Oil Like Gravy

[darren f]

Got the R300 started up at second attempt *smile*

Had to remove one of the dry sump pipes as there was a slight oil leak, dropped some oil whilst doing this. I therefore had to guess the oil volume to put back in, with the result that about a litre has spat (and I do mean spat 😬) itself in the overflow tank.

 

This oil is a colour distressingly similar to Bisto's finest- is this usual after two short runs? It was lovely golden colour when it went in!! . I initially thought 'oh it's full of air, it will clear up, but hasn't. Is the inside of the engine that filthy? If so I'm glad I put some cheap-ish stuff initially!

[F355GTS]

Darren

 

it might be the protective coatings they put on the moving parts to stop the engine seizing etc when it's standing for a while. It's designed to breakdown with heat and oil, only thing is I don't know if Rover use this type of stuff

 

Mark

[paulyb]

Mine was exactly the same when I first built / ran it. Assumed as Mark it was the wax from engine build.

After the 500 mile service the new oil has been absolutely clear from first putting it in until next change, so nothing to worry about.

[Fred]

Darren i have just changed the oil on my R400 and i have only run the engine for the sva and a few times in my drive. it to was quite filthy also a lot of alloy bits from the bell tank .

 

 

 

 

[darren f]

Oh joy, blatchat is back up- saves having to do any real work *smile*

 

Thanks chaps for the replies, I feel quite a bit happier now!

 

From emptying the dry sump tank to cure the leaky pipe I noticed some bits of swarf and small metal fragments - stresses the importance of the change at 500 miles I suppose.

[SteveP]

Darren,

Slightly off your topic, but did your R300 come with an oil catch tank as standard or did you have to spec it specially?

 

I have my R300 on order (also dry sumped) and intend to use for sprints / hillclimbs etc which requires a catch tank, but I didn't specifically spec one.

 

Thanks

 

 

SteveP

 

Edited by - SteveP on 28 Nov 2002 11:01:11

[Peter Carmichael]

All dry sump setups have a catch tank. Wet sumps don't need them as all breathers are plumbed in to recirculate the gasses.

[darren f]

Steve,

As Peter says dry sump option on the R300 comes with a catch tank. This is however suspiciously similar to a plastic washer bottle and the overflow requires a bit of a 'Heath Robinson' set up with some hose put through a hole in the side of the bottle and some vent holes in the cap.

 

There have been some concerns regarding oily fumes from such a set-up, although my car isn't mobile enough at present to give an opinion ☹️.

 

Somebody on here (was it Fred?) sourced a lovely looking alloy tank and aeroquip hoses, with (I think?) a remote vent. It looked much more of a 'proper job' (....... one of the first things to address when my car is finished).

[SteveP]

Thanks - that all makes sense now. Yes, I think someone rigged up a Mocal(?) catch tank instead that looked the business - I too will be taking a closer look at this once the car arrives.

 

 

SteveP