Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
I thought I needed to replace the oil pump on my BJ8. Hot engine idle was under 20 psi and running around 2500-3000 rpm was under 40 psi. I use 20-50 oil. But the $2 pressure relief spring replacement boosted the idle pressure to almost 30 psi and the 2500-3000 rpm pressure to about 50 psi. Guess I can live with that for a while. Also changed the transmission oil from 30 wt oil to red line MT 90. Of course, it was a lot more than a couple of bucks, but I believe the car shifts significantly better.
-
Hi Guest!
If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
There are some perks with a member upgrade!**Upgrade Now**
(PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Pressure Relief Spring & red line oil
- Thread starter shorn
- Start date
Share this page
Keoke
Great Pumpkin
Offline
Walter, The spring is part of the oil pressure relief valve which is located on the engine block behind a large nut just behind and below the oil filter. However, to check and see if you suffer the same problem ,just put a small washer in the valve cup ahead of the spring and button it back up. start the engine and see if oil pressure comes up.You may need a couple of washers. Let us Know how you get on.-FWIW---Keoke
Offline
Hi Walter,
You can go to this post, look for #87090, for my experiments with oil pressure relief valves. As I said then, the hot oil pressure came up from 25 to 40 at idle. I have since put in a new oil pump with the same pressure regulator setting & the hot idle pressure is 50.
https://www.britishcarforum.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=87090&Main=85248
D
You can go to this post, look for #87090, for my experiments with oil pressure relief valves. As I said then, the hot oil pressure came up from 25 to 40 at idle. I have since put in a new oil pump with the same pressure regulator setting & the hot idle pressure is 50.
https://www.britishcarforum.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=87090&Main=85248
D
When I replaced the spring, the pressure relief valve itself did not come out with the old spring, but stayed inside the chamber. Is there a way to get it out easily? Since my oil pressure increased with the new spring, there may be no need to examine the valve, but I would like to know for future reference.
Offline
[ QUOTE ]
When I replaced the spring, the pressure relief valve itself did not come out with the old spring, but stayed inside the chamber. Is there a way to get it out easily?
[/ QUOTE ]
The relief valve is a cup shaped plunger with the open end toward the outside. It sometimes gets varnished up & sticks. This can even be the cause of erratic oil pressure.
I have had good luck removing it by wedging a wooden stick into the open end & slowly working it back & forth & twisting as it gradually comes all of the way out. Something like half of an old fashioned wooden clothspin should make a good handle. Something that will wedge into the plunger with a very slight taper. Some carb cleaner might help to get it out.
When you get it out, make sure that it is clean, put it back in, & rotate it against it's seat to possibly get a better plunger to seat seal.
D
When I replaced the spring, the pressure relief valve itself did not come out with the old spring, but stayed inside the chamber. Is there a way to get it out easily?
[/ QUOTE ]
The relief valve is a cup shaped plunger with the open end toward the outside. It sometimes gets varnished up & sticks. This can even be the cause of erratic oil pressure.
I have had good luck removing it by wedging a wooden stick into the open end & slowly working it back & forth & twisting as it gradually comes all of the way out. Something like half of an old fashioned wooden clothspin should make a good handle. Something that will wedge into the plunger with a very slight taper. Some carb cleaner might help to get it out.
When you get it out, make sure that it is clean, put it back in, & rotate it against it's seat to possibly get a better plunger to seat seal.
D
So after just one day of higher oil pressure with the new spring, it dropped back down some on a 50 mile ride today. I took the NEW spring out and compared it to the spring I removed the day before. The new spring WAS about 1/4 of an inch longer than the old one that I removed. I assummed the old spring just became compressed over the years. But today the new spring had actually compressed somewhat in just one day. Perhaps, they just aren't as good a grade. Anyway, I used Dave Russell's idea and shimmed it a little, and the pressure came back up to yesterday's level. Oh, the magnet pulled the relief valve right out, so I was able to clean that as well.
