Beaver Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 sup y'all, over the weeke3nd, oncve the trump had been running for a while (say an hour or so) the oil light would come on at idle (flickering mostly). Oil never got below 3/4 full. I assume the oil is just getting thinner as it heats up no doubt the oil pump probably isnt the best, so should I try a thicker oil and see if it helps? Its runnig the standard filter which is a known issue for triumphs at start up as they drain all the oil out and lead to the death know. I ahve a spin on filter conversion which I have been meaning to do (runs a new filter with a non return valve), but that probably isnt realted to this problem is it? cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepers Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 its probably the oil pressure light sender unit/switch. when they get old they have a spazz and start triggering at a higher pressure than they are supposed to. so, your light comes on when the engine is idling and hot i,e the lowest oil pressure the engine sees. chuck a new sender in it and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morkster Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Yes oil pressure does drop off as oil temperature increases. Keep your oil topped up. I'm sure you could use 20 50 no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Answered your own question Beave - most probably oil is a bit old and diluted somewhat by fuel so change it. May as well do the filter mod change at the same time too but its not likely to be related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xsspeed Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Senders also like the crack open mid track and spew oil, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borgweiser Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Verify the oil pressure against an accurate gauge when warm, it's not unheard of for a Triumph or any vehicle of that matter to suffer a warn bottom end. Nothing wrong with changing the oil and doing the long overdue filter conversion, but whats the point if the crank has more slop than your mum.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaver Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 sweet cheers guys. When I brought the car (couple of months ago) it had just had a oil change and new filter but its probably well contaminated by now. will do oil change and filter conversion and cross my fingers/continue to give minimal fucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morkster Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 http://clubtriumph.eu/cgi-bin/forum10/Blah.pl?m-1234043299/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Yea had this issue with various cars over the years, as said chuck a guage on it asap and see what it is actually doing this will eliminate a shitty switch. Some old engines it is common for the pump to have to much play and be the problem, or if you are unlucky its bottom end wear. 20/50 is really pretty thick but fuck if it hides the problem for awhile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikuni Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Had this issue in a couple of my cars before and it was a faulty/dirty oil pressure relief valve. This is a valve that is essentially just a spring that opens up to regulate the higher pressure when thick oil is flowing through the system and then is supposed to close up as the oil thins out to maintain sufficient oil pressure. Over time the spring sags and grit gets into the cylinder where the spring is housed and it doesn't come back to its original position as well. This results in lower oil pressure but only once the engine gets up to or near operating temperature. I chased the fault on my first Vectra for weeks. I changed senders, oil and filters twice, I ran cleaning additives through and tried thicker oil. I was just about to replace the oil pump when I found a guide to cleaning the oil pressure relief valve and this cured the problem completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yammies Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 What grade of oil are you using? I second the 20w/50 oil. There's a good chance you are running the wrong grade - say 15w/40. You are wasting your time running some of the more modern oils like magnatech in an older motor. also, check your idle speed to make sure it is idling high enough. Basically, the thinner the oil, the less resistance to flow, and therefore less pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil_si Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Verify oil pressure with an accurate mechanical guage. If the light is on sender is fcked or there is no pressure there, no pressure = bad shit i grab a decent diesel oil 15w40 and new filter, run for a couple of weeks to clean the gunge out Diesel oils have detergents in them to control carbon, soot etc, they do a good job at cleaning the shit out with out harming the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaver Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 thanks guys. not sure on what oil was used when it was changed but I top it up with 20w50 when it is needed. will do an oil chnage using 20w50 soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borgweiser Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I use this in everything British, get some and stop being gay. Run a litre of diesel through it on the way home and that should bust the gunge, would definitely not reccomend a diesel oil or anything light grade in that motor, not even once. Original specification oil back when the motor was designed in the 50's was SAE 30, thicker it is the better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cute wee gem Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 My old Gemini motor did this, at the 2009? nats trackday, after a few laps it would be on constantly at idle (would normally just flicker) Never did bearings or knocked, and got beaten up lots every day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUNAMUCK Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 If your oil pressure is indeed shit when the oil is warm, lucas heaavy duty oil stabiliser is your friend. Is the oil pump an external thing on your engine? If so, (And if the car has been designed so you can remove it without removeing the engine first) it might not hurt to check the releif valve is okay, or even check your pump clearances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dell'orto Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 20/50 is really pretty thick but fuck if it hides the problem for awhile Nulon do a 40w70 +heaps for check with a gauge first, then go from that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ta63-1uzze Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Just a random side note for people who are looking at this info, something that most people don’t know is that the oil light on your dash isn’t low oil level it is low oil pressure. I know this isn’t directly any help to your fault but if others are reading this it may help them to understand what the light is for and this info will go hand in hand with the rest of the solid good info that others have said I would be checking actual oil pressure as this will tell you exactly where the issues is, whether it be low pressure caused by worn bearings ,pump ,faulty valve to thin oil etc. Or if it’s an electrical fault with the sender or what not. If its pressure related then you can start looking into bearings and pump which both require the motor to be pulled apart and cleaned and assembled to some extent, then you can decide if you want to pull it out and clean the whole thing or just half ass it and do the minimum required to get it going again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOHC Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 If your talking about a Triumph 2000 2500, it probably has worn big end and main bearings. my 72 and my 75 did this, put in some Moryes heavy duty oil stabilizer or Penrite 27 W 70. Don't worry my 75 had a heavy bearing knock and low oil pressure and ran for years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuel Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I would check the basics first before going ahead with thicker oil changes etc. First either swap out the oil pressure sensor with a known good one or a new one ($10 at most usually), or get ahold of a accurate oil pressure gauge (either mechanical or electric). If the oil pressure light still comes on with a good or new sensor, or the oil pressure is indeed low at idle when warm then start looking at the oil pump and the oil pressure relief valve itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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