My oil sending unit....help

[EclipseTrbo420A]

Alright i bought my car about a year and a half ago and it was leaking some oil actually alot so anyways i hadnt driven it much till lately.. so i got the rear main seal replaced but it still leaked..... so about a week ago i was putting my turbo kit on and i got the car all jacked up and i noticed there was oil EVERYWHERE under the engine and on botton and back side of tranny its all over the place and when i was tapping in to the oil sending unit i noticed that where it screws in to the block it was loose like i could just touch it and it would spin left or right. so im guessing this should be pretty damn tight not to leak and also this could be my problem right? why the oil spraying everywhere ? thanks guys

 

[EclipseTrbo420A]

see the oil every where the little plastic tube goes to my oil gauge if you didnt kno that

 

[Doug99RS]

Is it spraying or leaking?

Also, are you sure it's not coming from up higher at the headgasket? The headgaskets leak directly above the oil pressure sending unit. Oil pressure sending units have been known to leak as well. Have you replaced it? Or just tightened it? On the new sending unit there will be teflon paste to seal it. On a used sending unit you should put more teflon paste or teflon tape to seal it. Simply being in there tight normally will not sufficient.
Doug

 

[EclipseTrbo420A]

Originally posted by Doug99RS
Is it spraying or leaking?

Also, are you sure it's not coming from up higher at the headgasket? The headgaskets leak directly above the oil pressure sending unit. Oil pressure sending units have been known to leak as well. Have you replaced it? Or just tightened it? On the new sending unit there will be teflon paste to seal it. On a used sending unit you should put more teflon paste or teflon tape to seal it. Simply being in there tight normally will not sufficient.
Doug

the unit where it screws in to the block is loose as hell i mean for example say it had 7 threads it fells like its only screwed in 3 threads. and as for spraying or leaking i can not tell but i can say this its all over everything...everything is coverd in oil, even the bottom side of the engine and that black frame piece is coated . How hard is the head gasket to replace i bet thats what it is also im going to put it up on lifts friday and tighten that sending unit i will let you know how it goes but what do you think of what i just wrote ? thanks

 

[Doug99RS]

The sending unit is not really long. So four to five threads may be "tight". You'll just need to tighten it a little and see what happens. Also, the head gaskets will frequently deposit oil all over the place if they leak long enough. At about 60,000 miles on mine I had a very small amount. Not really even enough to start oozing down the side of the block but it was leaking none the less. The headgaskets that are neglected long enough will have oil and dirt caked to the oil going back to the catalytic convertor. What you will need to do is clean it all off with brake clean and check for leaks again.

A company called "winzor" makes a leak detection spray. It's a white spray that sticks to the surface and dries up. This leaves a film that looks like cooking flour on whatever surface you just sprayed it on. When a fluid from a leak contacts the white film, it will darken and make it really obvious as to where the source of the leak is. You may want to look in to that. It's less involved as a dye and black light and you can use it for water leaks, coolant leaks, trans leaks, oil leaks. Best of all you can save the can and use it again. Once oil dye goes in, it's only good for one fluid cycle and then you need to buy more.
Doug

 

[EclipseTrbo420A]

ok sounds good and i was just giving an example or the thread so if you say theres only like 5 then it feels like its only tunred to two maybe one and a half even and ill check out that spray thanks for the info

 

[EclipseTrbo420A]

it leaks all the time.....like even id i dont drive it for like 4 or 5 days when its snowing or some other stupid reason it laks constantly would that still be a head gasket is it laks constant for 5 days straight i think it sounds like the sending unit right some one comming to take a look at it on monday and he know everything thats wrong but i would still like to get all tyhe info for him thanks guys

 

[Doug99RS]

The only kind of oil leak that will constantly leak is one similar to a hole in an oil pan. The reason I say this is because any leak above the oil pan level would have to have pressure on it for it to leak. This pressure could only be present while the engine is running.

What did you use to clean off the engine? It sounds more like there is either a hole in the oil pan or you did not clean off the back side of the block well enough.

The only other possible leak I could think of would be the lines that you added for the turbo. If there's oil in them and you have a leak it may take a few days until they fully drain down. Thus causing a leak over multiple days.
Doug

 

[EclipseTrbo420A]

alright i know theres no leak in my oil pan and i didnt get a chance to clean it up yet but yeah if it sits sor 5 days it will leak for a while and all i can this of is the sending unit just letting some seep out over a little bit because the head gastet cant leak for that long can it ?

 

[Doug99RS]

Without cleaning off the engine it will be too difficult to tell what is fresh oil leakage and what is residue from the leak prior to the engine being shut off. You've got to clean the engine and go from there. That's all there is to it. No clean.... no good answer.

 

[EclipseTrbo420A]

alright if i can get around to cleaning it before it sell then ill let you know where it wascomming from untill then its work and school ill have to find some time and a garage that i can actually work it thanks for all the help