busted oil pump?

[peteretep]

when my escort is not running, it seems to lose all prime in the oil system and takes 10-15 seconds on start up for the light to go out (as in car will run for 1-15 with the light on, I dont think it will be doing anything nice to the engine). When I first started turning my car on and off, when it was turned off it would make squelching noises for several minutes after running.

Now a noise has started which is like a 'psst psst psst' inline with engine speed at idle and I have just changed the water pump. It is quite hard to tell exactly where this psst noise is coming from but I cant see it coming from the water pump or alternator

Anyone have any ideas? what are the symptoms of an incorrectly working oil pump?

[fuel]

sounds like perhaps the oil filter anti-drain back valve has failed. I would try replacing the oil filter and seeing if that fixes it.

[peteretep]

I see, didnt even know a filter had one of those, i'll get a new one tomorrow

[fuel]

yeah some cheaper filters have shitty valves, so when the engine sits the oil drains from out of the oil filter, so when you start your engine the oil pump is having to fill the oil filter every time before the oil system gets any pressure.

[peteretep]

Yeah it drains in less than 10minutes, it's a repco filter, never had any trouble with gem before but mabe it's because it's been sitting

[Unclejake]

Hmmm. Not certain about the filter drain back in this case as the Kent motor's filter hangs pretty much at sump level and I haven't ever noticed a drain-back valve in one. It could absolutely be the filter that is at fault though. I would change it first.

Have you ever driven on this engine (I can't remember)? Running a fresh engine with no load on it will make it hard to bed the rings in.

The standard oil pressure switch on those motors is something like 9psi. 15 seconds is far too long for the light to be on. You are correct to worry Retep.

Change the filter and see what happens

[peteretep]

I read on the net that some filters come with these antidrain valves and some dont, maybe I should find one with one of these fitted

the engine is already fully run in by the previous owner but i have been loading it up anyway

[My name is Russell]

You can see if it has one when you remove it, its that rubber bit you can push in that acts as a one way seal behind those six holes

This is my one IRL as i was worried about all the oil draining out of my raised oil cooler and was told about them

[fuel]

pretty much all filters have them, just some filters aren't built like others and the valve fails over time.

[peteretep]

Well I just changed the oil filter and it didn't change anything, both filters had the anti drain valve. The oil drains out in less than a minute and you can hear it drain out

[Unclejake]

Isn't the filter pretty much at the bottom of the oil circuit on a Kent motor? I wonder what it is that you are hearing. It is hard to imagine you could hear oil draining out of the filter. Is this a new problem? Any chance you have swapped the oil light for the generator light wires?

Do you have an oil cooler? There are two dipsticks for these motors. One will read full when the sump needs more oil. I don't know how to tell which stick is which though.

It is hard to remember what you have in that car so perhaps put a link to your project thread on your signature?

[peteretep]

OK added a link to my sig

Yes the lower part of the filter is only very slightly above the full oil level, I also do not think it is coming from the filter. This is not a new problem, I just figured that it would go away after a while but it hasn't. My alternator light doesnt work and ive had it checked but it was not changed so the wiring is correct

I dont have an oil cooler but I do have a funny stick arrangement in that there was about 2mm of tube coming out of the block for the dipstick tube so I have devcon'd a new tube on there to make a dipstick fit so now the stick touches the bottom of the sump. You wouldnt happen to know what a good oil level is in the sump?? It is currently about 3/4 to full on the stick. Maybe I should go higher and see if that makes any difference but I cant see how low oil level would make the oil drain out

edit: tbh I should have measured the suction height in the sump but I didnt think of it at the time and I really dont want to have to take the sump off again

[peteretep]

I added another half a litre of oil and it made no change, maybe I should try more? from memory when I originally filled it, it seemed like a reasonable amount of oil went into it

[eke_zetec_RWD]

what pressure switch is on it? 15psi?

[Thousand Dollar Supercar]

It is hard to remember what you have in that car...

Insert smart remark about how long this car has been under construction..

Does the engine have a standard sump or some kind of race-modified larger capacity setup? How about the oil pump pickup? If everything's standard, instead of adding 'a reasonable amount' of oil, you could just add the right amount for that motor..

Now remember I don't know what I'm talking about, but what are the chances you have a faulty (or wrong model, as eke_zetec_RWD's asking) oil pressure switch? Should be easy to try a new one. Did you put the right grade of oil in? Not 0W5 Honda oil?

Or maybe the oil pump's OK but there's some kind of gunk blockage in the motor? Or a problem with the oil pressure relief valve (if there is one)? Or unexpected stuff like weird race modifications to the oil system that only work OK above 5000rpm, or a mismatched head or the wrong head gasket blocking oil passages? Did this motor ever run properly in your car? Is there any possibility to add an oil pressure gauge from, like, the deluxe model or something?

[My name is Russell]

Now remember I don't know what I'm talking about, but what are the chances you have a faulty (or wrong model, as eke_zetec_RWD's asking) oil pressure switch?

You can get different weight switches, you want a heavy one on a track car as by the time the light comes on for a light weight switch on the track the engine will be fried by the time you know about it. Could be a heavy switch i presume Jase is getting at? edit think Ive got that the wrong way around? and now im confused as normal.

[peteretep]

im going away for a couple of days, but when I get back, to answer the questions of the pedantic, I will drain all oil and add the exact amount required

I understand the reason behind having a higher pressure switch, but it shouldnt take 15 seconds to get to that pressure, if the system was full of oil then 30-40 psi should be achieved within a second or two. Any easy ways to tell what the pressure is set to? might just go buy another one and specify a low pressure and see if that makes a difference

Just thinking about it, if the pressure relief valve(it does have one) was not working properly, the valve could be opening with no pressure on it and alllowing oil to drain back to the sump when the motor is turned off... but the valve somehow closes during running??

[fuel]

if the oil pressure relief valve was open at all times the oil pump would be able to out-flow the valve and just pressurise the system, just enough to turn off the oil light but not enough to fully supply the system so will be down on pressure. I would get an oil pressure gauge on there and see what your actual oil pressure values are at idle etc.

[eke_zetec_RWD]

valve shud be always shut except when pressure is too high and then it leaks it-regulates it.

some motors run f all pressure at idol. like 15psi. but usually only after trashing.

sender prob has switch point stamped on it

[KKtrips]

Temporarily chuck an oil pressure gauge in and take any guessing out of the equation..

You can get cheap as chips ones from Repco for $25ish..

I know these motors have a lot of little welsh plugs in the block that block off oil galleries - if they are not in place then the pressure is taking a long time to buid up pressure cos it has a massive internal leak...

But check how much pressure you are getting first of all and go from there..