Update on exploding hpop reservoir… What’s going on?

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Keep those updates coming! I’ve never even heard of a problem like this.

Harmon said:
Keep those updates coming! I’ve never even heard of a problem like this.

They’ll come quickly! I’ll be driving my baby again today, come hell or high water.

Definitely check the valve in the oil cooler. I just rebuilt mine last month, and there was some fine sand in the check valve that caused it to stick after running it through the sand blaster. I usually clean everything really well after using the sand blaster, but it didn’t occur to me to take apart the check valve. It’s pretty easy with a good set of snap ring pliers.

@Lin
You like to live dangerously, huh?

Is there a crack? Was there silicone on the gasket? Was there a screen on the lower gasket? Anything caught in it?

Arun said:
Is there a crack? Was there silicone on the gasket? Was there a screen on the lower gasket? Anything caught in it?

The lower o-ring filter was perfect, no silicone on the o-rings. If you zoom in on the first pic just below the sticker, you can see the aluminum is totally blown out.

Wow! I was curious about how that could even happen when you posted. What pressure did the low pressure oil reach to crack the housing but not blow something else up? Is the HPOP designed differently than other castings? I would’ve thought the oil filter would explode first.

@Patrice
It happened on a cold start when pressure spikes happen anyway, but the gauge hadn’t even kicked on yet, so I’m not sure. Oil filters are surprisingly strong. Maybe I’ll explode one for science.

This reservoir gets oil from the low pressure oil pump, so whatever your engine oil pressure is (maybe 30 or 40 psi). Those o-rings and seals can wear out from engine heat and over time flatten, causing leaks. 20 years will do that.

@Teal
It wasn’t leaking. The aluminum popped, and I had 2 gallons of oil spray onto my belt in 30 seconds.

Jin said:
@Teal
It wasn’t leaking. The aluminum popped, and I had 2 gallons of oil spray onto my belt in 30 seconds.

Could be that the seal on the HPOP went bad and pressured up the reservoir.

@Teal
No, it can’t do that. If the HPOP seal fails, it leaks down into the timing cover or crankcase, not up into the reservoir. Plus, a pump with that bad of a leak wouldn’t allow the engine to start.

Maybe someone put an o-ring screen gasket on a truck that didn’t come with one? That’ll crack the housing.

Uma said:
Maybe someone put an o-ring screen gasket on a truck that didn’t come with one? That’ll crack the housing.

That’ll crack the timing cover. I hate that I know this because I did this once. Got the seal from Ford and didn’t know there was a difference.

The only time I’ve seen a leak from there was when an old 7.3 threw something off the front. The gears spit out and took out the reservoir. Do you have any shots of the inside porting with the housing cleaned up?

@Blair
The housing is cracked in half, so I’m not cleaning it. I replaced it yesterday.

Jin said:
@Blair
The housing is cracked in half, so I’m not cleaning it. I replaced it yesterday.

I can’t say I’ve ever seen one crack in half. Hopefully, with a new reservoir, you’ll be back on the road soon!

@Blair
It blew out from oil pressure. I need to fix the high oil pressure problem. I think the bypass piston is stuck.

I saw your last post and it bothered me all night. Check this out: link