Low oil pressure in new engine

[Legal Bill]

Thanks Rick. Yes it is. I'm looking at a brand new Healey with several problems after a 50 mile drive. I have not mentioned this development to any of my non British car friends (yes, I have several). I can just hear the jokes now.

 

[RAC68]

Hi Bill,

I trust you are closing in on the issue.

Please don’t get too frustration for the most common statement made at a British Car gathering is “If you think that’s bad, let me tell you what happened to me”. Remember, we call these cars sports cars because you have to be a sport to put up with them.

As my father often said, “The difference between work and a hobby is … If you got to do it …. It’s WORK”. Thank God this is a hobby and we can always walk away for a brief period to dial down.

So, in short, enjoy your problem as you will have this story to tell for many years. And, Oh by the way, we are enjoying it with you.

Thanks for keeping us informed.

All the best,
Ray (64BJ8P1)

 

[Legal Bill]

Thanks guys. I've had British cars since i was 12, so I'm used to this. The frustration comes from a combination of this being a no expense spared restoration and my decision to try to rush this repair using a generic copper washer rather than order and wait for the correct crush washers. what should have been a $15 repair will now be a $150 repair.

I ordered all the parts yesterday. One item is coming from California, so i won't have everything until Friday at the earliest.

 

[Legal Bill]

The parts all came in from Moss yesterdsay. Here are some preliminary findings.

1. the Moss replacement pedestal has a steel sleeve in the rocker shaft hole. This sleeve is drilled for the banjo bolt and is thick enough to support a couple of rows of threads for that bolt. I think this is a very good idea. It gives you a bit of material that is stronger than aluminum to tighten into. The bad part was the sleeve hole was not lined up with the banjo bolt hole in the pedestal. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to line up two holes so the threads match when the sleeve is a friction fit? Anyway, I got that done last night and test fit it to the rocker shaft and that all seems to be good. One last point, the mating surface of the pedestal to the banjo is nicely machined to create a small land for the copper washer. My original one did not look to be machined.

2. The pressure relief valve spring that Moss sells is, in fact, shorter than what the manual calls for. It is just under 2.5 inches. Oh well. For less than two bucks, I thought I'd give it a try. I'll call David Nock today and ask what he has.

3. The oil line and banjo fitting is all steel. The original looks like a combo of copper and bronze. The mating surface of the banjo is machined and looks to be in a lot better shape than my original. I have not yet fit any of the rocker parts to the head, so I can;t say yet how well the parts line up. As most of you know, it is a tight fit between the oil line nipple nut and the rocker shaft.

4. The copper washers look like the right stuff. I bought four of them in case I get it wrong the first time.

I also bought a spin on oil filter adapter and K&N filter. After I assemble the rocker shaft, I am going to test the engine and see if that change had any effect. The next step will be the oil pressure relief valve and spring and the last step will be the filter. I will do them one at a time and test the oil pressure after each change. If the pressure reaches acceptable levels with the change of the oil line and or valve, I'll hold off on installing the filter adapter until I am ready for an oil change.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

The parts all came in from Moss yesterdsay. Here are some preliminary findings.


2. The pressure relief valve spring that Moss sells is, in fact, shorter than what the manual calls for. It is just under 2.5 inches. Oh well. For less than two bucks, I thought I'd give it a try. I'll call David Nock today and ask what he has.

Please let us know what David says.

 

[Legal Bill]

Just spoke to him. Only one spring is available. He suggests placing a1/4 inch bolt into the spring between the back of the spring and the inside of the capture bolt.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Thanks.

 

[Legal Bill]

Update

Yesterday I fitted the new pedestal. I could not use the new banjo fitting as the fitting bottomed out at the base before the pipe engaged the nipple. I would recommend that if you are buying Moss Banjo fittings that you also buy the nipple that goes in the head. Perhaps the moss nipple has more threads/length than stock.

In any event, I spent some quality time with the old banjo and some 1000 grit sandpaper cleaning up the mating surfaces of the banjo and reused it with the new banjo bolt and washers. It took a lot of test fitting, but I got it right. During the test run without the rocker cover the fitting was tights all around, just like you guys said it should be.

