clogged oil pickup

[TazMan]

I was wondering if anybody knew of anything really strong I could put it my engine oil that might break up any crap clogging the oil pick up, but still be safe on the engine internals. I'm pretty sure it's getting clogged in my other car, damn ford and It's a pain in the ass to get the oil pan off (exhaust and starter have to be removed).

[tractorman]

Um... that is a very unusual condition. Not unheard of... but unusual. Exactly why do you think that the oil pickup is stopped up? What made you reach that conclusion?

[TazMan]

I was changing a LIM gasket on this van and it started to pour. I went inside and waited for the rain to stop, not thinking about the fact that I was parked under a tree. When I went back out to finish, a bunch of berries had fallen in the engine. I got my shop vac and cleaned every trace of them I could find, then I finished up. When I was done, it ran real good for maybe 2 days, then all of a sudden, the oil light came on and the engine started shaking and ticking loudly. I turned it off immediately. When I turned it back on, it was fine. The next day the same thing happened. It seems If I drive it easy it is fine, but if I get on the gas or if I drive it for a very long time, it acts up. it's not a gradual thing either. As soon as that oil light comes on, the engine immediately starts to shake and get noisy. I can't tell you exactly what it sounds like cause I'm afraid to run it long enough like that to listen. I've always just cut the engine when it happened. I figured maybe some berries got into the crankcase and were sometimes being sucked up by the oil pickup. I did change the oil and filter every time it happened, a total of 3 times in one week but it didn't help.

[tractorman]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!

Sorry to laugh at your misfortune... but this post has just amused the hell outta me.

I've personally witnessed and heard tale of LOT of strange engine failure modes... I've seen shop rags, oil bottle caps, mud, metal shavings, small rodents, water, hydraulic oil, fuel, oxidized sludge, antifreeze, insects, and mud dobber nests in engines- but "berries in the engine" is totally unique. You're WAY beyond one-in-a-million with that one. Heh.

I'll agree that the scenario you describe DOES fit the 'berries in the pickup screen' hypothesis. I apologize for the lack of easy advice or simply fixes- but I seriously doubt that you're going to acquire 'berry solvent' at any local auto parts store. Sorry to break the news... but I feel that your engine will die a catastrophic, sudden, and expensive death LONG before these berries biodegrade or dissolve. I believe that your only option is to immediately CEASE driving this vehicle and pull the oil pan... clean it out... and hopefully resume life as normal with one interesting story added to your repetior.

Just for my own sick amusement- what KIND of berries are we talking about?

[TazMan]

HA! I just laughed so hard my wife had to come and read. I knew it was a long shot, but I was hoping. I did stop driving it a while ago though. I don't want to blow a motor over something so stupid.

As far as what kind of berries, I don't know. They're these little red berries that grow on the trees here and fall off when the wind blows. There not edible or anything. I'm gonna start taking it apart tomorrow. Thanks for all your help.

[Darin]

Mulberrys from a Mulberry tree? They look similar to blackberrys, but grow on trees.

[tractorman]

We had a mulberry tree back where I grew up in Tennessee. Yummy. Probably don't have very good lubrication properties... not sure what the viscosity would be.

Tazman- keep us updated on how this turns out. A story like this needs a proper end. And what vehicle/engine are we talking about?

[TazMan]

I didn't get under it today. When I get to it I'll let you know what I find. I'll probably get to it tomorrow, weather permitting. It's supposed to rain tomorrow.

It's not a 60 degree V6, it's actually a 96 Ford Windstar with a 3.8l. It belonged to my parents and when the LIM gasket blew they decided to get rid of it, so I took it. It turned out to be a fairly easy repair too. It's feels pretty powerful for what it is, but I feel I should be seeing more than 200hp from a 3.8l. Especially since 50 of it is derived from the split port induction design that they didn't even start till like 1995.

[86euro]

That's berry funny. Not only is it a ford, but it's a fruity ford, hehe

[tractorman]

Well, it's a V6 with LIM gasket problems... that pretty much means that it belongs on this forum.

My aunt had a mid-80's Thunderbird with that 3.8L Ford engine- bought it new. She put over 300,000 miles on the thing, and finally traded it in because she was tired of it. Still ran fine.

[TazMan]

Yeah I had an 88 cougar for 9 years. Car had a bad motor when I got it and I put in a Junk yard motor with 47,000 miles. 9 years later when the city took it for tickets it was still running fine, and I beat the hell out of it for those nine years. Had over 200,000 miles. They run good and they have plenty of torque, but I still think an aluminum head 3.8 should put out more than 140-150hp.

[PCGUY112887]

This is a scary thread to read, especially after I just posted about dropping a piece of gasket into the oil valley when installing my cam.

[tractorman]

There'll be a screen on the pickup. As long as you only dropped a piece or two, nothing will come of it.

[TazMan]

Well I finally got around to getting the oil pan off. The pick-up screen was VERY clogged. The berries turned into thick gobs of seed goo and were stuffed into the screen so tightly I had to take the pickup off and scrub the screen with a brush in the sink.

Thanks guys for all the tips. This was one mistake I don't think I'll be making again.

[tractorman]

Glad to hear that the diagnosis has been confirmed. Next time I deal with a low oil pressure problem at the shop, I'll keep the "berries in the pickup screen" option in mind.

Now, we're just strangers on the intranets... so this is ok to talk about. It's kinda like the mechanical version of a Grouphug.us confession. If something like this happened to me... I wouldn't go telling people I KNOW about it. Some things are best left unsaid.

Good luck and Gawdspeed.