was my car, I wouldn't trust it to JB Weld. You already know how close you came to a total disaster, is that worth a couple hundred bucks to fix it right. As for welding it, I don't know how well Cast Aluminum likes being welded, but I'm no welding expert.

 

[Silver03]

Well, to be completely honest, if it was my car, I wouldn't trust it to JB Weld. You already know how close you came to a total disaster, is that worth a couple hundred bucks to fix it right. As for welding it, I don't know how well Cast Aluminum likes being welded, but I'm no welding expert.

:thumbsup: Thanks for the advice, bud.

 

[Silver03]

Talked to SVT about this and sent them the pics. He said it did in fact look to him as though that hole was designed into that part and is meant to be an indicator of an internal problem. Does anyone know the actual name of that part so i can call the dealer and get a replacement ordered?

 

[JB]

Talked to SVT about this and sent them the pics. He said it did in fact look to him as though that hole was designed into that part and is meant to be an indicator of an internal problem.

so it's a weep hole that indicates that a seal inside has blown

 

[JB]

:read: http://svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17313

"oil filter adapter"

Mark put it in quotes, and I believe he'd do that if it was the FORD part name...

 

[Duran]

so it's a weep hole that indicates that a seal inside has blown

+1. Isnt that part a whole assembley piece you can buy at ford. Buying the part new would be the best direction to go with if it were me.

 

[JB]

def buy a new one!

others have had to replace...part is like $150 or so

 

[JB]

Pull the oil filter off. The threaded insert that holds the cooler to the block may just be loose. Happened to me but I caught it during an oil change.

this has also happened to others

 

[CobraTime]

ok... this thread just convinced me to change my OWN OIL on my Cobra, I got a place ive taken all my cars too but this wigged me out a lil bit