Peter T Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Can someone please tell me where the main oil pressure feed is for the cam carrier? I cannot seem to find the main oil gallery feed for this?? I have never strpped a head and it is baffling me. R500 Mango Madness Edited by - Peter T on 29 Dec 2006 18:00:49 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Payne Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I believe it's the central hole near the front (cam wheel end) of the head that comes straight up from the pump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Peter, here - It's the front end of the engine in the Caterham installation /regin Beaten by the minute Edited by - RJ on 27 Oct 2006 22:49:42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 Thanks Regin. Time to to some machining work on the cam carrier then. Why does all the stress cam carrier bearing have smaller oilways than the end bearings? Is this a design fault? It serves no purpose that the inner bearing s have a smaller oil way duct? R500 Mango Madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted October 28, 2006 Leadership Team Share Posted October 28, 2006 The design of the oil galleries has to be carefully done such that pressure is maintained to ALL the engines bearings. If you increase the ability to flow at one point, pressure will be lost to the bearings at other areas - the cam carrier bearings have a smaller surface area than the end bearings therefore must have less oil flow to balance the pressure. Stu. Edited by - sforshaw on 28 Oct 2006 08:45:59 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Walker Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Peter, You may find it interesting that it is common practise to fit a flow reducing plug into the 6mm front oil feed which rises up the front of the block. I reduce this flow down from 6mm to 4mm on all my engines that run with solid followers after blocking off the 16 oil drillings to the tappet bores. The reason for this being the oilways/flow is designed around the use of hydraulic followers also in the caterham installation the engine is tilted over and as a result the head now hold up to 3/4L pooled over the exhaust valves when working hard. I have run for years with high lift cams and elevated engine revs for prolonged periods on track, my heads have never shown any adverse wear in the cam journals. On my latest engines following problems with an earler block cracking in the area of the cam feed I now sleeve this drilling from the oil pump to the top of the bock. This has prevented any further failures. I certainly would not advise you to increase oil flow to the head. Rob Edited by - Rob Walker on 28 Oct 2006 09:57:58 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Englishmaninwales Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Thanks Stu, I've never given that a thought before, makes perfect sense! See you later on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 Thanks for the advice Rob, you are right. It just seemed a poor design when i looked at it but now it is clearer after some thought. Further examination to be done now. R500 Mango Madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Walker Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Peter, If you are looking at ways in which to improve lubrication within your engine then the area which I suggest you look at is the main bearing configuration. To enlighten you your crank is manufactured by Farndon and the design was to provide a double oil feed from main to crank pin on each bearing face. However Minister build the R500 engine with the standard Rover main bearing configuration ie 5 plain lower shells on the thrust face and two plain shells on top on number 1&5 the other top shells are grooved on 23&4. Now consider that the crank is crossdrilled on both main and big end this configuration effectively blocks off the oil feed between main 1 and crank pin 1 and main 5 and crank pin 4 . This was never how the crank was intened to be installed. The solution is to fit grooved top shells on 1&5 main and fettle the block to take the tangs. There you go something to ponder on! ROB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 I am alredy pondering what exhaust valves are fitted. They look naff and cheap to me and may be two piece units, i will strip it down soon further investiagation I thought they were fitted with a Doug Kiddie crank??????????????? R500 Mango Madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Peter, I believe Rob is correct about you crank. Your conrods will also be made by Farndon. /regin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 Oh no.................it's getting worse then I thought ...................mmmmmm seems not. Is there any fantastic quality items that were built in this engine? I am struggling to find them however? R500 Mango Madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 It's got Omega pistons. Apparently not correct Edited by - RJ on 28 Oct 2006 20:43:00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper man Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 The R500 engine was a state of the art race engine c. 1999 when it was designed, and was very good at what it did (once the teething troubles were sorted). In the years that have followed, further experience has brought improvements which benefited both power and reliability, but the starter engine is pretty good. Now all the hype over Duratecs has died down, the power/ weight/ reliability of the R500's is beginning to be more widely appreciated. The only bit that always bugs me about the R500 is the interference fit gidgeon pins that means that you often need a new (steel) con rod if you replace pistons. A budget issue apparantly, but I would rather have paid £20(?) extra and had circlips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 Huh it is getting worse then, is it not a fully floating pin? R500 Mango Madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 No Peter, It isn't! You can have your conrods modified by Farndon to accept a floating pin, but I'm not absolutely sure it is a wise conversion as the small end is ... small. If you want a photo of the R500 conrod, I've got a set on the shelf. Edited by - RJ on 28 Oct 2006 20:31:04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Walker Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Hi Keith, No big problem or expense to get the rods bushed if its giving you sleepless nights. There may be method in their madness the floating little ends are one thing that I have had trouble with. I have had gudeon pin retaining clips fret into the pistons and a gudeon pin pass the circlip. This would probably have never happened with interference fit. Take your point about the redundency this causes . Now about duratecs, I am not sure that I agree with you. There is no doubt that the R500 engine is a powerfull lightweight unit but it is very expensive to properly maintain one even if you do the work yourself. I spent nearly 2K on my engine at the begining of this season. If you were to fit a 2L duratec and not go mad on the tuning say around 225/230 bhp 170 lb ft this can be achieved with a virtually stock engine by adding cams and throttle bodies, maintaining this engine with its added reliability must cost significantly less. If you blow one up its not an arm and a leg to replace it. Now if were talking tuned 2.3`s then once again your into big money to rebuild following problem. Peter I know farndon does not quite have the name that Arrow has but I recon they make a nice product. Far better than some of the cheap American rubbish. Regin, Sorry the R500 has not got Omega pistons . They are Cosworth, the R400 has Omega pistons. Edited by - Rob Walker on 28 Oct 2006 20:38:24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash.Bailey Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 its got good valve spring retainers and the cam seals are top banana 😬 the oil pump is also standard and is known to wear at high revs that you are using If It aint yellow, wonky and wobbly................ 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Rob, Sorry, Then I've been misinformed ☹️ What is the benefit of the Cosworth pistons over the Omegas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 Yes valve spring retainers in steel... wow big deal Yes at least one quality component then pistons. If the rods cannot be modified easily then i will buy new ones. If the pistons cannot be modified then i will buy new pistons................... I am seeing a pattern here...... ☹️ this is becoming expensive like as i would also like a better crank. It would be cheaper if i sold the existing bottom end as a package?? R500 Mango Madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 Costs Regin and availability. R500 Mango Madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 Regin, picture please of Rod. Cheers. R500 Mango Madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Peter, Don't repair something that works a treat! It is not that bad, is it? If it goes p**f (never mention R500 and p**f on the same thread), then repair it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash.Bailey Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 in changing all these parts what are you working to achieve ? (polite question - not a wind up ) If It aint yellow, wonky and wobbly................ 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 Something that is made from the best possible parts within a reasonable cost. Farndon are ok, but all my other engines i have built/had have had the best components and i feel that not using the best will not gain the BHP figure that i want. Money is not an issue so buying a new crank and rods is no big deal if i have to get what i want. R500 Mango Madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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