Those of you who've read my previous posts detailing sudden lack of oil pressure (complete lack, actually) may remember that when it first happened I measured the oil pump gear tolerances and found them slightly out. New gears and a packing with petroleum jelly sorted the oil pressure problem for a year.
As per my recent post, the pressure went again, but this time we found what looks like 2.6mm ball bearings or cut bits of a 2.6mm pin in the pump. They had made a right mess of the inner gear, although the outer looked relatively unmarked.
I decided to sell the car as a non runner and prepared to reassemble the oil pump. Given the rather exact tolerances in the Haynes manual and given the large chunks of tooth missing in the gear I didn't expect much but still decided to at least pack the voids with vaseline to see if the car held any oil pressure at all.
Imagine my surprise when after a few revolutions with the starter and no DI cassette the pressure light went out, and after reconnecting, the engine ran as quietly as it had before...:)
Went for a 20 mile drive with no discernable ill effects despite the bad pump gears and the worry about where the metal had come from.
2 days later and it's still holding pressure (the pump isn't draining overnight or anything like that).
Timing or balance chain is a little noisy but since the car isn't worth the expense of the job it's still going to be advertised as a non runner. Surely heated leather seats, aircon etc are worth something for scrap if nothing else?