Thread: Oil pressure problem V8?

I'll add that head gaskets or cracked block/dropped liner would not normally result in loss of oil pressure. Rocker assemblies can be starved of oil if there is a blockage within an oil gallery.

It is not impossible for there to be a problem within the oil pump itself.

Oil can be either 10W-40 or 15W-50 for the RV8 with crankshaft driven oil pump.

Ron.

AULRO member Pibby dropped in the other day after getting a no oil pressure scare on his 4.6. Apparently the crank nut wasn't tight enough and the key failed. Triumph Rover Spares fixed it quite easily, apparently without removing the front cover.

I used Shell Helix HX7 10W-40?? Was Expecting to fork out a few dollars to get it on the road seeing it was so cheap($2500) compared to what's out there on the market. Rebuild was kind of kept in the back of my mind as a worst case scenario.
I'm in eastern burbs of Melbourne any one know a good mechanic close to box hill to diagnose the prob, not to keen on driving it to far until i know for sure what up with it. Or is there any thing i can do, compression test or pull rocket/ sump covers off? Do i need a re mortgage the house to rebuild one of these?
Cheers

Originally Posted by stdango

I used Shell Helix HX7 10W-40?? Was Expecting to fork out a few dollars to get it on the road seeing it was so cheap($2500) compared to what's out there on the market. Rebuild was kind of kept in the back of my mind as a worst case scenario.
I'm in eastern burbs of Melbourne any one know a good mechanic close to box hill to diagnose the prob, not to keen on driving it to far until i know for sure what up with it. Or is there any thing i can do, compression test or pull rocket/ sump covers off? Do i need a re mortgage the hose to rebuild one of these/
Cheers

Heads sump and timing cover come off in the car, you can do rings gaskets and timing chain without any great fuss. Check the front crank nut first, nipping it up may get oil pressure back for long enough to diagnose other problems.

Had a quick surf mite be helpful

There is a sad characteristic of the Buick/Rover oil pumps. They can lose their prime, thus leaving the engine without a lubricating oil supply, which leads to a major engine failure in a minute or so. That being said, in the many many times I have dealt with these oil pumps I have seen one lose its prime once and that after the pump was out and in pieces for weeks. However, it is better to be safe than sorry.
When there is air in the oil pump it will be compressed and the pump will not pump out oil and no oil pressure will be indicated. Don't run the engine when this happens! The pump has to be primed.
There are three ways to do it:

1. Packing the Pump With Vaseline (aka Petroleum Jelly)
Drain the oil and unscrew the oil filter
Unscrew the six bolts from the pump cover.
Fill the cavities between the gears with vaseline
Fit a new gasket and refit the bolts (torque down to 10-15 lb/ft)
Replace the pre-filled oil filter and top up the oil
Start the engine and check for oil pressure and leaks.


2. Turning the Oil Pump Drive Gear
Remove the distributor. Make an adapter to fit the oil pump drive gear
and using an electrical drill, turn the the drive gear until the pump primes.

3. Packing the Pump with Vaseline Using a Grease Gun
by John Sheally II for the eMog Pub
Fill a cleaned out standard grease gun with one half pint of Petroleum Jelly
Leave the standard grease connector tip on the gun. (for zerks or grease nipples)
Remove the Oil Pressure Relief Valve Plug
Extract the Spring from the relief valve.
Insert the grease gun in the housing fill with the half pint of Jelly.
Replace spring and plug and you have a direct well packed oil pump gear housing. with no mess.

Hello Steve35,

The info that you provided is fine, but the only problem is that in this instance it is of no use as stdango's Discovery has a 4.0 litre engine, and they don't have a distributor.

The oil pump is driven by the crankshaft, and priming them with vaseline is never required.

The info that you posted is for the older camshaft driven oil pumps, which were phased out on the Rover V8 around 1994/5.

Ron.

Gday guys

Had a similar problem last week on a customer's Disco. Another mechanic had just done head gaskets,waterpump and a pile of other stuff. Oil pressure at idle fine. Go for a drive, no pressure.
Customer brought it here in desperation. Turned out to be a blocked engine oil cooler. Replace radiator problem gone!

Cheers

Graeme

$2500?!?!? for a D2?!?!?!
for that kind of money I'd do a full 4.6 tophat rebuild without batting an eye,,
get the rad serviced and away you go for 10 years,,

I dont know how many steve's done,,
but I've done 42 and never filled the filter.