350i oil pressure. Help!
Discussion
hi folks,
was at wedge fest last weekend for the 1st time and had a great time. (TAZ 3801, white). Took the car to the garage today to have the anti roll bar drop links which I won in the raffle fitted and the mechanic said the car was in overall great condition. However he said the oil pressure was sadly low and that the bottom end had a "grumble". Offered to remove the engine and rebuild bottom end, new timing chain etc for £750. The car runs at 25psi @ 2000rpm when warm and was driven back from London (250 miles) when I bought it 4 weeks ago. Then 300 mile round trip to Ettington without missing a beat. Not being mechanically minded I would gratefully receive any comments. Thanks in advance
was at wedge fest last weekend for the 1st time and had a great time. (TAZ 3801, white). Took the car to the garage today to have the anti roll bar drop links which I won in the raffle fitted and the mechanic said the car was in overall great condition. However he said the oil pressure was sadly low and that the bottom end had a "grumble". Offered to remove the engine and rebuild bottom end, new timing chain etc for £750. The car runs at 25psi @ 2000rpm when warm and was driven back from London (250 miles) when I bought it 4 weeks ago. Then 300 mile round trip to Ettington without missing a beat. Not being mechanically minded I would gratefully receive any comments. Thanks in advance
a) Did the mechanic use the build-in guage or attach an accurate one? If the former it could well be the sender being inaccurate, 25% tolerance I'd say.
b) It's hot weather right now. Even my 13000 mile 400SX runs at 25PSI when it's hot at 2000rpm.
c) Change the oil and oil filter first. You could have old, thin oil in there. Put 20W50 in.
d) Does the mechanic know RV8's and what a bottom-end rumble sounds like?
e) If the oil pressure is low another way of getting it back can be to take off the oil pump cover and have it skimmed, or replace it, because it can get worn and let oil past the pump gears.
b) It's hot weather right now. Even my 13000 mile 400SX runs at 25PSI when it's hot at 2000rpm.
c) Change the oil and oil filter first. You could have old, thin oil in there. Put 20W50 in.
d) Does the mechanic know RV8's and what a bottom-end rumble sounds like?
e) If the oil pressure is low another way of getting it back can be to take off the oil pump cover and have it skimmed, or replace it, because it can get worn and let oil past the pump gears.
One thing at a time. Treat it to some good 20/50 and see if it sounds smoother and the guage reads a better pressure. If the pressure is still low, try a known accurate guage. If it's still low, follow Adam's advice and get the front plate skimmed to see if that improves it. If the botom end rumble turns into a knocking, don't panic, reshelling a RV8 is not too difficult and my friend Mr Scott is a master at the job.
Checked mine out today... 350i, 1985, 14000 miles and never thrashed!
Engine hot and upto normal 90C+ temperature with fans cutting in and out.
1500 RPM 2 BAR (29psi)
2000 RPM 2.2 BAR (32psi)
So your pressure is lower but probably not anything to worry about really.
Changing the oil and filter is good advice though
Engine hot and upto normal 90C+ temperature with fans cutting in and out.
1500 RPM 2 BAR (29psi)
2000 RPM 2.2 BAR (32psi)
So your pressure is lower but probably not anything to worry about really.
Changing the oil and filter is good advice though
ferlin said:
Checked mine out today... 350i, 1985, 14000 miles and never thrashed!
Engine hot and upto normal 90C+ temperature with fans cutting in and out.
1500 RPM 2 BAR (29psi)
2000 RPM 2.2 BAR (32psi)
So your pressure is lower but probably not anything to worry about really.
Changing the oil and filter is good advice though
Engine hot and upto normal 90C+ temperature with fans cutting in and out.
1500 RPM 2 BAR (29psi)
2000 RPM 2.2 BAR (32psi)
So your pressure is lower but probably not anything to worry about really.
Changing the oil and filter is good advice though
14000 MILES!! F@ck me it's brand new!
One thing not mentioned: the oil pressure relief spring can start to show it's age, replace with new standard one (low cost part). Best to do this while changing the oil. And after changing oil, and especially the relief spring: get the oil pump primed first (I feel another thread coming on....). If you don't know what priming of the RV8 pump means, you need to be confident with it to understand it and do it yourself or have it done by somebody that knows.
Rob
Rob
350matt said:
Another realtively cheap way to get the oil pressure up is to swap the hoses for the remote filter to the next size up ( 5/8 as opposed to 1/2"
this gained about 7psi on mine.
this gained about 7psi on mine. A good tip. Also remember that the handbokk says 2 bar @2,000rpm so your car is only reading 10% low anyway - hot day, old oil, guage inaccuracies?
Hi Alex
Richard (Dark Brown Wedge)from WYTVRCC here.
I'm sure I read that 28psi @ 2000rpm was the norm.
I use a mechanic in Leeds who is the
ex World Champion F1 Stock Car racer using RV8s
and he only ever uses Valvoline 20W/50.
Let me know if you're going to the BBQ tomorrow
and I will bring my 5 litre can with me,
if your desparate, and I will get another next week.
Also worth getting a 2nd opinion on the bottom end from Andy
before forking out with a load of money.
Cheers Rich
Richard (Dark Brown Wedge)from WYTVRCC here.
I'm sure I read that 28psi @ 2000rpm was the norm.
I use a mechanic in Leeds who is the
ex World Champion F1 Stock Car racer using RV8s
and he only ever uses Valvoline 20W/50.
Let me know if you're going to the BBQ tomorrow
and I will bring my 5 litre can with me,
if your desparate, and I will get another next week.
Also worth getting a 2nd opinion on the bottom end from Andy
before forking out with a load of money.
Cheers Rich
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