In the summer of '91, I bought a Europa. I wanted to check the frame, so
I parked the car until I could take the body off. I dumped the oil hot,
and let it drain and cool for a couple of hours. Then I put on a new
filter and put in fresh oil. Oiled the cylinders and cranked it over for
a bit to circulate the new oil, then put the plugs back in.
The engine/gearbox was removed from the frame in '92 and placed on a
home-made cradle. It went back into the frame in mid-'93. In early
October, I went to start it up. I oiled the cylinders and cranked it with
the plugs out. Cranking it brought the oil pressure up after what seemed
like an eternity.
Now, a scant few weeks later, it is time to put it to bed for the winter
again. Last Thursday I put fuel stabilizer in the tanks, topped them up
and drove the car until it was good and hot. Dumped the oil hot, and left
it to drain and cool. My wife convinced me that it was late, and I should
leave the rest for later.
Well, Friday morning we went up north to pull the dock and marine railway
at the family cabin. Got back back Sunday night. Monday night was spent
wrapping up other loose ends.
Finally, last night (Tuesday) I got the time to get back to the Lotus. I
put in the plug, installed a new filter and put four quarts of synthetic
in the engine. Then I oiled the cylinders and disconnected the ignition &
fuel pump wire.
I then cranked the starter to get the new oil against the bearings for the
winter. And cranked the starter. And cranked the starter. And cranked the
starter. No oil pressure. I was beginning to suspect the gauge. I took
the oil filter off. Dry as a bone.
Then it hit me. The oil pump had lost its prime. Damn. Two years it can
sit, and not lose its prime, but four lousy days with no oil in the sump,
and bingo.
I suppose what I have to do now is get some oil into the pump. Brilliant
deduction. But how? First thought is to shoot it back from the filter mount.
Which way does the oil go in a spin-on filter? I think I remember someone
posting that the oil comes from the oil pump to the outside of the filter,
then through the filtering medium to the inside and through the threaded
pipe to the engine. Do I have this right?
This particular filter attaches to the side of the engine, with its axis
horizontal. This would mean that when you shut the engine off, the oil
drains out of the filter, back through the oil pump to the oil pan (sump,
for OFATP). So I can put oil in the hole in the bottom of the
filter-mounting circle and it should find its way back to the pump, right?
But if this is true, how come the pump did not lose its prime in the two
years the engine sat?
Let me know where I have gone wrong with this reasoning. I sure hope I
didn't hurt the bearings cranking the engine. Sigh.
Phil Ethier, THE RIGHT LINE, 672 Orleans St, Saint Paul, MN 55107-2676
h (612) 224-3105 w (612) 266-6244 phile@stpaul.gov
"The workingman's GT-40" - Colin Chapman "It's a Mistake" - Colin Hay
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