BruceWard

They are West Coast so eight hours behind you.

mike_hammond

The plot thickens, just as I've committed to the lifter theory and a top end strip down, something else comes along to throw me off the scent, I'm wondering if the lifter noise issue may be a secondary symptom of something else.

When I started the car tonight in the works car park after standing all day the oil light came on and the top end rattled for a few seconds, which is something its never done before, the pressure then rose to 4.5 bar at idle.

I switched off and checked the oil level and its up to the max so its not that. Started her up again and same thing oil light and rattles from the top for a couple of seconds and then quiet. Anyway driving home whilst revs were up it was quiet until it warmed up, but then ocassionally for no particular reason the rattle would come back even with the pressure showing between 4 and 5, also I noticed a fluctuation of the gauge when the rattle started and stopped.??

Anyhow got home and again rattle is there at tickover, with the now hot engine running 2 bar at 850RPM

Is this something else as I don't understand how a lifter could make such a difference to the start up as it's never shown such low pressure on starting. Could it be the oil pump failing or some sort of blockage ??

Mike

Jay Wellwood

Oil pump or OIl Pump bypass valve!!!!

mike_hammond

I wondered the same, and you did query the Oil pump earlier.

Whereabouts is the pump on these is it accessable or inside the sump (oil pan)?


Mike

BruceWard

Was it parked on a slight slope. It is common for the light to come on after the car as set for a while on a slight slope. The DME will not recheck the level until the car has been sitting turned off for two minutes.

This really scared me one morning when I washed the car in the sloped driveway before a PCA meeting. We ended up taking the wives car, when I got home after leaving the car in the level garage it was back to normal. I posted an urgent my car is broken message but only received reassuring responses saying it happens to every newby.

I have been advised by those with knowledge to fill the oil to a little over full. I put in 7 quarts instead of the 6 and 3/4s or so needed to get to full. Of course quarts do little good for you, but hopefully you get the idea.

With that said, if it was my car I would order everything it might be and start replacing parts. Then when its done you know its right!

mike_hammond

But its only done this today, and it was parked on the flat ?

BruceWard

Mine has only done it once. I topped up the oil level and it has been fine since.

I think that having it a little over full helps.

mike_hammond

I can't see it Bruce, like I say its been fine until today, not even a hint of low pressure at startup and the level is at max so it shouldn't need anymore.

Nah somethings not right here, I can't believe this is normal.

Mike ???

RajDatta

The oil pump is behind the main pulleys. I would check the torque on the crank nut to make sure its 155Lbs/ft. Your oil pressure seems to be fluctuating too much.
Th equestion is, how far are you willing to go to get to teh bottom. I have a funny feeling that you might be pulling your engine soon but we want to make sure we have exhausted all other alternatives before we go that route.
I wonder if the oil pickup is blocked or something. It does have a filter to avoid picking anything up. The bad part is when you usually start tearing things apart, you start thinking rod bearings, new seals and gaskets and it can all start adding up very quick.
I think you might be better off taking it to a pro just to get a 2nd opinion.
Regards.
Raj

mike_hammond

This morning the rattle was there again at startup for a couple of seconds, but as its cold today with snow on the ground I found that whilst driving the oil pressure remained good and no rattle till I pulled up and the revs dropped back to idle which was 2.5 bar (within tolerance spec in manual).

The fluctuation I was talking about could be a red herring (paranoia setting in) as watching more carefully today I noticed the needle does move quite a bit when cornering, especially in tight right handers so it might just be that the pressure was dropping when cornering and with the engine hot + oil thin it was just enough to start the lifter chattering again, then when the pressure comes back up once the oil in the sump settles the lifter becomes full once again and hence the noise dissappears.

Make sense ? If so then the only concern is the startup pressure but again it could be I've not noticed the gauge reading prior to the noisey lifter issue. Therefore it could infact just be normal that for the first second or two the pressure guage reads low (the oil light goes off quite quick) and I'm being overley conscious of whats happening.

I think the first task is to get the lifters sorted so I know thats right and go from there.

Do agree ? or am I fooling myself and there is something more serious going on ?

Damn this site is good cheers guys

Mike

ugo968cab

Mike,

did you also change the oil filter together with oil ? The filter can be clogged, but can also be defective, leading to symtoms very difficult to discriminate from a bad oil pump or oil relief valve.

I suggest putting a new MAHLE OEM filter, and see what happens to your noises.

Ciao

Ugo

RajDatta

I 2nd that. If you are using anything other than a factory oil filter, you could have some of those symptoms.
I would next suggest using even a thicker 15W50 and try to see what happens. Your oil level should not fluctuate the way you are telling us, not when making tight turns. It takes the pressure sometime to re-act.
I think we might be narrowing things down soon.
Regards.
Raj

mike_hammond

I have a MAHLE filter in my grasp so I'll change it tonight when I get back from work along with checking the crank nut torque.

How easy is it to check the relief valve, from reading I gather its on the filter housing somewhere.

Mike

mike_hammond

Filter changed, torque checked and nut is F'ing tight, my torque wrench was set at 155 and it clicked straight away.

Start it up and rattle, rattle exactly the same as before, pressure was stable at a fraction under 3 bar with the oil still warm so definate dudd lifter, at this pressue they should be fine.

Didn't have the heart to take it for a run, I'll tell you how it gets on tomorrow with regard the pressure fluctuations. I fancy a night off with a bottle of something


Cheers

Mike

RajDatta

Mike, we have all been there. Hang in there. The satisfaction of getting it right will be worth it in the end. Hey, what would be the fun of owning these cars if there were no headache's involved, lol.
The oil pressure relief valve is in the oil filter housing. To get to it, you need to remove your passenger side front wheel. You can see the housing from the side and right next to the oil pressure sender is the oil pressure relief valve. If I remember correctly, its a 22mm socket. I think your oil pressure is good enough at idle so I don't think its your relief valve.
Regards.
Raj