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Hello from Paula and her Vitesse


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12 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

 

had a donated pair of ramps last month but declined as no one wanted them     now wish i could be clever afterwards

belive they  went up the tip   Grrrr  9 owner moved to france )

tin of STP is simpler but not recommended by the many !!!!

 

Pete

There's loads of ramps for sale around me on the old facebook. Quite cheap too.
I may put some "stuff "in until i get to have a proper look.

 

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23 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

I've read that mixing blue and pink causes it to gel, and block the system.

Indeed it does, the PO of my car must have mixed the two as the block and rad were clogged. It was one of the reasons I decided to strip the engine and rebuild it correctly. Many cock ups were found and the effort was worth it. 

Iain 

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I've changed the oil and added some SIP (god that stuffs thick!). It's a lot quieter now but i'm still not happy about the diesel engine type growl. 
There was some metal in the filter bowl, like fillings. Not much, but that's a worry too.

He was very smokey when started after the oil change. That got a lot better, but didn't go away after a run.
I'm still not confident enough to use him for longer journeys.

IMG_6051.thumb.jpeg.a11dd7bd205d8f3203c2a53f153a2786.jpeg

 

Edited by Paula
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smokey after an oil refill is the excess oil going down the valve guides there not as good as when 50 yrs ago

if the rumbling keeps rambling then you may have to have a look at the crank brg shells 

have you checked no exhaust is making contact anywhere and being overdrive 

then worth a look at the tail mount , if that gives up it has metal to metal contact on the chassis plate

also check engine mounts  see if the stg rack is getting too close to the sump

just points where contact will give you expensive noises into the body 

hope that helps 

Pete

 

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A slight diversion but still an oil pressure issue, on Friday I started the daughter Mk2 Spit to take it a short drive just checking things before its run home to her 350klm away. It hadn't run for over a month so I did the dead pan start ie choke in spin the engine to the count of 15 then pull the choke out and spin the starter an immediate start with NO rumbles. I let her warm up ie electric fan cuts in then engage reverse and start to back her out THEN I notice the oil pressure gauge is reading less than 15psi (normally 55plus) SH+T run her back into the garage a blip of the throttle still 15psi??

Thinking back to a similar problem with my Vitesse in the early 70's on an early morning run to Teeside Airport the wife was going on a business trip to Yugoslavia I noticed the Vitesse oil pressure had dropped from its normal 80psi to under 40 I backed off and got her there on time, so in the car park I dismantled the Pressure Relief Valve refitted it and all back to normal, car still going strong to this day with no issues or reoccurance and NO engine rebuild YET!

So I strip the Spits oil relief valve down no dirt so refit and retry oil pressure still only 15psi?

Now the oil pressure gauge is in a mini dash arrangement mounted in the radio space of the Spit dash anti scuttle shake H frame, so me thinks is it the oil pressure gauge, so I try a replacement gauge out of a spare Spit dash board I have start the engine oil pressure immediately over 55psi, BUGger the gauge has failed! So why I have the old presumably failed oil pressure gauge out of the mini dash I retry it an immediate 55psi reading WHAT gives!

Now I'd recently had the gearbox cover and H frame out to insulate the cover with Dynomat and top the gearbox up, when refitting the mini dash with oil pressure and voltmeter I noticed the instrument bulb in the oil gauge had failed so I replaced it, in fact I did both gauges, the replacement bulbs being the same volts and watts, but the actual bulb glass section was not spherical but an elongated say 15mm of glass, on viewing the bulb in its gauge mounting I found the longer bulb fouled the bowden tube mechanism I can't repeat what I said! be it enough that I have stocked up with the original fitment bulbs and the long bulbed bulbs are in the rubbish bin. What a waste of a couple of hours, always use original fitment!!  

 

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3 hours ago, Pete Lewis said:

smokey after an oil refill is the excess oil going down the valve guides there not as good as when 50 yrs ago

if the rumbling keeps rambling then you may have to have a look at the crank brg shells 

have you checked no exhaust is making contact anywhere and being overdrive 

then worth a look at the tail mount , if that gives up it has metal to metal contact on the chassis plate

also check engine mounts  see if the stg rack is getting too close to the sump

just points where contact will give you expensive noises into the body 

hope that helps 

Pete

 

I'm struggling to describe the noise. I'm 90% sure it's coming from inside the engine. I will check all those bits though!

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1 hour ago, Peter Truman said:

A slight diversion but still an oil pressure issue, on Friday I started the daughter Mk2 Spit to take it a short drive just checking things before its run home to her 350klm away. It hadn't run for over a month so I did the dead pan start ie choke in spin the engine to the count of 15 then pull the choke out and spin the starter an immediate start with NO rumbles. I let her warm up ie electric fan cuts in then engage reverse and start to back her out THEN I notice the oil pressure gauge is reading less than 15psi (normally 55plus) SH+T run her back into the garage a blip of the throttle still 15psi??

Thinking back to a similar problem with my Vitesse in the early 70's on an early morning run to Teeside Airport the wife was going on a business trip to Yugoslavia I noticed the Vitesse oil pressure had dropped from its normal 80psi to under 40 I backed off and got her there on time, so in the car park I dismantled the Pressure Relief Valve refitted it and all back to normal, car still going strong to this day with no issues or reoccurance and NO engine rebuild YET!

So I strip the Spits oil relief valve down no dirt so refit and retry oil pressure still only 15psi?

