Oil pressure on Daimler 2.5 V8
Jonathan Halsall
gauge mean. When the car was last serviced a new oil pressure sender
unit was fitted. I have noticed recently that the reading are in my
opinion quite low. When started from cold and driven away the reading is
~40psi (I think that's the unit) but when the car starts to warm up the
pressure gradually drops to around 20psi, while being driven sedately
around country lanes. The water temperature gauge has stopped reading.
Could this be an indication that the thermostat has failed and the
engine is tending to over heat? The engine was in near perfect, though
original condition when serviced about 200 miles ago and isn't often
subjected to traffic jams as it's only used every three weeks or so. I
don't think that the oil is contaminated as the car is used for longer
drives at the weekend, no short trips where petrol could contaminate the
oil. What does a low oil pressure indicate? Not a rebuild I hope!
Any opinions will be appreciated, Jon Halsall.
===============================================
Jonathan Halsall
===============================================
Daimler V8 2.5 Litre Saloon
Ford Cortina MkIII 1600GT
===============================================
"I piddy da foo' who messes wid ma gold" - Mr.T
===============================================
PumaRacing
>From: Jonathan Halsall <jh8...@bris.ac.uk>
>Date: 23/05/99 12:38 GMT
>Message-id: <Pine.SOL.3.95q.99052...@sis.bris.ac.uk>
>
>Can someone please tell me what the readings given by my oil pressure
>gauge mean. When the car was last serviced a new oil pressure sender
>unit was fitted. I have noticed recently that the reading are in my
>opinion quite low. When started from cold and driven away the reading is
>~40psi (I think that's the unit) but when the car starts to warm up the
>pressure gradually drops to around 20psi, while being driven sedately
>around country lanes. The water temperature gauge has stopped reading.
>Could this be an indication that the thermostat has failed and the
>engine is tending to over heat? The engine was in near perfect, though
>original condition when serviced about 200 miles ago and isn't often
>subjected to traffic jams as it's only used every three weeks or so. I
>don't think that the oil is contaminated as the car is used for longer
>drives at the weekend, no short trips where petrol could contaminate the
>oil. What does a low oil pressure indicate? Not a rebuild I hope!
>
>Any opinions will be appreciated, Jon Halsall.
>
>
These engines don't run very high oil pressures but also the guages tend to be
very much on the dodgy side. I would check the pressure with an independent
guage before worrying too much. The bottom ends are just about bullet proof and
I doubt there would be a bearing or oil pump problem unless the mileage is
horrendous. Pressure relief valve stuck open is a possibility but I doubt it.
A few years ago I rebuilt and blueprinted one of these engines for a barrister
customer. The engine design and the quality of the castings is absolutely
gorgeous. Cross drilled crank with removeable sludge traps, hemi head,
wonderful cast iron in the block. The only weak spot is the aluminium cylinder
heads which corrode very very badly around the waterways and can eventually
blow the head gasket. They have to be ground out and welded up and then milled
out back to the original shape. Not a problem to do but it is a long winded job
and needs doing expertly.
So make sure you use lots and lots of antifreeze to give corrosion protection.
If you are unlucky enough to have a problem with the engine you would make me a
very happy man by giving me the chance to rebuild another one :)
Dave Baker at Puma Race Engines (London - England) - specialist cylinder head
work, flow development and engine blueprinting. Web page at
http://hometown.aol.com/pumaracing/myhomepage/index.html
Dave Plowman
PumaRacing <pumar...@aol.com> wrote:
> The engine design and the quality of the castings is absolutely
> gorgeous.
Why do you reckon BLMC, or who ever they were at the time, junked this
engine and its bigger brother? Expense or politics?
--
Dave Plowman dave....@argonet.co.uk London SW 12
RIP Acorn
Alex
Oil Pressure Hot (Running) - 35-45 psi
(Idling) - 20psi
So it would seem that your V8 is running about right. Possibly the old gauge
was reading high.
Hope this helps..
