25 psi :( should i be worried

[djinuk]

Well after all this talk of oil pressure etc i decided to look at mine a little more.. Im running 15/40 semi syn oil, the turbo dosent smoke and car drives fine.
Its leaking oil from the timing belt cover also.

Ive got a mechanical oil pressure gauge and on a long drive today i noticed that my oil pressure rarely goes above 25 psi. At tick over its around 15psi and at 2krpm its at 25psi , 3k around 25psi, 3.5k around 30psi. so it seems very low compared to figures you lot have been stating recently. I know that previously sparkie spoke to me about having oil pressures of around 45psi at 3krpm and i was getting about 40 psi however this was when i wasnt able to drive the car on the road so the oil was never really got very warm. The oil pump internals have been refurbed so it shouldnt be that. Is there a chance its loosing the pressure from the timing belt cover leak ?

On a cold morning when the car is first started im seeing oil pressures of around 45/50psi on steady driving.

any advice welcome

[tom t]

i would have thought that the leak could effect the pressure....? not 100% on that. is it losing oil on the dipstick?

[Adam L]

The fact you're losing oil, is never a good sign...

Where are you taking your pressure reading from? Oil feed to turbo?

[markey b]

also what make is your gauge, only saying it because say, a mocal one, should be a bit more accurate than an ebay 7colour LED cheapy

[djinuk]

taking the reading from the bottom of the turbo union where the original did, this is the gauge i have (http://www.cgbmotorsport.net/sw-oil-...ical-578-p.asp).

[TURBO'D CLIO]

Oil pressure is always greater when cold as the oil is thicker when cold, the oil leak behind your cover could seriously effect the reading on the guage.

Im sure in some tech notes some where it will say what the oil pressure of a r5 turbo should be, maybe the haynes print it in there manual..

[djinuk]

I think i need to get the leak 100% sorted then and go from there.

[Brigsy]

That is pretty low considering you have refurbed the pump. Ill doubt the leak on timing chain cover will be affecting it, its probably bottom end wear that is causing the pressure drop.

[djinuk]

ah not good then. I guess its just a case of driving the car then until it goes wrong. However putting funds aside for a engine rebuild.

[Sparkie]

if its not the bottom end, it could be the cam worn in the block.

a leak wouldnt effect oil pressure, as the oil is draining back to the sump by then. unless you lost that much oil you ran low.

driving it until it goes bang could be false economy, as you will go through a few turbos before then.

[djinuk]

yea true. Id like to rebuild another engine myself , however im not sure exactly how hard it is to do. At the moment im having to use the car to get to work etc so ideally it would be nice to rebuild another engine and then fit it over a weekend. What exactly is involved, and what exactly would rebuilding a engine involve.

[Sparkie]

strip down...

undo 10 headbolts and remove head
undo the sump bolts - 10mm bolts
undo the timing chain cover - 10mm bolts
undo the timing chain tensioner - 10mm bolts
lock the engine and take off the cam pulley - 16mm bolt
lock engine and remove clutch (6mm allen keys?) and the flywheel -17mm bolts.
remove the cam pulley, chain and crank pulley.
take out the dizzy
take out the cam/dizzy mech gear
undo the 10mm bolts holding the cam in
pull out the cam
undo the allen bolts that hold the oil pump in.
MARK THE CONROD AND CAPS TO EACH OTHER!
undo the caps - 11mm nuts
take off the caps and push the whole liner and piston out as one unit.
undo the main caps- 17mm bolts
remove crank

done.

[Chris Hebden]

strip down...

undo 10 headbolts and remove head
undo the sump bolts - 10mm bolts
undo the timing chain cover - 10mm bolts
undo the timing chain tensioner - 10mm bolts
lock the engine and take off the cam pulley - 16mm bolt
lock engine and remove clutch (6mm allen keys?) and the flywheel -17mm bolts.
remove the cam pulley, chain and crank pulley.
take out the dizzy
take out the cam/dizzy mech gear
undo the 10mm bolts holding the cam in
pull out the cam
undo the allen bolts that hold the oil pump in.
MARK THE CONROD AND CAPS TO EACH OTHER!
undo the caps - 11mm nuts
take off the caps and push the whole liner and piston out as one unit.
undo the main caps- 17mm bolts
remove crank

done.

Sorry to but in, Sparkie when you remove the cam do you have to pull the cam followers out before? Or can you just let them drop if the blocks not going to get used again? Cheers

[djinuk]

thanks for that run down sparkie. Out of interest whats the rough cost of parts for the rebuild going to be?. Also just out of interest when you remove the bottom pulley and tehre is that metal piece that the pulley sits on , how do you remove it easilly. I used a set of grips and wiggled it violenty until it came out as i cudnt fit a pulley puller onto it.

[Chris Hebden]

thanks for that run down sparkie. Out of interest whats the rough cost of parts for the rebuild going to be?. Also just out of interest when you remove the bottom pulley and tehre is that metal piece that the pulley sits on , how do you remove it easilly. I used a set of grips and wiggled it violenty until it came out as i cudnt fit a pulley puller onto it.

About £200 without a cam or piston and liners though

[Sparkie]

Sorry to but in, Sparkie when you remove the cam do you have to pull the cam followers out before? Or can you just let them drop if the blocks not going to get used again? Cheers

oops forgot about the cam followers.
stick your finger in them and pull them out.

[Sparkie]

Also just out of interest when you remove the bottom pulley and tehre is that metal piece that the pulley sits on , how do you remove it easilly. .

tap the leading edge of it with a very small screwdriver and hammer. it moves along the groove, then you can pull it out.

[Sparkie]

About £200 without a cam or piston and liners though

piston and liners = £200-£300
putting pistons onto conrods = £50 max
regrinding crank + supply bearings = £130 approx (bearings about £55 on own)
bottom end gasket kit = £30 approx
headset = £50 !!!
valve stem seals =£5
tube of sealant = £10
new oil pump core = £70
optional - balancing bottom end = £120
optional - uprated cam regrind = £150
optional - uprated valve springs = £80
optional - new cam followers = £100 for the set (made by machine shop)
optional - water pump = £50 !!!!

£1045 please!



and thats not including time and effort to fit and rebuild it.

[djinuk]

ok, it appears before going head first ill need to study a few bits first such as what benefits certain things bring. Are standard pistons and pins the general direction to head. Its certainly somthing id like to do, both as a learning exercise for myself aswell as knowing i have a healthy running r5 engine. Ill keep a look out for any R5's being broke with a bloke to get at the right price. Really appreciate any run down of parts/pricing sparkie.

[Sparkie]

i also forgot the optional vernier pulley!

[djinuk]

seems i could really do with learning more about the engine internals themselves and see exactly what im getting my self in for , before i make a descision on the build. Out of interest sparkie are you going to the pod day at the end of May.

[Sparkie]

no mate, not as far as i know. work commitments

[djinuk]

ah no worries then man, maybe at some point you can spare some time to explain the ins and outs of the engine builds and what would best suit myself. Shame your not going though but indeed work comes first eh :P