Now the oil pressure gauge is in a mini dash arrangement mounted in the radio space of the Spit dash anti scuttle shake H frame, so me thinks is it the oil pressure gauge, so I try a replacement gauge out of a spare Spit dash board I have start the engine oil pressure immediately over 55psi, BUGger the gauge has failed! So why I have the old presumably failed oil pressure gauge out of the mini dash I retry it an immediate 55psi reading WHAT gives!

Now I'd recently had the gearbox cover and H frame out to insulate the cover with Dynomat and top the gearbox up, when refitting the mini dash with oil pressure and voltmeter I noticed the instrument bulb in the oil gauge had failed so I replaced it, in fact I did both gauges, the replacement bulbs being the same volts and watts, but the actual bulb glass section was not spherical but an elongated say 15mm of glass, on viewing the bulb in its gauge mounting I found the longer bulb fouled the bowden tube mechanism I can't repeat what I said! be it enough that I have stocked up with the original fitment bulbs and the long bulbed bulbs are in the rubbish bin. What a waste of a couple of hours, always use original fitment!!  

 

That sounds stressful! maybe it's best not to have a gauge! 😀
I've no idea what my oil pressure is. The light goes off quickly is all i have to tell me.

 

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The danger, Paula, is that the standard oil pressure switch triggers at less than 10psi!  So if it goes on while you are running, then your oil pressure has been dangerously low for a long time!   

Other switches are available, that trigger at, say, 25, or else you can get them that are easily adjustable, so you can make your choice - you do need a gauge for that!   See Merlin Motorsport for one.  https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/s?search=Adjustable+oil+pressure+switch

John

Edited by JohnD
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I actually fitted an adjustable one to my campervan. Felt a bit naughty, but it's running great and i've done some long trips.
In fact it's becoming my daily driver, which isn't ideal!

I may have to bite the bullet and buy a little cheap modern car. What i really need is a garage!

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  • 2 months later...

Hello!

I’ve bought a oil pressure gauge from Amazon.

it’s telling me.

At about 1000 rpm it’s 50 PSI

At about 2000 rpm it’s 80 PSI

This is ok isn’t it?

it’s still very smokey. I’m thinking of sending the head away for a check and refurbish. Is that the best next move?

maybe just ignore the rumble of the engine for now.

 

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31 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

thats good readings   there is only one quoted by triumph  thats 40-60 at 2500rpm ( thats from memory not the book )

if you do need to have the head looked you know where i am 

Pete

People are often telling me I need my head looking at. 
maybe a trip to the mighty Luton! 

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3 hours ago, Paula said:

Hello!

I’ve bought a oil pressure gauge from Amazon.

it’s telling me.

At about 1000 rpm it’s 50 PSI

At about 2000 rpm it’s 80 PSI

This is ok isn’t it?

Is that with fully hot and used oil? The relief valve is supposed to open at a max of 55psi but of course both that and the accuracy of the gauge are questionable...

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2 hours ago, johny said:

Is that with fully hot and used oil? The relief valve is supposed to open at a max of 55psi but of course both that and the accuracy of the gauge are questionable...

Ah . I'd say i ran it for about 5 mins before checking

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Ok it'll drop as you get to fully hot and also of course as the oil gets older👍

Have you done a compression test at all? I think a sudden increase in oil smoke is more likely to be a broken ring than valve guides as they only wear slowly....

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Just now, johny said:

Ok it'll drop as you get to fully hot and also of course as the oil gets older👍

Have you done a compression test at all? I think a sudden increase in oil smoke is more likely to be a broken ring than valve guides as they only wear slowly....

I haven't. I can do. I have a gauge

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did the smoking appear suddenly of its crept up from good to bad over time ??

always do this  test with all plugs out and throttles held open 

one silly way to get smoke is overfilled dashpots  

the overspill runs down gets in the mixture and then fumes out the exhaust 

also blocked breather systems there can be a gauze in the rocker cover vent  that gets clogged  need to dig it out for a wash up 

Pete

Edited by Pete Lewis
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2 hours ago, Pete Lewis said:

did the smoking appear suddenly of its crept up from good to bad over time ??

It had some serious overheating issues then the smoke started quite quickly. Sounds serious to me. The plugs are very oiled up and the rocker cover had splatters of oil around the breather 

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Yes, Paula, as Pete says, compression test indicated.   If blow-by is increased due to failed piston ring seal, then  much more crankcase gas, with oil spray up into the rocker cover and out through the breather.    A quick test would be to remove the breather while running.   A gentle breeze out is normal, a mighty wind is not!

Absolute compression numbers not relevant - you're looking for equal pressures across the  block.

John

 

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2 minutes ago, JohnD said:

you're looking for equal pressures across the  block.

Ha   if you read my troubles with a payen HG we managed  equal      all  at  zero across the block !!!!!

pop the filler cap off   if its as john says your in for maybe a gasket change 

if its more of e steam train then expect deep rooted wear in the piston area 

def have alook at the rocker cover for a blocked gauze at the breather outlet 

do the cheap fix first 

Pete

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OK compression test was 90 PSI almost exactly on each cylinder. Popped the cap off and hardly any wind at all coming out of it.
It was still very smokey. (see video) and growly. So i thought i'd take it for a run to get it up to temperature and do another oil pressure test.

Now here's where it got a bit weird

After about 15 mins in traffic and slow driving the smoke cleared up. Buy the time i'd got back home there was no smoke and the engine wasn't growling any more.

It's running very nicely but the temperature gauge only ever got to about a 1/4. But it is a bit cold. Normally a run like that would be on the edge of over heating. 

Maybe i'd over filled something and now it's all cleared out?
Maybe he wanted me to plug lots of gauges in him to show i care?

So now it's sounding great., Running great and not smoking at all. 

 

Edited by Paula
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