Oil Pressure Oddness

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

So after 4 on/off dry fits I've arrived here. 

1 0.005"

2 0.006"

3 0.006"

4 0.006"

5 0.006"

6 0.005"

7 0.005"

8 0.005/6"

Good enough I think and all now within spec. On some I seem to have the choice between 5 and 7 thou using different shims so finally settled on 5, which keeps them all close and similar.

[CarBuff 128]

^^^ That is fine for the intake valves.

 

 

Are you using the same specification for both intake & exhaust? Because the exhaust specs are 0.010 - 0.012, and they will tighten over time.  I set them to the .012 end.

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

The exhausts we're all within spec so I've left well alone  A bit of a relief after having to drill one of the inlet tower bolts out. If that had happened with the exhaust it'd have been engine out to get a drill to it...

All sealed and bolted back on now with 2 SJ replacement bolts and a new oil feed O ring too. In the end I decided that tight enough was tight enough for the bolts. I borrowed a 3/8 torque wrench but even set at 15 ft lb it was still going after  my mk1 wrist told me they were plenty tight enough. Better safe than helicoiling...

Next weekend cam belt, carbs, alternator etc back on and hopefully it'll be alive again.

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

Having fitted my cam tower last weekend using Permabond A136 I'm slightly concerned that the bead of excess sealant that squeezed out around the edges is still completely unset. Is that normal? Just worried that when I start the thing it'll blow all the gasket sealant out of the joint if it's not set

[andydclements 488 2 Vehicles]

Don't worry, it's an anaerobic action, it sets in the absence of air., rather like superglue.

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

Thanks Andy! I was never any good at chemistry... Haven't used the stuff before so was just worried it was wrong.

I guess that mean stuff I need to clean off the excess as it'll never set?

[andydclements 488 2 Vehicles]

Yep, wipe it away with tissue, I always think it's like a topping that goes on an ice cream sundae.

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

Yes, very pink. Tissues at the ready...

[CarBuff 128]

Make a note for next time....

Our USA Esprit guru always says he always paints the A136 or 5188 on with a brush.  You don't need much. 

 

Yes, it IS an anaerobic sealant, it sets up in the absence  of air.

 

 

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

Managed a few hours on this today despite my worsening cold. Almost back together now, carbs on, cambelt is on and tensioned, just a few final bits to reattach then it's time to refill with oil and water and go for a start

Something I noticed today whilst reattaching the vacuum hoses round the carbs... according to the manual the vac hose going to the distributor should have a restrictor in it. Mine doesn't, never has. Question is what does it actually do and do I really need it??

Deroure list it as a 'restrictor, pulsation dampening'.

[andydclements 488 2 Vehicles]

The engine supplies a single pulse of vacuum per 2 crank turns, but we need that vacuum to remain fairly constant at the dissy so as to maintain a constant level of advance.retardation. So, a very small hole is drilled through a brass bead, which slows the passage of air and so dampens the fluctuations in vacuum.

 

I cannot recall the diameter of the hole but think it's less than 0.5mm, so absence would lead to a less than smooth running compared to the free movement of air in a 5-6mm tube.

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

Thanks for the explanation Andy. Sounds like I should get one then!

My reason for asking is that I hadn't noticed any issues without it but being on the parts list suggests it's important. In the interests of making sure everything is exactly as it should be I'll track one down.

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

Interestingly the original part has been superseded by A912E6452H, which appears in other Lotus models/applications as 'idle jet 58'

That suggests I could just buy a Dellorto idle jet 58 and stuff it in that section of pipe? £2.56 on eBay vs £10 for the Lotus part...

[andydclements 488 2 Vehicles]

That seems sensible, and no sense in throwing money away just to have the same thing arrive in a bag with a Lotus logon on the plastic.

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

For £2.56 I'll give it a go. What's the worst that can happen...

[andydclements 488 2 Vehicles]

Worth buying some replacement pipe, as if the existing is old it may split (as you do it or a short time later), and cause problems due to air leaks.

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

Good shout but actually I replaced all the vac hose with silicone pipe not long ago, which is how I know there was no restrictor in the originals. It's supple enough to (hopefully) cut and rejoin by wedging the restrictor into each half.

[andydclements 488 2 Vehicles]

Normal approach is just to push it in from one end, it isn't a jointer.

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

Even easier 

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

Not a good day

Reassembled everything on the Esprit, filled with oil, new PNM filter etc and went for a restart. It's still not building any oil pressure on the manual gauge I have temporarily fitted in the sender port. I can hear the engine is rattly at tickover so I'm confident the gauge isn't lying to me.

I cranked it over for a while before starting then let it tickover for 30 seconds or more but nothing on the gauge at all. Gutted and now I'm left wondering what else it could be.

What I can see looking through the filler cap into the cam is that the oil appears to have lots of tiny air bubbles in it (pic below), suggesting it is maybe sucking air as well as oil from somewhere? But where?

Done so far:

New pickup pipe and olive (torqued up as per the manual)

Rebuilt oil pump with new inner and outer annulus, new gaskets. Pressure relief valve checked, cleaned and working correctly

New (Lotus) distributor O ring

New dipstick O ring

New cam cover gaskets and oil feed O ring

New PNM filter (primed with fresh oil)

New Millers 20w50 oil

I'm in desperate need of some ideas or advice here guys! Does it just need to be run for longer to purge any air in the system? I'm worried about doing that and causing any damage. I also don't want to start guessing and stripping it all down again without knowing what I'm looking for this time.

The only thing I can try easily is a different O ring on the dizzy as the Lotus one seemed quite thin and it doesn't make the dizzy feel any more 'snug' going into the aux housing body. Beyond that I'm stumped

 

[andydclements 488 2 Vehicles]

Did you prime the oil pump (gear oil, petroleum jelly etc) ? It isn't always necessary but eliminates that initially large air pocket that can be  enough such that oil doesn't reach the pump.

 

Edit: Another trick is a timing belt, a bolt through (a spare) sprocket and an electric drill, just spin the pump up enough at high speed and you'll eventually get oil pressure and the air bled out.

Edited January 26 by andydclements

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

I didn't prime the pump as such because there was nothing in the manual to say so. I did coat the new rotors in oil before reassembling the housing though as per then manual so they wouldn't be running dry. Likewise the cam and followers.

The electric drill option is interesting. I do have the old cambelt but not another pulley unless I remove one from my rebuilt TE engine under the bench  

Is is possible to fill/ prime the the pump via the open section of the aux housing beneath the alternator bracket? I.e. Fill that with oil and prime the pump that way?

I just replaced the dizzy O ring with a fatter one that's nice and snug on the shaft and in the housing so I'm happy that's well sealed now at least.

Just tried turning it over again for a minute and a half, nothing. Then started and left to tickover for a minute, still nothing.

[Barrykearley 5,386]

Don’t start it ffs. Pull the plugs and leads off.

you need to get oil circulation working - is this on the turbo car ? If so - remove the feed to the turbo - and get a small battery oil pump and backwards prime the oil pump. You simply will not get that pump to suck up dry 

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

No this is the N/A

Ive cranked it for a minute and a half with the king lead off but nothing registers on the manual gauge so yes, I'm concluding that the pump is just full of air. Are you saying to crank it over with the plugs out to spin it faster?

Any ideas on how to prime the pump? 

[eeyoreish 758 1 Vehicles]

How about forcing some oil up to the pump with a syringe via the sender port? Its in the same place as the Turbo oil feed would be on the Turbo car. Definitely on the outlet side of the pump.

Then do we think spinning the engine over with the plugs out would be enough to pull it through?