Help please

[Alan Archer]

I am puzzled, after I had my VVC engine rebuilt I had to put 6 litres of mineral oil in to get it to the right mark on the dry sump dip stick, I have done 1000 miles running it in and I have just drained the oil out by taking the bottom plate off the conning tower, the bottom pipe off the gold pump, the sump plug out the bottom of the dry sump and the oil filter off, turned the engine over by hand but have only got 4.4 litres of oil out, where is the other 1.6 litres hiding? Please help with my stupidity. Thanks

[john milner]

I would be tempted to see how much oil it takes to top it up. If it is circa 4.4 litres it is unlikely you have lost any so are probably okay. I think the VVC mechanicals can hold a bit but 1.6 sounds a lot. Also the sump gasket has a ledge that can store a bit. New sump foam may soak up some more. I'm pretty sure that I use less than 5 litre bottle for a change but I have no fancy plumbing just a plain VVC with no foam and have holes in the gasket so the ledge oil can drain into the sump.

Can VVCs be dry sumped?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SLR No.77]

No foam or gasket in the dry sump setup.

Alan, when you say you put in 6L to get it to the correct level on the dip stick, was this without running the engine?

[Alan Archer]

John, it is a dry sumped VVC, it was not when I got it brand new, but after blowing the engine after 2000 miles due to oil surge I opted for a dry sump after the rebuild!  So yes they can definitely be dry sumped 

Stuart, no 6l was what it took to get to the level advised by running the engine then dipping it immediately after turning it off, it is a right pain to dip the dry sump. 

[SLR No.77]

Get yourself a length of ally rod that'll fit to the bottom of the bell tank, B&Q do some that's about 5mm diameter, then mark it at the same level as the marker on the dip stick, it should be around 10.5" up from the bottom, i.e. the bottom of the bell tank. Instead of using the dip stick which only tells you whether there's oil there or not, the rod will tell you the actual oil level you have making it much easier to know what's going on.

[Alan Archer]

Hi Stuart,

That is exactly how I am measuring as my dry sump is the older style without a built in dip stick. What a pain lol. 

[Jonathan Kay]

Has anyone fitted a sight tube to this set-up?

Jonathan

[john milner]

Were the missing 1.6 litres ever found?

[Alan Archer]

Hi John, unfortunately not, the engine is using oil, and quite a lot at that.

[DJ.]

Sorry to hear that.

Duncan

[john milner]

This could be worth a read https://www.lotus7.club/forum/techtalk/vvc-160-oil-consumption-compression-puzzle

[revilla]

Hi John ...

That was my thread and I was telling Alan all about my issues by email only yesterday.

Unfortunately that thread is not entirely up to date ... just after I posted that it had used nothing for 600 miles it just suddenly started using oil again, went straight from zero back to its old one litre per thousand miles, and it's still doing it until now. Drinking oil like it always was.

I really ought to put an update on the thread, I didn't at the time because it seemed to be getting a bit silly posting fixed, not fixed, fixed, not fixed repeatedly so I thought I would wait until I actually had something postive to report. So far, no luck.

I did have a chat to Dave Andrews about the problem and one thing he said was that the AE branded valve stem oil seals I used, which I believed to be OEM quality seals, are since the demise of Rover now manufactured in China and are now of poor quality - he said they tend to harden and leak after as little as 3 months in service! That would fit with what I saw, the problem was cured for a while when I rebuilt it with new seals but they didn't last. Dave has sold me some good quality seals that he has made specially (to fit double valve springs, but still perfectly OK with standard single springs - they just have an additional seat) and I will be rebuilding the head again using those and hoping for the best. 

It will probably be over the winter when I do the job now, I want to keep the car on the road and enjoy the last bit of the decent summer weather, so it may be a while before I know if it has worked, but I will update my thread with the results for the record when I have them.

Andrew

[p.mole1]

Sorry to hear about your problem but I doubt its your valve stem oil seals unless your valve guides are shot and it would be smoking like a steam train on the overun. I am running a Janspeed head with no oil seals on any valves ( bronze guides on inlets) and I have done 3 track days running a 7800rpm limit and have not had to top it up in 1000 miles.