Zetec oil pressure

[jfgw]

Hi guys,

I was at the track recently with my Zetec SVT engined Caterham and noticed decreasing oil pressure on the stock Caterham gauge after a few laps. Coolant temp remained normal, but I don't have an oil temp gauge and I don't have an oil cooler. I'm using Mobil 1 fully synthetic 5w30, but have heard that 10w40 would be better for track work. Car is wet sump with the raceline sump.

 

I plan to check the accuracy of the caterham pressure gauge with a mechanical, also swap the oil to 10w40, and also look to add an oil cooler. I will have the oil analyzed for any possible bearing residue, but wondered if I am missing anything or if anyone else has suffered similar symptoms.

 

Also, does anyone have any photos of how/where they mounted an oil cooler for a zetec - seems there isn't much room for the sandwich plate, even with a short oil filter.

 

Thanks in advance..

James

[Kitcat]

The stock Caterham oil "guage" (Thx jfgw!), is more of an "off-on" gauge than a measure of oil pressure (It tells you there is oil pressure, just not how much, with any accuracy).

Edited May 13, 2014 by Kitcat

[jfgw]

Thanks kitkat - you said the 'stock caterham oil cooler' - did you mean the stock caterham oil pressure gauge?

 

Thanks

[scannon]

+1 on the Caterham oil pressure situation. Mine dropped off suddenly and I plumbed in a mechanical gauge to find that what the electronic gauge showed as less than 1 bar was actually a little over 70 psi. I've heard that it is the pressure sensor rather than the gauge that goes south.

 

I haven't replaced the sensor but as long as I see the stock gauge come up to its "normal" position I don't worry about oil pressure.

 

Same goes for the alternator light. It has glowed red from day one but as Mazda alternators are known for their longevity I haven't fixed it in seven years and 23k miles of driving. I did pick up the correct resistor last year but haven't got around to wiring it in. It must be working well because the original PC680 battery held up for those seven years, just being replaced this spring.

[Klasik-69]

My setup on my Zetec has a hose that runs to a transducer mounted to the back of the alternator which is equipped with the sending unit for the gauge. I checked this with a mechanical gauge and it s quite accurate and very consistent, although it shows in bar readings vs psi. 1 bar = 14.7 psi. Mine is about 10 years old and works quite well.

[slomove]

I went through 2 VDO electronic pressure senders and finally switched back to a mechanical pressure gage. More accurate, reliable than the electronic one and the gage has anyway a wider sweep angle.

 

However, if you are using the car on the track I think an oil cooler is mandatory for reasonable engine life. I have an oil temperature sensor installed in the sump front plug and before I installed the cooler I had the gage regularly pegging above 130 degrees C. Who knows how hot it really got.

 

Then I installed a Laminova heat exchanger and the temperature never went beyond 120 degrees C. If you want to hook up a cooler you should also install the filter on a remote mount. Then the space problem goes away and you can place the filter for easiest access and where the change causes the least mess. I have it mounted to the chassis tubes in front of the passenger foot well.

Edited May 21, 2014 by slomove

[James A]

I agree with the cooler and remote mount, mine came with a manifold block and I installed an Accusump also as we were wrecking engines on the race car prior to installing it.

Haven't had an oil related incident on the car since installing the Accusump.

[1turbofocus]

I cannot say enough on how important I feel a accusump is needed with any engine with a oil cooler , I wouldnt have a performance car with out one and I dont

 

Tom

[James A]

And if you don't know Tom, he has built Zetecs numbering in the hundreds, including race engines for a number of SCCA E Production cars. We are not allowed to run dry-sump or we would, so the Accusump saves us.