do NOT fully drain the Esprit's oil supply
Discussion
A note to indicate that, in my opinion, the 910 Esprit engine should NEVER be fully drained of oil during any oil change or engine service procedure.
In particular, the oil that is held in the front oil cooler(s) and the two supply lines must not be allowed to fully drain during, for example, a long oil change (i.e. do not leave the sump's drain plug out and allow the oil to drip into the drain pan overnight). If this is done, the next day the sump can be refilled with fresh oil (e.g. 5 litres) and all will look well according to the engine dip stick. However once started, the engine will be starved of oil when the oil cooler and supply lines re-fill. At least one major thing to suffer is the oil pump which is located high and dry at the top of the engine. The steel oil pump jack shaft, when starved of lubricant, will score and destroy the alloy oil pump housing it rides in. Lotus chooses not to install bronze (removable) bushings at this critical locale . . . . the pump will be destroyed within about 25 seconds at idle. Once damaged, it is not servicable. In case you are wondering, a dry oil pump does NOT make any squealing noise.
If you drain the oil long enough with the car front end slightly elevated (for example when parked on a sloping driveway) this can easily occur. A one hour oil drain will do this. Recently, a perfect black Esprit S4 lost its engine (2 minutes after start-up following an oil change) when the mechanic allowed the oil to drain overnight. This happened in Edmonton; I saw the damage . . . . the oil pump, crank and pistons seized and, finally, the con rods detatched and vented the block.
There is a provision to solve this oil starvation problem. You may consider this, say, after a full engine re-build. The pyramid-shaped alternator mount that sits atop the oil pump can be removed before initial start-up. Beneath this mounting is a triangular-shaped hole (into the oil pump top). Drip/fill this hole with perhaps 500 mL of engine oil as the engine is cranked (plug leads must be removed) until oil pressure is returned to the system. Check the dip stick several times to ensure the sump has not been partly drained. Problem solved.
If you store your car a great deal (e.g. through the long Canadian winter) you might consider installing a zerk fitting to the top of the alternator mount. This will involve drilling and tapping a hole through the top of the alloy alternator mount (obviously the piece will be off the engine). Once re-installed, you merely pump fresh engine oil into the zerk fitting with an oil transfer gun/pump before initial start-up.
After paying for a new (used) 910 oil pump , and the huge shipping cost from England, I such modified the alternator mounting bracket and have had no worries about oil starvation at start-up since.
AP
In particular, the oil that is held in the front oil cooler(s) and the two supply lines must not be allowed to fully drain during, for example, a long oil change (i.e. do not leave the sump's drain plug out and allow the oil to drip into the drain pan overnight). If this is done, the next day the sump can be refilled with fresh oil (e.g. 5 litres) and all will look well according to the engine dip stick. However once started, the engine will be starved of oil when the oil cooler and supply lines re-fill. At least one major thing to suffer is the oil pump which is located high and dry at the top of the engine. The steel oil pump jack shaft, when starved of lubricant, will score and destroy the alloy oil pump housing it rides in. Lotus chooses not to install bronze (removable) bushings at this critical locale . . . . the pump will be destroyed within about 25 seconds at idle. Once damaged, it is not servicable. In case you are wondering, a dry oil pump does NOT make any squealing noise.
If you drain the oil long enough with the car front end slightly elevated (for example when parked on a sloping driveway) this can easily occur. A one hour oil drain will do this. Recently, a perfect black Esprit S4 lost its engine (2 minutes after start-up following an oil change) when the mechanic allowed the oil to drain overnight. This happened in Edmonton; I saw the damage . . . . the oil pump, crank and pistons seized and, finally, the con rods detatched and vented the block.
There is a provision to solve this oil starvation problem. You may consider this, say, after a full engine re-build. The pyramid-shaped alternator mount that sits atop the oil pump can be removed before initial start-up. Beneath this mounting is a triangular-shaped hole (into the oil pump top). Drip/fill this hole with perhaps 500 mL of engine oil as the engine is cranked (plug leads must be removed) until oil pressure is returned to the system. Check the dip stick several times to ensure the sump has not been partly drained. Problem solved.
If you store your car a great deal (e.g. through the long Canadian winter) you might consider installing a zerk fitting to the top of the alternator mount. This will involve drilling and tapping a hole through the top of the alloy alternator mount (obviously the piece will be off the engine). Once re-installed, you merely pump fresh engine oil into the zerk fitting with an oil transfer gun/pump before initial start-up.
After paying for a new (used) 910 oil pump , and the huge shipping cost from England, I such modified the alternator mounting bracket and have had no worries about oil starvation at start-up since.
AP
Good tip Andrew,
Just when you thought you were doing your baby some good by draining all of that old nasty oil out of her..
One thing though...
I don't see how the pump suffers from this, seeing how it gets the oil first off the pickup from the sump. The other engine vitals on the other hand would have to wait for the oil cooler system to fill before developing any operating pressure.
