318 squirting oil everywhere

[gurkgurkgurk]

hey guys, i just picked up a 76 duster as a project car, and i figured id do the usual tune up, set timing, replace belts and hoses. anyways, i went ahead and started taking out the air filter assembly, disconnected all the vacuum hoses, and i started to loosen the distributor hold down bolt, i got it to where the distributor will move slightly, but as i turned on the car, i just see a squirt just coming from where the distributor is and spraying all over the hood and battery and carb, basically everywhere. anyways i pinpointed where the squirt was coming from. its a small metal hold in the intake manifold, it looks as if its there on purpose, but maybe something fell off? i found a very thin little tube that was loose after that, but for some reason something doesnt seem right. this is my first time messing around with a mopar, seeing as how what i usually mess around is all chevy stuff. any help would be appreciated.

 

[fishy68]

The thin tube sounds like an oil pressure gauge line. It's screwed into a fitting in the block just behind the intake manifold and under the distributor. If it came out or broke off it will spew oil like mad.

 

[gurkgurkgurk]

damn. yeah thats what i was thinking, do they sell the fittings at any parts store? or can i just plug it up?

 

[1968FormulaS340]

Everything about this can be found in this thread.

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=97326

 

[69B-Cuda]

if it is the oil pressure tube, take the fitting off, and go to a good parts store and get the replacement parts to fix it. You should be working with 1/8" copper tubing. There are 2 types of ends,

One type is like a hollow nut which goes over the tube, then a small piece that looks like a barrel with no ends on it (called a ferrule) goes on the tubing. That will then screw onto the fitting in the block and squeeze down on the tubing to seal it and hold it in place.

The 2nd type does the same thing except the part that slips on the tubing is one piece and has male threads (like a bolt). The tube goes through the center of it.

as a TEMPORARY fix, to keep working on it and not go to the parts store, I have taken the 2nd type and carefully drilled it out with an 1/8" drill bit and re-used it.

This is not a permanent fix but a temporary one if the parts store is closed or you don't want to go there at the moment.

You can also pull the whole fitting out and put a plug in the hole temporarily but then you don't have any way of monitoring your oil pressure.

 

[gurkgurkgurk]

formula and cuda, thanks for the help! very greatly appreciated.