Tom W
Active Member
Hi everyone,
The oil pressure gauge on my 2200tc is very slow to respond when the car's been standing for a while. We're talking standing for a week, and literally taking minutes to move. When it does move, it goes up to above 50psi at idle, and half way between 50 and 100 at speed. The light goes off a few seconds after starting the car from cold, and instantly when started from warm. It's only started doing this recently. I've started putting a lot more long distance mileson the car at motorway speeds in the last month, but for the last few years, it's not really had much hard use. It doesn't sound rattly and there's no notable change when the gauge finally wakes up. Once everything's woken up, turning the ignition back on immediately after stopping the car shows the light takes a while to come back on and the gauge to drop to zero, so there's definitely residual oil pressure.
So, my thoughts are as follows:
1. I maybe have the wrong filter on without the internal flap valve and standpipe. I've just swapped the filter for another that I had so I'll see if this makes a difference, but I don't know that the new filter has the correct internals. I'll have to let it stand a few days before I can check this. Interestingly, starting the engine after fitting the new and therefore empty filter had the light go out and the gauge come up almost straight away.
2. The sender has a dodgy connection that requires the engine to reach a certain temperature before it makes contact.
3. The sender's failing internally giving the same result as the thought above.
4. The gauge is accurate and there really is no pressure in the main oil gallery. The light takes it's pressure feed from the pump housing and the gauge measures pressure where the fat oil feed pipe enters the side of the block, so it's conceivable there could be 2 pressures within the engine. The timing chain tensioner feeds directly from the pump, so that would explain the lack of rattle. Maybe the large feed pipe has collapsed internally?
5. Maybe there's something up with the oil pressure relief valve? I don't know where this is located and where the gauge and light measure relative to it, but could this be sticking open and giving the symptoms I describe?
I can't see my engine lasting long if this really is a mechanical problem. Maybe a V8 would be better suited to long distance commuting.
Cheers,
Tom
The oil pressure gauge on my 2200tc is very slow to respond when the car's been standing for a while. We're talking standing for a week, and literally taking minutes to move. When it does move, it goes up to above 50psi at idle, and half way between 50 and 100 at speed. The light goes off a few seconds after starting the car from cold, and instantly when started from warm. It's only started doing this recently. I've started putting a lot more long distance mileson the car at motorway speeds in the last month, but for the last few years, it's not really had much hard use. It doesn't sound rattly and there's no notable change when the gauge finally wakes up. Once everything's woken up, turning the ignition back on immediately after stopping the car shows the light takes a while to come back on and the gauge to drop to zero, so there's definitely residual oil pressure.
So, my thoughts are as follows:
1. I maybe have the wrong filter on without the internal flap valve and standpipe. I've just swapped the filter for another that I had so I'll see if this makes a difference, but I don't know that the new filter has the correct internals. I'll have to let it stand a few days before I can check this. Interestingly, starting the engine after fitting the new and therefore empty filter had the light go out and the gauge come up almost straight away.
2. The sender has a dodgy connection that requires the engine to reach a certain temperature before it makes contact.
3. The sender's failing internally giving the same result as the thought above.
4. The gauge is accurate and there really is no pressure in the main oil gallery. The light takes it's pressure feed from the pump housing and the gauge measures pressure where the fat oil feed pipe enters the side of the block, so it's conceivable there could be 2 pressures within the engine. The timing chain tensioner feeds directly from the pump, so that would explain the lack of rattle. Maybe the large feed pipe has collapsed internally?
5. Maybe there's something up with the oil pressure relief valve? I don't know where this is located and where the gauge and light measure relative to it, but could this be sticking open and giving the symptoms I describe?
I can't see my engine lasting long if this really is a mechanical problem. Maybe a V8 would be better suited to long distance commuting.
Cheers,
Tom