Restoration starts again....!
Discussion
Frustration...!
I've acquired the bottom half of a very good 2.9 v6. However, I'm in dilemma land. Had to drive out this morning to get the exhaust modded as it's been booked in for ages. Started the car and no problems except low oil pressure on the gauge. The engine seemed to pull fine with no noticeable loss of power (unlike Sunday). I can't hear any serious knocking from the engine and it seems to be running fine. Oil pressure when on the move is between the 25-50 psi marks on the gauge. There's no smoke from the exhaust at all and it's not overheating.. Not sure what to do now..??
I've acquired the bottom half of a very good 2.9 v6. However, I'm in dilemma land. Had to drive out this morning to get the exhaust modded as it's been booked in for ages. Started the car and no problems except low oil pressure on the gauge. The engine seemed to pull fine with no noticeable loss of power (unlike Sunday). I can't hear any serious knocking from the engine and it seems to be running fine. Oil pressure when on the move is between the 25-50 psi marks on the gauge. There's no smoke from the exhaust at all and it's not overheating.. Not sure what to do now..??
tel595 said:
Frustration...!
I've acquired the bottom half of a very good 2.9 v6. However, I'm in dilemma land. Had to drive out this morning to get the exhaust modded as it's been booked in for ages. Started the car and no problems except low oil pressure on the gauge. The engine seemed to pull fine with no noticeable loss of power (unlike Sunday). I can't hear any serious knocking from the engine and it seems to be running fine. Oil pressure when on the move is between the 25-50 psi marks on the gauge. There's no smoke from the exhaust at all and it's not overheating.. Not sure what to do now..??
What pressure does it tick over at? what is it at 2000RPMI've acquired the bottom half of a very good 2.9 v6. However, I'm in dilemma land. Had to drive out this morning to get the exhaust modded as it's been booked in for ages. Started the car and no problems except low oil pressure on the gauge. The engine seemed to pull fine with no noticeable loss of power (unlike Sunday). I can't hear any serious knocking from the engine and it seems to be running fine. Oil pressure when on the move is between the 25-50 psi marks on the gauge. There's no smoke from the exhaust at all and it's not overheating.. Not sure what to do now..??
What were the pressures before?
do you have any sump damage?
Edited to ad another thought, oil pressure sender failure is quite common try and get it checked with a capilary gauge.
Edited by Griffinr on Wednesday 11th May 16:05
Maybe you just overdid it at the weekend and it got tight. Two options I think (i) take it out for a long steady drive at running in speeds (300 - 400 miles, good training for the EuroTour 
) and see how it feels when you get home. If it is running OK with no loss of power, not burning oil, not overheating and no nasty noises then maybe your luck is in, or (ii) drop the sump and remove the big end caps to see if there are any wear marks.
Maybe get the oil pressure checked with a capillary gauge first though.
Fingers crossed for you
) and see how it feels when you get home. If it is running OK with no loss of power, not burning oil, not overheating and no nasty noises then maybe your luck is in, or (ii) drop the sump and remove the big end caps to see if there are any wear marks.Maybe get the oil pressure checked with a capillary gauge first though.
Fingers crossed for you
Must be tempting to hope everything was OK but that loss of power and loss of oil pressure you saw on Sunday suggests there's something seriously wrong, even if it's intermittent. I suppose it's possible that it's an electrical problem so worth checking for worn/exposed wiring in the vicinity of the sensor or anywhere else that you can see, but if it was me I wouldn't expect to be so lucky.
Well, I've driven back from the exhaust stranglers this afternoon and the engine still seems fine. Tickover pressure is around or just below 25psi but it sounds ok. It's difficult to hear any bottom end rattle as the exhaust noise increases with revs.. Driving along the pressure hovers around 40-45psi. I know the engine is a little tighter than before, as when I cut the ignition it drops very quickly. I'm thinking drain the oil, change filter and put the heaviest recommended oil that engine can run on and see what happens.. I'll check the pressure with an a mechanical gauge and see what it comes out at. As it sounds at the moment, I think it will manage a few more miles as long as I'm gentle with the right boot (my biggest problem), so I'll give it a long run over the next day or so and see how she behaves..
Suggestions about which oil would be welcome...
A few pics of my exhaust mods, necessary because of the V8 fuel tank I appear to have fitted...
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/fEBXHbyB[/url]
Suggestions about which oil would be welcome...
A few pics of my exhaust mods, necessary because of the V8 fuel tank I appear to have fitted...
[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/fEBXHbyB[/url]Any idea what would cause the engine to go tight without self destructing almost immediately? I can't think of anything. Anything that resisted movement would generate heat locally and anything producing enough resistance to be that noticeable while the engine was running would generate a *lot* of heat.
Certainly agree with that Peter, what's thrown me is that with the lower oil pressure I also experienced a distinct lack of power, certainly further up the rev range. I'd had been driving with a large amount of 'spirit' and wondered if I may have caused an oil starvation issue. The car is still running ok, but I'm paranoid now and possibly keep imagining sounds.. The oil pressure gauge may have indeed become faulty and it may well be the ECU has decided to do something silly following my aggressive driving. I've reset it before and it's solved a few issues. With the lower oil pressure, I wondered if a journal may have got hot and scored a bit, enough to allow oil to seep through and lower the system pressure? It'll all become clear soon enough..
Remotely possible you were suffering from fuel starvation? A partial loss of pressure would reduce power and make the engine run very hot which might cause some of the other symptoms, although I can't say it's a very convincing explanation since starvation severe enough to cause obvious symptoms would probably also melt things.
The exhaust looks great! How's the ground clearance?
tel595 said:
...... I'm thinking drain the oil, change filter and put the heaviest recommended oil that engine can run on and see what happens.. ....
I get excellent oil pressure in mine at all temperatures using Valvoline VR1 20/50, but if you think the engine is tight, wouldn't you want to use thinner oil until it loosens up?Gassing Station | S Series | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff