Lack of Oil Pressure

[222s]

I thought so, & they will look superb on the sled! That reminds me - I must take some pics of my Cosmics for him
....

[TomG]

i hope so, found it hard to get the right wheels. btw, sorry about the thread hijack

[amazondean]

10/30 oil I believe is supose to be the all round correct oil grade, but as long as it's oil and it's clean and at the right level it is better than nothing and shouldn't boil. Surely you have checked the level though as that is the obvious answer. The oil may not be boiling at all, it could be a faulty pressure switch located on the side of the engine. The heavy breathing could be worn rings causing back pressure.

[jakobandhismakarov]

Aye Amazondean, I have checked the oil level, it barely registers on the dipstick (****ters).

The piston rings *shouldn't* be worn - allegedly new ones were fitted recently (before I bought the car).

Is it just a case of adding more oil in from cold and hoping for the best? Have I done any long term damage (light only came on after I took the car to Lancaster and back)?

At the moment to my mind I think I will just have to add some oil and keep topping it up while I lay my hands on a new sump gasket.

Ah well, least I won't have much oil to drain out....



Is annoyed at self for being such an idiot, and using car too enthusiastically thinking it could cope........

[druid]

It sound like the little drip turns into a flood when the engine warms up, as for damage, only time will tell but plenty of people run low on oil without knowing and the cars are fine.

[Stanleywindrush]

Hiya,

I had a similar problem..

I rebuilt my engine with new rings, new shells on the crank- and an uprated oil pump.

Started the engine for the first time and it went very well until it started to run hot, then the warning light went on. It went out when the car was revved (as the pressure was raised) but came on again when the revs dropped.

I guess you take your foot possibly off the gas on the corners (perhaps even in neutral/ low gear and the revs drop off.) This is when the light comes on??

One thing at a time..

Firstly loss of oil.

You loose oil in a number of places, the most common being;
1. at the front flywheel aperature
2. At the filler cap and then it covers the engine
3. At the crank meets flywheel (inside the engine) and manifests itself as a leak at the back of the engine (some times can get on the flywheel and causes a judder when pulling away.)
4. At the fuel pump atachment, or through the innards of the dizzy (take the cap off and have a look.)

All these are symptoms of a worn engine. Gas pressure is getting past either the valves (maybe worn valve guides or burnt valve stems) or past the piston in the bore (due to cracked/ worn rings also worn bores themselves)
Replacing valves or even rings will not solve the problem especially if you have worn oval bores (due to wear) Whatever is happening you get unwanted pressure inside the block and it forces sump oil out the aperatures mentioned above.(usually in that order!)

Very worn bearings on the crank will show immedietely through the amber oil light on the dash - if your oil levels are OK. My problem was the crank was worn and the new shells I was supplied were the wrong thickness (not taking into account the wear on the crank). Therefore oil was escaping here at low revs and only with higher revs was the oil pump able to overcome this.

This low oil pressure would be due to;
Not enough or excessively thin oil (this can sometimes be diluted inside the engine due to a leaking fuel pump diaphram and the petrol thins the oil - smell your dipstick!!can be very dangerous.. but usually the oil level will seem to go up!!)
misfitting, worn or incorrect shells
A faulty/ broken oil pump (sometimes the drive 'tooth' can break)
Excessive burning/ loss of oil that reduces the amount available


Lets look at remedies/ testing this;

Worn bores;
Drop some heavy oil into the bores after a compression test (you can borrow/ buy one of these cheaply these days) and then test again. If the pressure goes up when the engine is turned over (disconnect the coil to stop the car starting!) then its worn bores.

Run the engine with the filler cap off and check if the engine note changes when you put your hand over the oil filler neck. If your hand meets lots of hot gases escaping we have worn valves and bores. If the note of the engine drops or changes with and without hand coverage - you have a worn engine.

Check your breather pipe is clear (run a wire up it and pull out any cr*p) and this will help vent the engine - although excessively worn engines can let toxic gasses out this pipe On a 1.8 so be careful where it is routed, but this can help with the running - by stopping your oil loss (but not burning!)

If all of this has not proved the point I would then think about excessive oil burning (do you have blue smoke when you decellerate from revving? or take your foot off the gas ahen the car is coasting to a stop) Each of this shows with the tale tale blue smoke.

Lastly if you have got this far without any or some of this you should think about the oil pump..no way of proving this without inspection* (any help here lads??) or the worn/ wrong shells I had in mine. Try a thicker oil.. but really you need to have the bottom end redone!

*You can remove the dizzy, then the drive shaft (that engages with the cam)squint down the hole and see with a torch if the single 'tooth' is still in place on the oil pump - but this is very tricky as you do not want the drive shaft to go back in the wrong place, say 10 degrees out - as will throw the whole timing out and could cause losts of problems.


To help stop the oil leak;

To stop oil leakage you can fit a replacement timing gear cover with a neoprene seal that will stop excessive leakage at the front. You can do the same at the back, but really need the engine out for this. Other than that clean that breather!!

Don't fret if you have a worn engine. If you keep an eye on the oil level, fit a new seal to the front, tighten up the sump bolts, use a slightly thicker oil, clean out the breather it should still go on for many thousands of miles. (my old 131 did! infact the wear was so bad it never started first time due to low compression)You can even have the head skimmed to increase compression

I guess the way forward would be to have the engine out have an inspection or source another lump - I know people who can find low wear ones out of 140's - cheap as chips..

Good luck - but remember you are not alone - many of us have had the same - no task is insurmountable its just a question of skill, time and money!

Baz

[jakobandhismakarov]

I don't have any blue smoke on the overrun or when I lift off Baz.

However my car does show a couple of the symptoms you describe. Oil has piddled out of the filler and down the outside of the block, and their is a judder when moving away sometimes (will this contaminate the clutch).

I get the oil pressure light on when accelerating or decelerating round bends or roundabouts (on the acceleration front im not drifting or anything, just moving forward into a gap at a roundabout).

My Autoparts book tells me the capacity of the sump is about 6.6 pints (with filter) - what's this in litres and how much oil do you suggest I add for the time being? (not adding it now because it's pouring down).

I will try and diagnose the problem better when the weather starts behaving itself, meanwhile thanks for the pointers stanleywindrush!

[pookie]

Hoiw near to Cheadle Hulme are you? I can easily put a gauge on your Engine to see what the oil pressure actually is. Not a permament gauge I hasten to add.

Pookie

[jakobandhismakarov]

pookie, I keep the car in Sale, so Cheadle isn't far for me to go at all. However, I'm too **** scared to drive the car over in case the oil pressure fails completely!

When I get my hands on some 20W\50 and drop it in, I can come over and we can see what's what. Thanks for your offer.

[amazondean]

Fill the oil leval up to the max on the dipstick first, and then see if the light still comes on. If it does I would replace the pressure switch first as this is easy and cheap. If the light still comes on I think you could be looking at a full engine rebuild.