While I had the rockers off I re-torqued the head (every nut moved a bit, so I'm glad I did it) and switched the position of two of the rocker studs. One of the long studs was in the short stud row and vice versa.

I then drove the car for about half an hour after and the pressure was a bit better. It ran at about 15 psi hot at idle (700 to 750 rpm). It was a much cooler day yesterday, so I will be watching this for the next couple of weeks to see if it holds in the warmer weather.

Given how much better the pressure is when cold, I wonder if the oil is part of the problem? I may try the straight 50 weight. How well do these cars start with 50 weight in them? This car will run in the spring and fall.

 

[Brinkerhoff]

Bill, I've been following your post and am glad to hear you have an improvement on oil pressure. At this point as long as you have enough oil pressure for oil to ooze out of the rockers , you're probably ok. The only other thing to know would be exactly what bearing clearances you have in the bottom end but to what end? Can't do anything about that unless you remachine the crankshaft. Take it easy until the rings seat then run it hard !!!

 

[Ed_K]

Just spoke to him. Only one spring is available. He suggests placing a1/4 inch bolt into the spring between the back of the spring and the inside of the capture bolt.

Thanks for sharing that info about the 1/4 inch bolt.

I am glad to hear you have a handle on your oil pressure
trouble.

Now you can without worry.

Ed K.

 

[Keoke]

. How well do these cars start with 50 weight in them? This car will run in the spring and fall.

Bill, Been runing 60 weight Valvoline racing since day one no problem starting in the cold.--Keoke

 

[Deleted member 8987]

LITTLE bit of difference, overnight and daytime temperature wise between SoCal and Bahston.

 

[Bob Claffie]

I vote "no" on the heavy weight oil. Sure, plenty of pressure but pretty dry start first thing of the day. Why try pushing molasses through the engine to fake out the oil pressure gauge ? Bob

 

[Deleted member 8987]

See? There's another Massachusetts fella knows. I know EXACTLY what happens, lost an engine in January in Connecticut.

 

[57_BN4]

What were the cam bearings like? Years ago a friend reco'd an A series 1275 engine with new pistons and crank bearings but he didn't get the cam bearings replaced. It did exactly what your engine does- good cold pressure, falling off to almost zero at hot idle. I'd never have thought cam bearings could make such a difference. Can't quite remember what happened to the engine but I recall seeing it apart again later on and all the crank bearings had copper showing so perhaps be careful driving too long with low oil pressure.

Today I am having a set of NOS semi-finished cam bearings installed and line bored at some ridiculous expense. Apparently aftermarket finished type bearings are a better shot these days.

Andy.

 

[Legal Bill]

Thanks for the opinions on oil, guys. 60 weight may be a bit extreme in my area, Keoke, but perhaps 50 weight would make sense. I need to install my new spin-on adapter and filter, so that will involve an oil change. I think I'll use 20/50 again for this first change and then see how it all works. 50 weight may go in during the summer if the oil pressure falls back to 5 psi on hot days. I can then change it to 20/50 in mid September and leave that in over the winter and through the spring, changing back to straight 50 again in June.

Andy, I went through my invoice from the machine shop yesterday and the cam bearings were changed.

The crank grind would be for a stock engine, but I admit that I don't knwo the exact measurement. If I have to drop the pan to examine the oil pump, I'll get some plasti-gauge and measure the tolerance

 

[Legal Bill]

By the way, it turns out the engine was bored .040 over. I don't think that matters, but I previously reported .030.

 

[mjobrien]

If it starts - Drive it!

 

[Keoke]

LITTLE bit of difference, overnight and daytime temperature wise between SoCal and Bahston.

WELL I ain't gonna move there just to find out.---Keoke-- :laugh:

 

[HealeyRick]

By the way, it turns out the engine was bored .040 over. I don't think that matters, but I previously reported .030.

Probably would smoke a lot more if you had the .030 pistons and rings in the .040 bore, but probably wouldn't affect oil pressure too much