Offline
[ QUOTE ]
But today the new spring had actually compressed somewhat in just one day. Perhaps, they just aren't as good a grade. Anyway, I used Dave Russell's idea and shimmed it a little, and the pressure came back up to yesterday's level. Oh, the magnet pulled the relief valve right out, so I was able to clean that as well.
[/ QUOTE ]
A lot of springs are poor quality. A good properly tempered coil spring will maintain it's design length for a long time. A poor spring will take a set the first few times that it is compressed. An easy check is to measure the spring length, compress it in a vice until all of the coils are just lightly touching (coil bind) or nearly touching & let it set for a couple of hours. Remove the spring & measure it's length again. If there is significant shortening, the spring is low quality & will not maintain it's design tension. Throw it aside & look for a better spring. Any spring will fatigue a bit over time & loose some of it's tension, but it should take years, not one compression, to lose tension. If the spring has gotten shorter, taken a set, once it has taken a set it will usually remain at it's new shorter length for quite a while. Sometimes something can be adjusted to compensate for the loss of length, such as a shim, & it will last quite a while at its new set length. Some triumphs & such have adjustable spring stops to adjust for loss of spring tension to adjust oil pressure. Same idea for putting spacers under sagged coil springs.
D
But today the new spring had actually compressed somewhat in just one day. Perhaps, they just aren't as good a grade. Anyway, I used Dave Russell's idea and shimmed it a little, and the pressure came back up to yesterday's level. Oh, the magnet pulled the relief valve right out, so I was able to clean that as well.
[/ QUOTE ]
A lot of springs are poor quality. A good properly tempered coil spring will maintain it's design length for a long time. A poor spring will take a set the first few times that it is compressed. An easy check is to measure the spring length, compress it in a vice until all of the coils are just lightly touching (coil bind) or nearly touching & let it set for a couple of hours. Remove the spring & measure it's length again. If there is significant shortening, the spring is low quality & will not maintain it's design tension. Throw it aside & look for a better spring. Any spring will fatigue a bit over time & loose some of it's tension, but it should take years, not one compression, to lose tension. If the spring has gotten shorter, taken a set, once it has taken a set it will usually remain at it's new shorter length for quite a while. Sometimes something can be adjusted to compensate for the loss of length, such as a shim, & it will last quite a while at its new set length. Some triumphs & such have adjustable spring stops to adjust for loss of spring tension to adjust oil pressure. Same idea for putting spacers under sagged coil springs.
D
Offline
Hi Keoke,
Never heard of such a thing, much less seen one. I would suspect that the factory chose not to do it because of cost or to keep folks from fiddling with it. It's an irresistable temptation for many to turn the screw a bit & I think Healeys don't particularly appreciate super high oil pressure. I don't have that much experience with Triumphs, but, folks setting the pressure at 80, as sometimes happens, puts a lot of strain on the pump drive, can flood the oil rings, & make more leaks. Do you think that super high pressure helps, or is it more of a cult thing? I have always heard that 10 psi per thousand rpm is adequate. Maybe it's a case of "more is always better"? I found the required spring spacer length in two tries. I have a lathe & a mill. Less time & effort than making or running down an adjustable one & one less thing to fiddle with. An interesting idea though.
shorn,
I had the same experience with Redline MT 90 in my transmission.
D
Never heard of such a thing, much less seen one. I would suspect that the factory chose not to do it because of cost or to keep folks from fiddling with it. It's an irresistable temptation for many to turn the screw a bit & I think Healeys don't particularly appreciate super high oil pressure. I don't have that much experience with Triumphs, but, folks setting the pressure at 80, as sometimes happens, puts a lot of strain on the pump drive, can flood the oil rings, & make more leaks. Do you think that super high pressure helps, or is it more of a cult thing? I have always heard that 10 psi per thousand rpm is adequate. Maybe it's a case of "more is always better"? I found the required spring spacer length in two tries. I have a lathe & a mill. Less time & effort than making or running down an adjustable one & one less thing to fiddle with. An interesting idea though.
shorn,
I had the same experience with Redline MT 90 in my transmission.
D