Oil pressure low when cold.

[yroll]

Noone have any tips?

[ttedj]

Borrow / buy an oil pressure testing kit. Screws into where the pressure sender goes. This will tell you the actual pressure of the oil at all temperatures as your sender may be dodgy until warmed up.
I would think that if the distributor o-ring was worn you would have oil leaking until it expanded and sealed. Can you see any oil coming from there or anywhere else?

Does anyone know if the engine has a pressure relief valve which may be sticking? I don't think it does.

Ted

[smithersoli]

Unlikely to be your issue as you havent mentioned changing it, but there are different types of sender depending on which gauge you have. If you have swapped it for another used one, you may find it reads low all the time as is not scaled correctly for the gauge.

Check the wire to the gauge as well, they also fray inside the insulation and may well give odd readings!

[AndyC]

I'm with Smithersoli there, 1.5 - 2.5 hints that either the engine would be very noisy (and soon have "issues") or the reading is incorrect which can be an incorrect/ faulty sender (or gauge) or an electrical issue such as a cracked wire.

You really need to borrow a calibrated gauge and compare what it reads with what your dash gauge reads.

[nickball]

Hi, I have had a 1989 Excel SE for 20 years now ( 1st engine converted for unleaded petrol)
and the oil pressure has always been low and it knocks slightly on start up. Lotus told me it was because the Ali pistons and Titanium rings expand at different rates!!

I went to the factory 10 years or so ago, and they mentioned using Mobil 1 oil. It did help, it certainly ran better, in fact when it starts to run lumpy I know I need to check the oil level!!

I have just finished a few jobs on it, and I have now put in Castrol Magnatech oil. What a difference!!! The tappets have quietened down enormously! I also have an Elise, and have found the same thing on this one. The oil pressure has also increased to a far better level.

[alanmoss]

Hello Nick, welcome to the forum. Hope to see you at some of the events.

[nickball]

Hi Alan, I suppose I aught to introduce myself in the newcomer area. only had the car 20 years!!!

I forgot to add, that there is an additive my guys have used that is Made by Lucas.

Make sure it is the ultra thick stuff ( shake the bottle, if no liquid sound, that's the stuff!)

Heat it gently before adding to the oil to liquify it. Sticks to all major components to stop wear.apparently used in race engines.

[fueltheburn]

Hi Alan, I suppose I aught to introduce myself in the newcomer area. only had the car 20 years!!!

I forgot to add, that there is an additive my guys have used that is Made by Lucas.

Make sure it is the ultra thick stuff ( shake the bottle, if no liquid sound, that's the stuff!)

Heat it gently before adding to the oil to liquify it. Sticks to all major components to stop wear.apparently used in race engines.

If you want the best oil you can afford - move to 10/50 Ester oil. The cheaper option is to use ZX1 lube as an additive to "normal" fully synthetic. I stopped using Mobil-1 and magnatech on any car after reading some worrying "shear tendencies of the oils". They break down very quickly with too much heat!
Look to opie oils for the ester oil, needless to say this is what will be in my rebuilt engine

[MrCoolA]

Hi Alan, I suppose I aught to introduce myself in the newcomer area. only had the car 20 years!!!

I forgot to add, that there is an additive my guys have used that is Made by Lucas.

Make sure it is the ultra thick stuff ( shake the bottle, if no liquid sound, that's the stuff!)

Heat it gently before adding to the oil to liquify it. Sticks to all major components to stop wear.apparently used in race engines.

If you want the best oil you can afford - move to 10/50 Ester oil. The cheaper option is to use ZX1 lube as an additive to "normal" fully synthetic. I stopped using Mobil-1 and magnatech on any car after reading some worrying "shear tendencies of the oils". They break down very quickly with too much heat!
Look to opie oils for the ester oil, needless to say this is what will be in my rebuilt engine

I still go with my 20/50 valvoline, very good oil, stand heat well is cheap and is recommended by Lotus and also Mike Taylor of LotusBits. in fact it is so cheap i normally change it yearly..............

[Lotus Jim]

I've just switched from Castrol 10w/60 to 20w/50 Valvoline from Lotus bits and I'm really glad I did. The oil pressure is generally higher and I have no more leaks from the rear crank seal!
Jim

[fueltheburn]

That might be a case of twenty years or so of wear and tear .....
All I can say is that there was a massive improvement in MPG, starting, mechanical sound reduction and a bit more power when I used the 10/50 Ester synthetic.

The tolerances on my new engine will also be a lot tighter. If I have to use 20/50 I will be severely disappointed!!!

[MrCoolA]

That might be a case of twenty years or so of wear and tear .....
All I can say is that there was a massive improvement in MPG, starting, mechanical sound reduction and a bit more power when I used the 10/50 Ester synthetic.

The tolerances on my new engine will also be a lot tighter. If I have to use 20/50 I will be severely disappointed!!!

well in that case i will have to be severely disappointed as i will be sticking with it when my engine is completed, it has been a cracking oil and not a ridiculous price either...................Valvoline gets used in race engines of the 9XX series and that's good enough for me...........

[yroll]

Now time for a little update!
I have swaped the oilpressure sender since it was holding the pressure suspiciously long, same thing with new sender.
I removed the aux housing and distributor and put in an new oring in the distributor, ordered from sj the cheap one and it fits perfectly(cost like 10 times less than original).
looked down into the pickupipe and couldn't see any olive, concluded that it just wasn't a olive there so put one in place.
Tomorrow i will assemble the engine since my waterpump is coming and hopefully i have an engine that works well and lasts long.

When i removed the alternator mounting i could see throug into the auxhousing, so i to a screwdriver and shorted the starter whilst looking into aux housing.
Result was many bubbles and brown oil, so the pump was sucking air this makes me feel confident!

[barker_001]

looked down into the pickupipe and couldn't see any olive, concluded that it just wasn't a olive there so put one in place.

Just to be clear, the olive should be around the outside of the pickup pipe, forming a compression seal on it when the nut is tightened down onto it from above. Is that what you meant?

[yroll]

looked down into the pickupipe and couldn't see any olive, concluded that it just wasn't a olive there so put one in place.

Just to be clear, the olive should be around the outside of the pickup pipe, forming a compression seal on it when the nut is tightened down onto it from above. Is that what you meant?

I removed the nut and then i couldn't see an olive