Alex
Jonathan Halsall wrote:
> Can someone please tell me what the readings given by my oil pressure
> gauge mean. When the car was last serviced a new oil pressure sender
> unit was fitted. I have noticed recently that the reading are in my
> opinion quite low. When started from cold and driven away the reading is
> ~40psi (I think that's the unit) but when the car starts to warm up the
> pressure gradually drops to around 20psi, while being driven sedately
> around country lanes. The water temperature gauge has stopped reading.
> Could this be an indication that the thermostat has failed and the
> engine is tending to over heat? The engine was in near perfect, though
> original condition when serviced about 200 miles ago and isn't often
> subjected to traffic jams as it's only used every three weeks or so. I
> don't think that the oil is contaminated as the car is used for longer
> drives at the weekend, no short trips where petrol could contaminate the
> oil. What does a low oil pressure indicate? Not a rebuild I hope!
>
> Any opinions will be appreciated, Jon Halsall.
>
Pete Lucas
>
> In article <19990523102934...@ng-fp1.aol.com>,
> PumaRacing <pumar...@aol.com> wrote:
> > The engine design and the quality of the castings is absolutely
> > gorgeous.
>
> Why do you reckon BLMC, or who ever they were at the time, junked this
> engine and its bigger brother? Expense or politics?
Cluelessness. BL had a real hotch-potch of engine lines as a result
of the way it came into being. In the "2-litre and up" class in the
early 'sixties it had the Rover-2000 (4-cyl), the Triumph 4-cyl
(TR3/4-type, inherited from Standard Vanguards), the Triumph
2.5 straight-six, the "C"-series straight-six (MGC/Austin Westminster),
2.4/3.4/3.8/4.2 Jaguar straight-sixes, the 3-litre IOE Rover, the
Rover [nee Buick] V8, the old A70 4-cyl 2.2-litre engine as found
in the Austin Gypsy and various BL vans, the 2.5/4.5-litre Daimler
V8's, the 3.9 straight-six from the Sheerline/A125, the Land Rover
2.2-litre...
Add in the Austin Champ/Princess 4-litre's Rolls-Royce-sourced
IOE engine, multiply by the 2.2-litre straight-six version of the
Maxi engine, and crossbreed with the Stag V8, and you've got an
offspring beyond the wildest dreams of Dr. Frankenstein.
Imagine the parts logistics? The production costs? The servicing
nightmares... and it's no wonder BL went belly-up.
//PJML//
Alan Eardley
engine and runs on Triumph Speed Twin oil pressure! BTW he guages (same as
Jag. Mk11) are notoriously inconsistent, varying according to the
operating temperature of the guage!
In article <374866C6...@cbmsys.freeserve.co.uk>,
delete.no...@cbmsys.freeserve.co.uk says...
Andy Dingley
> Why do you reckon BLMC, or who ever they were at the time, junked this
>engine and its bigger brother? Expense or politics?
Too tall to fit into a Stag, as I heard it. That, and too many other
people trying to push their own engines; two V8s, a straight 6 of
similar size.
I once had one of these 2.5s in a Morris Minor.... 8-) If you think
that was bad, the next owner put a blower on it.
richard evans
Temperature Gauge (if its electrical) by removing it and hanging the tip in
a pan of water on the stove. Heat up the pan and apply a resistance meter -
one side to the lug, the other to the body. Borrow a jam thermometer to
check the water temp at the same time. Resistance should change as the water
heats up. If it's a capillary type water gauge (it probably is for a luxury
car of this age) check the pipe is not kinked or holed. If it still doesn't
work I reckon it needs an overhaul: there are specialists (Speedograph etc.)
who do this work. Only serviced 200 miles ago? Whoever did it should put
this right.
Jonathan Halsall wrote:
> Can someone please tell me what the readings given by my oil pressure
> gauge mean. When the car was last serviced a new oil pressure sender
> unit was fitted. I have noticed recently that the reading are in my
> opinion quite low. When started from cold and driven away the reading is
> ~40psi (I think that's the unit) but when the car starts to warm up the
> pressure gradually drops to around 20psi, while being driven sedately
> around country lanes. The water temperature gauge has stopped reading.
> Could this be an indication that the thermostat has failed and the
> engine is tending to over heat?
<snipped>