Just wanted folks to be aware of what recently happened to me and my 1969 172 Lycoming O-320. I experienced a failure of the Hobbs meter pressure switch located at the front top of my O-320. Oil poured out of it and luckily I was on the ground and became aware of the problem before takeoff. There’s not much of a sicker feeling than to see oil coming out of the bottom of the cowling. Luckily, I just had to remove the part, plug it, and add one quart of oil. I got by lucky, but it could have been a lot worse. It's worth keeping an eye on this part, although not being a mechanic I'm not sure what can be done other than regularly checking for any leakage. Of course, one might evaluate whether they even need a Hobbs. When mine failed oil poured out. Also, the part is just above the large hose that takes air to the muffler shroud for cabin heat. I noticed oil also went into this hose and muffler shroud, not a lot but I still removed and cleaned it out. Just wanted folks to be aware of this potential issue.

I totally agree. The oil sending unit looks like a car application and if the gasket fails on a car it just leaks but IFR, VFR or just wheels off the ground makes it a really bad thing.

I recently had to rebuild an O-360 for the same reason. The engine was still running when he passed my hangar, but sounded like a John Deere tractor. After having to have the case and accessory case overhauled by DivCo, he wound up with two connecting rods, the hydraulic pushrod units, and the tubing/accessories off the original engine. That $25 item wound up costing him a bundle!

The fitting on the engine case suppling that line for the pressure switch or even the actual direct reading oil pressure gage should be a "restricted orifice fitting" which means if you do have a switch, hose or gage failure it will make a mess but greatly reduse the amount of oil flowing out of the leak and give you time to get down before you get below the minimum allowable oil amount in the sump (2.75 I believe on an O-320). The fitting should have only a tiny, tiny hole allowing oil to pass through.

On the 1982 P model, that hobbs sending unit is up under the Co-pilots dash panel, and when it leaks the oil goes onto the floor mat on the Co-pilots side. Very noticeable right away...