V8 problems

DO NOT trust electric gauges, if that's what is fitted. They are notoriously inaccurate, fit a decent mechanical gauge. Is the oil low pressure lamp coming on at idle? Are the rocker shafts installed the right way up? Check the oil hole positions if they were stripped. Did he replace the cam bearings as well? If so, did he peen or loctite them in position to prevent movement? Has a cam bearing possibly shifted due to the previous heating-up internally of the bearings due to low supply? What condition are the oil pump gears, pump cover face and housing, and relief valve and its spring? Has he somehow introduced debris into the engine that has now wrecked the new crank bearings? Did he check the crank journal dimensions prior to fitting new bearings? Correct pressure should be 35psi + or- 5psi at 2400rpm, hot. (Hot = oil temp of 86 degrees centigrade), and no oil warning lamp at idle (i.e. more than 3 or 4psi at idle, preferably 10-15psi.) The pressure will be considerably higher when cold, due to the oil being thicker and hence providing a greater resistance to flow.

Badger.

the oil pressure on rover v8 engines of the early years was on the low side .

the main problem was in the face of the oil pump filter casting , its aluminium with steel gears running up to it .

you can tell if you have oil pump low pressure problems because after say

30mins of engine running it will start to missfire and eventually stop running completely .

what you can do with the pump filter housing is to change the pressure relief spring and fit a pump" booster plate ".

this is an anodised aluminium plate that is sandwiched between the filter housing and the main part of oil pump .

some pumps you need to drill or cut a groove in them but its not very difficult to do .

try KENNE BELL BUICK for a pump booster plate kit or POSTON ENTERPRISES in alabama . also look at TA PERFORMANCE , i think they do 215cu in and rover v-8 parts . .

the early rover v-8 engine was originally a buick 215 cu in and rover bought the design from buick in the 1960s .

the later SD1 engines have improved oiling system but can still benefit from the sandwich plate kit .

REAL STEEL in the UK sell oil pump booster plate kits and gear sets for later range rover v-8 engines of 3.5litre variety .

also look at

for oil pump booster plate kit

Sounds very much like the oil pressure relief valve sticking open. Tapping the pump housing with a hammer sometimes temporarily un sticks it. I had this happen with my V8 its a fairly common problem. The relief valve will be pushed fully open by the cold oil but as the oil warms up and thins out the valve gets stuck in the bore for some reason and the spring cannot push it closed. The best thing to do is to make sure that the valve bore is OK and the valve can move freely, if there's still a problem replace the standard valve with a tadpole type from someone like

(about £20) fitted one to my engine (no modifications needed) it cured the problem straightaway (20psi at idle, above 2000rpm 50psi). There's a picture of the valve on my web site

Regards

Liam

Thanks all, I shall pass these replies on

Tim