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Wedge TR8 oil pressure

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philman

philman

Jedi Knight
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I connected a mechanical oil pressure guage on the TR8 engine I put in my DHC and am getting about 10lbs oil pressure at idle with 20/50 wt oil. I had 30wt in for initial start up and the oil pressure indicator flickered at idle after warm up. My friend the mechanic says that most oil indicator lamps come on at 7lbs pressure. Does this seem normal for this engine?
 
Hey, Philman -

Though I don't have an oil pressure gauge, and don't know what mine is putting out, it's my understanding that the Rover V8's operate happily at a much lower range than what we're used to. Check this out - in fact, this is a great site for all sorts of info; I used it to build my engine:


Rover V8

:cheers:
Mickey
 
The Rover V8 seems to be a low pressure, albeit high volume oil system. 30 psi at speed is considered high. Though you can modify them for higher pressure as well.
 
I haven't taken it out on the road yet. I only did a full warm up the other day to check for coolant leaks, etc. But the oil pressure seems to max out at about 25-30 lbs while revving at a standstill.
 
Rover V8s and Buick V6s are notorious for low oil pressure. The problem is the steel pump gear riding inside the aluminum front cover. Over time the spinning pump gears wear away at the softer aluminum. As the tolerance between the gear and cover increases, oil pressure drops as the oil spills out around the spinning pump. Good timing covers are getting very hard to find, and when you find one, it will be expensive. The later 3.9s and 4.0s went to a crank driven pump. There are kits sold that are basically steel wear plates that can be inserted along side the pump gears. This will give you a new smooth surface for the gear to ride against. There are also larger pumps and pump covers called high flow pumps. Talk to Woody about them or research them at TA performance. They are the Buick performance gods.
 
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