Low oil pressure around corners

[amawds]

I have mild low oil pressure around corners. Not bad but I can see the gauge drop to about a quarter sweep. When I'm a half quart low I can get the low pressure light to flick on. 30k on engine build, it has always done this. Pan is undented, pump was replaced with engine build. Looking into a crank scraper and found a good vendor of steel and and teflon edged scrapers. Will likely install the steel one. This will help with oil flinging around in the crank, keeping more of it in the pan where it belongs. In addition however, I emailed the guy who runs the site. He suggested making a plate that covers the pickup screen, leaving a couple mm of space between the screen and the plate which has a hole in it. This prevents a corner of the screen from sucking air when the oil sloshes around. Upon looking this up, it appears NOS pumps have this plate, and the new pumps that all the vendors sell do not. Anybody know where I can buy just this plate or a pickup with the plate installed? Anybody know if the 2L pickup can be installed in a 1.8? I have a 2L engine that likely has never been rebuilt, so it should still have this plate. Sitting on the ground so I haven't pulled the pan.


This is what my pickup looks like


This is the cover I speak of on a pump.

[131]

A baffled sump would be easier and cheaper than a scraper. I've recently had similar issues with my new car, when the level got to about halfway between the marks I'd have oil surge issues under heavy braking or cornering. I pulled the dipstick out of my old motor and compared it to the new one. The full mark on the new one was about a cm below the low level of the old one. I remarked the new dipstick, added 2 litres and haven't had an issue since.

[amawds]

Not sure baffles would be easier. The scraper is a bolt in affair and includes a bit of baffling as well. Wonder if there's a way to figure out whether or not someone may have swapped dipsticks on my motor. What is indicated as full is where the oil ends up when putting the amount of oil supposedly required in a 1.8L so I'm sure that isn't my issue.

[vandor]

You can easily solve this problem by overfilling the sump by 0.5-1 quart. I've been doing that for over 10 years with no ill effects.

> it appears NOS pumps have this plate, and the new pumps that all the vendors sell do not

The only engines that had this originally were the 2 liters. I am pretty sure the 2L pumps available new now have this too.

If you have a 1800 you could get a used 2L pump and simply transfer the screen and the plate to the 1800 pump.

[amawds]

You can easily solve this problem by overfilling the sump by 0.5-1 quart. I've been doing that for over 10 years with no ill effects.

> it appears NOS pumps have this plate, and the new pumps that all the vendors sell do not

The only engines that had this originally were the 2 liters. I am pretty sure the 2L pumps available new now have this too.

If you have a 1800 you could get a used 2L pump and simply transfer the screen and the plate to the 1800 pump.

This is exactly what I was hoping to hear. I happen to have a two liter laying around but it runs strong and I don't want to dismantle it. Anyone have a throw away 2L pump?

[carl]

I agree with Csaba, just put more oil in the sump. If your oil level is so marginal that a smaller opening in the pickup is suggested as a cure then you really need a higher oil level. When I used to run track days with my spider I always ran one quart over the full mark with absolutely no drop in oil pressure in hard braking or extreme cornering...and no ill affects otherwise.

Another reason for oil pressure drop in turns and hard braking is that you have probably backed off on the gas pedal, are not revving as high and the oil pressure would drop due to engine speed drop.

[narfire]

I trust the oil pan does not have any impact damage...

I helped a fellow here years ago with a broken aux shaft and had to drop the oil pan to get the end out. Found the end and the broken end of the oil pump as well. He mentioned the oil light would come on when going around corners.
Oil pan had a crunched front, not much really but enough to break the pick-up off.

Whoops, read the original post a little more closely, said the pan is undented..

[amawds]

Overfilling the sump has the side effect of beating the oil with the crank sapping power. I've gone over a quart before and I could feel it. The hole on the pickup is larger than the pickup tube. This cover was installed on the 2 liters for a reason and is also installed on loads of other production cars, performance and grocery getters alike. It is set a couple mm away from the mesh on the pickup so as to restrict flow as little as possible even if the screen picks up some crud over time. The engine will be coming out to be installed in my freshly painted '80 in the next couple months so at that point unbolting the pan and bolting in a 90 dollar crank scraper and upgrading the pickup of the pump to a modern design for cheap seems like a no brainer to protect my investment. This engine has 30k on it and is making about 35hp over stock or so, with the 32/36 carb being the restriction. I'll be changing that too in the future

[TX82FIAT]

If the oil pan already has a baffle in it ??(79-85 oem) then I think a little extra oil 1/2 Qt will not hurt the oil or the HP by slapping the crank. I could be wrong. The low oil pressure light on my 82 would blink for a second on hard right turns. After I added about 1/2 quart prior to hard driving the light would not come on again. No ill effects or loss of power.

[azruss]

So does this mean the purpose of the restrictor plate is to retain oil in the pump housing during these hard corner starvations.

[engineerted]

The crank scrapper is not going to solve or improve your oil issues. But again, it will not hurt anything either, other than moving the oil pan down 1/4". Crank scrapper a best used in racing application where the engine is always spinning from 4k and upwards.

Here is a good discussion on oil sumps. http://turbo124.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12540

Ted

[majicwrench]

I'm always trying the easy simple stuff first.

Try to avoid turning corners.
Ketih

[amawds]

So does this mean the purpose of the restrictor plate is to retain oil in the pump housing during these hard corner starvations.

Not quite. The purpose is to keep the edges of the pickup from sucking air while the oil is sloshing around, while still allowing the surface area to stay the same so the screen doesn't get clogged. It isn't actually a restrictor, as the hole is bigger than the pickup interior tube diameter.

As for the scraper, anytime I'm cornering hard I'm above 4k. This motor spends a good amount of time at 5-6k which is where my power band is. I drive it harder than most. I cruise at 2-3k in town but when I'm taking corners I'm leaving them on the gas. I have to let off if my pressure is low which is annoying.

Magic I like your solution x) drag fiat anybody?

This is a 76 so it has a baffle, just not an effective one. Does great at keeping the oil where it belongs when I brake hard. There is no baffling on the sides however. Just sloshes up on the crank. The scraper prevents this and is a baffle as well. I feel the combination will help significantly. If all else fails, sandwich plate on the oil filter and I'll toss a 2 quart accusump on it. I doubt it'll come to that. Remember guys with 2L engines, you already have that little plate on the pump apparently. You likely won't have the issue I do.

[vandor]

>This is a 76 so it has a baffle, just not an effective one. Does great at keeping the oil where it belongs when I brake hard.

The 'baffle' is mostly behind the oil pickup, so it keeps the oil there on acceleration, not during braking.

Accusumps are great, a lot cheaper than a dry sump system!

[amawds]

>This is a 76 so it has a baffle, just not an effective one. Does great at keeping the oil where it belongs when I brake hard.

The 'baffle' is mostly behind the oil pickup, so it keeps the oil there on acceleration, not during braking.

Accusumps are great, a lot cheaper than a dry sump system!

Good catch. Been a couple years since I had the pan off