Oil Pressure . . . Sorted

[keithyboy]

When I bought my 4.5 recently it was not holding its oil pressure too well. It was initially diagnosed as a faulty/sticky gauge and an independent wet gauge test showed it to be OK. I took it back a few days later for a replacement gauge to be fitted but it didn’t cure the problem. It was re-checked and now found to be intermittently dropping pressure. Following further investigation the gauze filter on the oil pipe in the sump was found to be blocked. The engine came out to investigate further! It turned out that the strainer was blocked with silicone sealant. Someone had obviously been overzealous with the sealant the last time the sump was off! Not unprecedented either according to the factory bods. The bottom end was stripped to check for potential damage. Little evidence of any apparently . . . apart from usual wear and tear that would be expected on a 30k miler. In any event the crank was polished and re-balanced, new main, big end & thrust bearings fitted and the oil pump re-conned (by the factory). All this under warranty and I’d only actually had the car a week! Whilst the engine was out I asked for the clutch to be stripped and the fingers and plates checked for wear. Finger springs appeared OK but there wasn’t too much mileage left in the plates – especially given my driving style (apparently ) A new clutch was fitted at my expense but with minimal labour given the engine was already out. The history showed a new slave had been fitted fairly recently so no problems there. Had a couple of other minor niggles sorted as well and finally picked the car up again this morning. The oil pressure is now between 50 – 80 psi depending on temp & revs and the clutch action is feather smooth – it was a little stiff previously, although nothing like my V8S’s clutch which was like a tractor according to a mate! - it was new as well!. I emptied the best part of a tank today hooning around although the roads aren’t ideal at the moment – I think most of it went on the over-run. I just love these cars

>> Edited by keithyboy on Sunday 12th February 00:49

[gazzab]

Well done. Brave chap buying a car with oil pressure probs , assume this was a private or ebay bargain? Which warranty do you have? Suprised that the warranty covers that work ie not wear n tear related.

[keithyboy]

Dealer supplied, with a one year warranty. I certainly wouldn't have taken the chance otherwise, having pointed out the problem during a test drive They've been excellent about it all too

>> Edited by keithyboy on Sunday 12th February 11:08

[RUSSELLM]

Do the factory do warranties or is a third party one ?

[Steve_T]

keithyboy said:

Dealer supplied, with a one year warranty. I certainly wouldn't have taken the chance otherwise, having pointed out the problem during a test drive They've been excellent about it all too >> Edited by keithyboy on Sunday 12th February 11:08

That's a sizeable amount of work mate, glad to see it worked out without too much impact to your wallet.

[Tripps]

Excellent news mate, glad it all worked out well for you in the end.

Are you coming out play on Sunday BTW?

[keithyboy]

RUSSELLM said:

Do the factory do warranties or is a third party one ?

It's a third party warranty (Auto protect) through the dealer but afaik it wasn't a warranty claim. I believe the dealer fixed it at their expense as the fault was not diagnosed correctly in the first place after I'd identified the problem when I first test drove(?) it.

Steve_T said:

That's a sizeable amount of work mate, glad to see it worked out without too much impact to your wallet.

Steve - £542 (inc VAT) for a complete new clutch assembly . . . fitted as well

Tripps said:

Are you coming out play on Sunday BTW?

Rob, I'll be there - avec le cheque! Will call you later.