Railton, Oil and other things

pmlmbigpondcom
pmlmbigpondcom Expert Adviser
G'day All, Railton engine now back together and running well. Oil temp in splash pan is still 123 degrees C whilst a sample from sump is 90C. So.... it seems I will need to accept that the oil is close to self destruct temp and that the big ends will scoop a dose of quite hot oil as well. - not good for white metal bearings. On a slightly different topic, how much oil drip from the rear main is considered to be "acceptable" ? Thanks

Comments

  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    Should be no drip.  Did you check the drain hole?
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    As a matter of interest, how are you measuring the temp. of the oil in the troughs?
  • pmlmbigpondcom
    pmlmbigpondcom Expert Adviser
    Geoff

    Measuring by laser thermometer aimed down dipstick hole   123 C

    From the sump, I run a separate 12v scavenger pump which takes from the rear of the sump and pumps through a filter, cooler and back into splash tray at the front.  I run that via a switch on dash.  I pumped oil straight from sump to a tin for measuring that temp which was only 95 C or so


    So.    despite no proper rear main oil seal there should be no drip.    Back to my engine man yet again.

    PS I was there when sump went back on and return hole is not blocked

    Thanks

    Phil
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    Phil, the dipstick hole does not go into the troughs, only into the reservoir, so I don't know where your high temp measurement is coming from.   I don't want to question your expertise in fitting extra oil pump, but the original pump delivers the exact amount of oil required to each end of the sump.  By pumping extra oil into the front of the motor the front dipper trays will have much more oil in them than the dippers can regulate and you are likely to have   problems with oil consumption and carbon formation.  Murphy's law: " All modifications to improve performance will have an inversely proportional  effect on reliability".  Good luck,
    Geoff
  • bob ward
    bob ward Senior Contributor
    Phil, that trough oil temp doesn't ring true to me. 

     Thinking about the oiling system, at any one time probably 90% of the oil is in the sump, 10% is in the troughs and 0.1% is being squished around in the bearings, timing gears etc. But its not a static system, the oil in the troughs is constantly being flicked out by the con rod dippers and being replenished by 95°C oil from the sump. I would expect the sump and trough oil temps to be pretty much the same.

    But then I could be completely wrong.
This discussion has been closed.