Unless of course it has problems getting an intial prime off the pickup after being drained dry. In that case you would be running even longer with no oil to your bearings.
Thank's for the info, definetly food for thought.
Mike
Just when you thought you were doing your baby some good by draining all of that old nasty oil out of her..
One thing though...
I don't see how the pump suffers from this, seeing how it gets the oil first off the pickup from the sump. The other engine vitals on the other hand would have to wait for the oil cooler system to fill before developing any operating pressure.
Unless of course it has problems getting an intial prime off the pickup after being drained dry. In that case you would be running even longer with no oil to your bearings.
Thank's for the info, definetly food for thought.
Mike
Presumably the probem is that the pump doesn't self prime once the oil has drained out? The Rover V8 suffers from the same problem. The usual way round this is to pack the pump with vaseline, although in our case we also have the option to remove the distributor and drive the pump externally, without the engine running, and it will usually prime eventually. For the RV8 the problem can be avoided by changing the oil quickly so the pump doesn't drain. As long a you don't stop for a cup of tea after you've taken the filter off, it's generally OK.
In the case of the Rover V8 it is very obvious there is a problem because it has zero oil pressure. Although you could scrap the engine very quickly if you ignored the problem, you would have to be completely bonkers to do this.
>> Edited by GreenV8S on Saturday 18th December 12:44
In the case of the Rover V8 it is very obvious there is a problem because it has zero oil pressure. Although you could scrap the engine very quickly if you ignored the problem, you would have to be completely bonkers to do this.
>> Edited by GreenV8S on Saturday 18th December 12:44
andrewp1989 said:
If you store your car a great deal (e.g. through the long Canadian winter) you might consider installing a zerk fitting to the top of the alternator mount. This will involve drilling and tapping a hole through the top of the alloy alternator mount (obviously the piece will be off the engine). Once re-installed, you merely pump fresh engine oil into the zerk fitting with an oil transfer gun/pump before initial start-up.AP
Why not use something like an Accusump?
www.accusump.com/
I never bought it as an pre oiler although I have later used it for one after it was installed in one of my previous car. I had orginally got one for track use when hard cornering used to suck air into the oil. Less expensive than a dry sump anyways.
Calvin
i'm doing an oil change this weekend, and am switching from a 20w50 conventional to a 20W50 synthetic. my friends with mechanical engineering degrees have been insisting synths are a waste of money, if i'm going to change oil every 3K miles. i think the added expense is minimal for the additional thermal integrity. however, i am concerned about corrupting my experiment by mixing oil types. until i read this thread, i was planning to drain all the old oil. maybe i should wait on the switch until i build a system to pressurize prior to startup.
on a sidenote, i just got a fancy new torque wrench for xmas. anyone know a torque setting equivalent to hand tight for the drain plug? thanks.
on a sidenote, i just got a fancy new torque wrench for xmas. anyone know a torque setting equivalent to hand tight for the drain plug? thanks.
Hi all,
this accusump sounds like a good idea to me, as i have just had a brand new engine fitted to my 88 stevens turbo.
Has anyone fitted one to an esprit? and could possible send some information on how this is done.
But this weekend i shall be installing my oil catch tank, which should be a piece of cake.
many thanks
Pauli
this accusump sounds like a good idea to me, as i have just had a brand new engine fitted to my 88 stevens turbo.
Has anyone fitted one to an esprit? and could possible send some information on how this is done.
But this weekend i shall be installing my oil catch tank, which should be a piece of cake.
many thanks
Pauli
I run full synthetic in all my vehicles except the Harleys, which get Genuine HD. I have found that changing from regular oil to synthetic gives me about 3% better gas millage and easier starts when cold. I change the oil at about 2-3K mile intervals. Your engineer friends may have too much "book learnin'," which can get in the way of reality.
Accusumps are plumbed in at the oil pressure sender, generally. You put an adapter (T) fitting in there and run a single hose to the Accusump and the sender in the other end of the T. Get the electric valve too, which is an extra bill, and wire it in to the ignition. Finding a place to mount it will be the tricky part. Oh, and you want the kind with the piston that can be mounted in any plane, not the vertical only kind without the piston. I am still waiting to find one cheap on eBay for my Seven. Been waiting 3 years.
Dr.Hess
Accusumps are plumbed in at the oil pressure sender, generally. You put an adapter (T) fitting in there and run a single hose to the Accusump and the sender in the other end of the T. Get the electric valve too, which is an extra bill, and wire it in to the ignition. Finding a place to mount it will be the tricky part. Oh, and you want the kind with the piston that can be mounted in any plane, not the vertical only kind without the piston. I am still waiting to find one cheap on eBay for my Seven. Been waiting 3 years.
Dr.Hess
you have recommended the accusump to me before, and i liked it apart from the pricetag. couldn't a miser like me use any bargain oil pump externally to prepressurize at oil change time? could be messy to clean up after. i've been trying to find a high efficiency impeller pump on ebay, but that place seems devoid of items for nonstupid people.
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