IT MUST BE GONE??? BASICALLY I HAVE HAD THE CAR IN THE GARAGE FOR ABOUT 5 MONTHS NOW. i have changed the box clutch and fitted an oil breather system and changed the crankshaft oil seal. Having started the car after 5 months perfectly i was very pleased, then took it out i was happier. So i took it for m.o.t yesterday and it passed, then i done 250 slow miles to run in the new parts. The car felt spot on and no missfire or no pinking, so i thought it was time to put my boot down and test it on boost. Having done this i was overly impressed by the performance and the smoothness. There was no clutch slip or anything at all, the car felt fine. SO ANYWAY I DECIDED TO GO FOR AN EVENING THRASH AND CAME UP AGAINST A TYPE R, HAMMERED HIM BUT IT WAS CLOSE AND MY CAR FELT LIKE IT WAS HOLDING BACK, as soon as i was slowing down the engine oil light came on and i stoped the car after bout a minute, it was very tappy. I checked the oil and filled it which it didnt need however the light was still on and it was still tapping. I checked under the car and there was no signs of oil leak anywhere and i cant see any oil on the floor. WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER, ANY IDEAS???????? DO U THINK SHE WAS DETONATING AND I GOT A HOLE IN MY PISTON???? i fear that my engine has given up has any1 got any advice. after doing all this work i didnt have it set-up, very foolish but i was going to do it next week and i only used it coz it seemed fine.

 

Was it a new crank shaft you put in?

Did you have it re ground?? or checked??

Jim

 

not new crankshaft mate just the oil seal on the gearbox side.

 

could be you oil pump has packed in and now you big ends have gone

 

it had new pump 2,000 miles ago the car has had everything new, new driveshafts, new cam belt, new fanbelt, new alternator, new starter motor, new tca's, new box, new clutch, new linkage i could go on forever but believe me its had everything changed and i mean everything. one thing thats original is the engine, which was un-touched maybe it just had enough of being neglected for 167,000 miles i just dont understand why, compressions were fine but it gave up???

 

 

It's got something to do with your bottom end mate your not getting oil upto the top of the engine thats why it's sounding really tappy i would say it's got something to do with your crank being worn or something.

cheers,

Jim

 

couldnt he have spun a shell?im sure ive heard that happens which stops oil flow,or oil pump i know its new but even new stuff can be faulty!

 

its the oil pump mate definately, as the oil light comes on at 5 psi of oil pressure and the sensor for oil pressure is more or less directly next to the oil pump output so there is no chance for the engine to loose the oil pressure,

you need to replace your oil pump and also check you havent caused any damage
but when the oil light has come on it is usually too late anyhow

how many miles has it done on that oil pump?

 

what car is it mate?

 

sounds like you over done it m8

 

What oil breather system do you have on the car? Standard or uprated?

How much bosst are you running?

 

its got a bailey breather system and the new oil pump has only done 2,000 miles. As for boost it is holding about 14-15 psi which is not alot.

 

series2 rst

 

I have had the car for 5 years now and its been running the same boost since day, i cant believe that the oil pump could be gone as i have recently replaced it and its not really a highly technical thing that can fail once it has been working. Its a genuwine ford pump and it was primed with fresh oil and fitted with new gasket following the correct procedure. I did think maybe it had spun a shell as shane said but who knows. I am going to whip the head off now and see what everything looks like. BIGLEE how can you be so sure its the pump mate you are making feel this sense of hope but i cant be as sure as you. I dont wana change the pump again and descover it was the engine anyway, but everyone who has replyed: i do appreciate it and thanks alot

 

Ok that pretty much rules out my thoughts of excessive crankcase preassure causing your issues.

 

well a quick update on my situation, i didnt do a compression test i just decided to take the head off and see what condition everything is in. To my surprise everything looks spot on and the pistons are as clean as fuck. I supose it must be the big end bearing or i have spun a shell, i will have to take the bottom end out and have a look at that 2mrw. What should i look for on the head and in the piston bores to see the condition??? bcoz as far as i am concerned everything is fine. I am going to do a full rebuild whilst i am here and plan a few special mods.

 

i have a similar story mate, i was thrashing my missus xr3i down the m5 when the oil press light came on followed by loud tapping, i also took head off and everything was fine but when i dropped sump and took big end caps off the shells were like tin foil! scored crank as well so it was an engine out job. the car had done about 90,000 which i think is the reason it died when abused. if yours has done 160 odd thou on same shells then i think there is a good chance your race killed off the bottom end. hope you get it sorted mate.

 

top man, i aint taken the sump off yet but i as good as know thats exactly what has happened. Not to worry i am keen on doing my rebuild now. thanks for your reply. I am glad i got 160,000 out of it without ever opening up the engine. Obviously only for valve stem oil seals and rocker cover gasket but apart from that i aint done nothing to it. I could just do a minor repair and have her up and running quickly but i want to go the whole hog and give the car what it deserves, i want bout 220bhp and 220lbs of torque then i will be happy. Alot of head development and flow testing will be needed to get this car the way i want it and as for the bottom end i am thinking of the american tall block option. what you all reckon????

 

An update on my situation chaps, i have taken the sump off and all the shells to discover that yes they are gone. The crank looks fine, no swarf or uneveness just looks spot on. I have decided that i will change all the shells and then make do with that till i have saved the money for my new engine. Oh yeah i will change the cam as it would most likely be fucked after being starved of oil. What do you lot reckon????? its either that or the car be off road for 8 months till i got the money for the engine i want.