BenMurphy

BenMurphy

New Member
Good evening all.

I am currently based in South Africa and have a Td5 110 CSW to transport me and the familly around in, which has been fantastic, until now...

A couple of weeks ago, the oil pressure light started staying on for about half a second when starting from cold (on restarting it would go out straight away). I changed the oil (Magnatec), filters and pressure switch, but the problem is getting slowly worse.

The light now stays on for 1.5 seconds and I've decided to stop driving the car (fortunately we have friends staying at the moment with a hire car).

I am going to drop the sump tomorrow to check the infamous oil-pump bolt, and the pressure reflief spring -the only things I can think of to look at.

Does anyone please have any suggestions / advice? Any help would be very much appreciated. By the way, a new oil pump is about £550 out here, but if I can't think of a better idea, I'll be ordering one this week, as we are supposed to be driving to Nairobi in a month's time.

Thanks in advance,
Ben.
 
Assuming you've checked oil level?
Possibly the anti drain back valve in the new filter? No way to check this other than change the filter again.
Could be a dodgy pressure switch. Even new ones can be crook.
When you changed the oil how much did you get out?
If it was more than you needed to put in check for signs of diesel fuel in the engine oil diluting the oil.
You can check for oil pressure by screwing a gauge into the pressure switch hole or loosen the banjo on the top of the turbo which is fed with full pressure and make sure you get good flow.
 
Thanks chaps,

According to the mechanical gauge I have just installed (using various bits of brass to get the available one to fit along with the original switch) and which seems to react quite slowly to any changes, I have 3 to 3.5 psi at cold idle, rising to 4 to 4.5 psi at 3000 revs. Pressure at idle drops to just below 3 at hot idle.

I suspect the gauge is over-reading by .5 psi as the bypass should open at 4 psi (or so says thew book) so it would follow that I have 2 to 2.5 at hot idle. Does this sound low to anyone?

Thanks again,
Ben.
 
BenMurphy said:
Thanks chaps,

According to the mechanical gauge I have just installed (using various bits of brass to get the available one to fit along with the original switch) and which seems to react quite slowly to any changes, I have 3 to 3.5 psi at cold idle, rising to 4 to 4.5 psi at 3000 revs. Pressure at idle drops to just below 3 at hot idle.

I suspect the gauge is over-reading by .5 psi as the bypass should open at 4 psi (or so says thew book) so it would follow that I have 2 to 2.5 at hot idle. Does this sound low to anyone?

Thanks again,
Ben.
Click to expand...

If that is really PSI pounds per square inch your engine will be wrecked in no time from oil pressure failure. But I think your gauge is in BAR being 14.7 psi per 1 BAR pressure.

1 BAR pressure is a standard unit, 1 atmospheric pressure.

Assuming it is holding nearly 3 BAR at tickover with hot oil (about 45 psi), the lube system is doing very well indeed.

Fit a permanent oil gauge. You'll feel a lot more confident with that little pointer way over on the right side of the dial!

CharlesY
 
CharlesY said:
If that is really PSI pounds per square inch your engine will be wrecked in no time from oil pressure failure. But I think your gauge is in BAR being 14.7 psi per 1 BAR pressure.

1 BAR pressure is a standard unit, 1 atmospheric pressure.

Assuming it is holding nearly 3 BAR at tickover with hot oil (about 45 psi), the lube system is doing very well indeed.

Fit a permanent oil gauge. You'll feel a lot more confident with that little pointer way over on the right side of the dial!

CharlesY
Click to expand...

Spot on CharlesY
 
Thank you all,

Guilty as charged, all readings in Bar. So much for A level physics! (it was a long time ago).

I agree about the permanent gauge. Currently the tube from the temporary one runs through a large hole above the transfer box where the centre cubby box and backing plate usually live (I was in the process of fitting a Frontruner safe when I decided this was more important) so a more permanent solution is probably a good idea before my three year old falls out the bottom of the landy...

I want to try the electrical gauge first though, and see whether it is a bit quicker off the mark before I decide which one is going to stay.

From the workshop manual it does appear that the finite pressures reached are good, it's still the short (getting longer) delay in getting there that worries me.

On the upside, at least the recent time spent under the bonnet has coincided with the mother-in-law visiting us for 3 weeks...

Thanks for all the comments.

Ben.
 
The mechanical type of gauge uses a bent flattened pipe (Bourdon Tube) to move the needle, and will react almost instantaneously to changes in pressure.

The reason they aren't used so much these days is if the wee pipe comes off inside the car you all get sprayed with hot black engine oil.

Make sure the pipes and hoses are well secured, and don't get rubbed through.

CharlesY
 
If the pressure is sluggish to come up, make sure the oil is fresh, and the filter is clean.

Don't be tempted to use a heavier grade of oil, as its Higher viscosity (thickness) will make the pressure rises even slower.

I don't think you have a lot to worry about.

CharlesY
 
Well... the electrical gauge is fitted (seems to read slightly lower than the mechanical one) but was easier to fit and meant I could dispense with the numerous (leaky) brass reducers etc required for the mech one to work alongside original pressure switch. Will probably flush and replace with an OE filter in the near future.
I'll be monitoring things in the coming weeks, but will also probably ask my brother to bring a pump over with him when he visits in the near future. Thanks for all the advice, and will let you know if anything further occurs...
Thanks again,
Ben.
 
I suggest you do NOT use flushing oil in the engine. It serves no real purpose, and the remnants of it will de-grade your new clean oil.

Just get the motor good and hot, and drain it right out.

CharlesY
 
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