Doing my part to keep the oil companies in business


 
 

Would You Drive a 30-year-old car 900 miles?

Well, would you?  When my dad called and asked if I wanted this car, I said "sure".  So I thought about how to get it from where he lives in south Arkansas to North Carolina.  Tow it?  Well, the pickup I had at the time could not pull that much weight (this car weighs approx. 3500 pounds).   I wondered if it would make it back under it's own power?  Only one way to find out...

After renting a car in NC and driving it one-way to AR (in one LONG day), I set out from my folks' house, with the intent to drive it back in two days.  The car was really running pretty well.  About 100 miles into the trip though, the oil pressure started falling.  This is never a good sign. When I stopped to check the dipstick, there was no oil on in.  Also not a good sign.  Since the car did not smoke, the oil must be leaking out.  Sure enough, the underside had a visible oil slick.  Rear main seal gone bad, perhaps?  I put two quarts in and started the engine... now I had good oil pressure.  At least the oil pump was still ok.  No bearing noises, or anything of that nature.  Back on the road.  The picture above was taken at a rest stop on I-40...notice the quart of 10W30 sitting on the air cleaner.

At the first Wal-Mart, I stopped and bought a case of oil.  From then on, it was a quart every 100 miles until I got to Nashville where I spent the night.  The next morning, I drove the car up on the curb (improvised jack stands) and took a look at it.  Every indication was that rear seal was leaking.  Well, time to press on.  The remainder of the trip was more of the same... stop every 100 miles and put a quart in.  I kept it below 60 MPH just in case there was something else going on, but we made it safely to NC.

What was the problem (among others)  Check it out here.

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Updated 06-Jan-2002