Jump to content

Help with 300tdi oil pump inspection ?


piper109

Recommended Posts

I have just dismantled my 300tdi because the oil light stayed on, fortunately at home, following a spirited drive, not out on the road somewhere. Timing chest is removed and oil pump dismantled. Oil pump rotors look good but I will replace them anyway. My concern is that the timing case recess that the oil pump runs in has a little wear in it (outside diameter) that I measured with a feeler gauge to be 12 thou or 0.3 mm. Manual says .001 to .003 thou. Timing cases are hard to find on this continent and probably anything I find might be that worn too. My biggest problem was that the oil pressure relief spring is 46mm long which is 22mm shorter than the spec! and I'm guessing that somehow this caused the oil flow/pressure problem.

I understand that the 300tdi engines are very robust and I have no qualms about replacing mains and big ends in situ. Any opinions from 300tdi gurus? Are larger clearances on the pump OD common place ?? Are shorter press relief springs common place ?? Thanks Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An internal micrometer would give a more definitive result , but your initial figure sounds like too much clearance to me . Is it possible to sleeve the inner diameter ? it would need super accurate machining to work . Can you post up some pic's?

cheers

Steveb

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did my measurement exactly as indicated on page 32 of the Land Rover overhaul manual (page 54 of the .pdf). There is a picture of a feeler gauge being used on the pump OD in the housing. I dont think sleeving the aluminium housing would be easy or practical. I will search for another timing case inner and hope I can find one with less play. I think this might be a common occurrence but I would like to find out from others. Thanks Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Steve, you should be able to take the case to a good machine shop and have the outer pump bore sleaved, it should never have been alloy in the first place, but if you have a real problem locating a good used one let us know. The wear you indicated is far too much, especially once the oil is up to normal running temp and it'sat its lower viscosity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From what i have read, play in the alloy housing on the OD of the pump is not really unknown or rare and I am kind of feeling that I can get a second hand one and it will be just like mine. I think there are loads of 300tdi's around with high mileage and perhaps the oil pressure gets a bit low at times but unless the red light comes on, people are going to be oblivious of it and happily drive on, using the inherent robustness of the design. I am still researching and asking but I am leaning towards replacing pump parts, relief valve parts and putting things back together.

I have bidded on a brand new old stock housing on Ebay.uk but was outbidded in the last seconds. There are quite a number of used housings on Ebay.uk, complete with pump parts and I am guessing that the wear in them is very similar to mine.

Big end shells are in fine shape. I have not yet come up with the grunt to undo main bearing caps so I am going to buy some other tools. 98 ft/lbs torque should not be hard to undo but has been so far.

Cheers, Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I called a well known Tdi engine builder near Gatwick and asked a couple of questions. A very helpful guy "R******" gave me some good insight on my situation.

He said that the oil pressure relief spring that you get from Land Rover these days is 55mm long, not 68 mm as per the manual. He said he often sees them come in 45-48mm long and stuff still woks fine.

He said its very important to fit an oil pressure gauge so you can have a realistic idea of what pressure you really have. I have no gauge at the moment so I am going to fit one.

Similar story on the oil pump housing. They are often not the size that the book says and not to worry too much. Only if you have a gauge you can really tell what the pressure is. He feels that my problem was due to the engine oil being hotter and therefore thinner than usual. Once again the gauge would have made things clear. I kind of feel that if I had waited a couple of hours for the engine to cool down and then restarted it, I would have had the light go off. Perhaps I had a lot of worry and work for no reason. Oh well.......it was time I replaced the timing belt anyway LOL. Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. By using our website you agree to our Cookie Policy