I have some suspicions I've got a weak oil pressure relief valve on Bugsy's
1098. With a fresh batch of Castrol 20W-50 oil pressure reads 40lbs at
1500-2000 rpm and 65+ @ 4,000 RPM. Stays this way around town. A blast on the
expressway at 70 mph, oil temps heat up. After 5-10 miles water temp is
hovering around Normal, usually runs 2/3 of way up approaching the N mark on
the gauge. Since gauge isn't calibrated I consider it a realative measure of
temperature. Oil Pressure at 4,000 rpm now reading 55-60 lbs. Coming off
expressway ramp engine drops to idle and oil pressure at 1,500 rpm is around
20-25 lbs. After a few minutes of cool down driving time idle pressure does
come back up to 35-40 lbs. Car is equipped with an oil cooler. Cap'n N had the
following thoughts The reliefe valve is located under it's
large round "cap"-like hex nut just over
the top of the oil pressure hose fitting.
Under the cap is a spring and at the end
of that spring is the valve in it's seat in
the block. The seat gets gunked up after
a while and will usually stick a bit, causing
lower hot oil pressures than the engine would normally be capable of
generating.
Here is another reason for scheduled 3,000 mile oil and filter changes
even when using synthetics...clean oil free
of contaminents! Sure the synthetics are
good for many more miles as an oil per se, but how about removal of
contaminents within the oil??
You may need a "magnet" type tool to get
the steel valve out. A little shot of carb
cleaner shot down there will usually do the trick. A new valve and
spring are so
cheap that it is sort of ridiculous to not
simply renew these parts if you have them
on hand, but unless there is some wear/ damage to the spring or valve,
there usually is no NEED to. MiniMania sells
a little kit with new spring & valve, though Can I get concurrence from the
list that oil pressure relief valve ought to get changed. Not sure how tough it
is to get the valve out of the block but it looks like access is fairly easy to
get at. Engine has been rebuilt to the best of my knowledge by P.O. Runs strong
and leaks more than it burns. Thanks for the help.
Jim Gruber
Bugsy '68 Sprite (future Bugeye in disguise)
Dayton, OH
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