Caterham engine failure
02-16-2009, 12:19 PM
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Caterham engine failure
new engine? just a rebuild?
It's going to the engine man on Wednesday for inspection but it's killing me not knowing what the matter is with it - it's worse than sitting by the phone wandering if "he's going to phone or not" !!!!!
Car has had a lot of work done over the off-season; engine out, new inlet manifold + throttle body + exhaust + exhaust manifold. Since it got put back together it's been blowing a fair bit of oil into the catch tank (dry sumped).
Snetterton on Saturday it was running really well when all of a sudden it started to resist rev's, just couldn't accelerate and the oil pressure was fluctuating. Normal pressure is about 80 (psi?? not sure of the units) and it was fluctuating between 20-40-70-8040-70 like that.
I came in and checked the oil (fine), checked fuel (fine), cleaned a few connectors, put a bit of oil in. That all seemed to stabilise the oil pressure so I went out again.
Within a lap the problem started again only worse - rev's gradually dropping - i could increase them with difficulty, power dying away, oil pressure fluctuating, then a big puff of blue smoke from under the bonnet (I thought I was on fire!). Found a safe place to pull over and just as I did the engine stopped (might have stalled, can't remember) and I am sure I heard a slight rattle as it did.
Checked under the bonnet and there is oil everywhere.
It is a 1600K series but these are not symptomatic of head gasket failure.
There is also now milky stuff in the catch tank - not mayonnaise, more like milky coffee.
Soooooooo.......... any of the engine guru's on here care to speculate? I haven't started it up since (obviously) and I@ll find out Wednesday hopefully but it's really doing my head in not knowing what the matter is and nmore importantly how much it's going to cost to fix, and the season hasn't even started yet!!!!!
It's going to the engine man on Wednesday for inspection but it's killing me not knowing what the matter is with it - it's worse than sitting by the phone wandering if "he's going to phone or not" !!!!!
Car has had a lot of work done over the off-season; engine out, new inlet manifold + throttle body + exhaust + exhaust manifold. Since it got put back together it's been blowing a fair bit of oil into the catch tank (dry sumped).
Snetterton on Saturday it was running really well when all of a sudden it started to resist rev's, just couldn't accelerate and the oil pressure was fluctuating. Normal pressure is about 80 (psi?? not sure of the units) and it was fluctuating between 20-40-70-8040-70 like that.
I came in and checked the oil (fine), checked fuel (fine), cleaned a few connectors, put a bit of oil in. That all seemed to stabilise the oil pressure so I went out again.
Within a lap the problem started again only worse - rev's gradually dropping - i could increase them with difficulty, power dying away, oil pressure fluctuating, then a big puff of blue smoke from under the bonnet (I thought I was on fire!). Found a safe place to pull over and just as I did the engine stopped (might have stalled, can't remember) and I am sure I heard a slight rattle as it did.
Checked under the bonnet and there is oil everywhere.
It is a 1600K series but these are not symptomatic of head gasket failure.
There is also now milky stuff in the catch tank - not mayonnaise, more like milky coffee.
Soooooooo.......... any of the engine guru's on here care to speculate? I haven't started it up since (obviously) and I@ll find out Wednesday hopefully but it's really doing my head in not knowing what the matter is and nmore importantly how much it's going to cost to fix, and the season hasn't even started yet!!!!!
Whats the replacement cost? if it's buggered.
02-16-2009, 01:35 PM
#4
contaminated oil is probably coolant. it will be bad i think 
02-16-2009, 01:58 PM
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I'm not massively worried about the oil discolouration - it wasn't mayonnaise and could be condensation and misleading.
Cost-wise, not a clue! Anythin from a few hundred if it hasn't damaged anything major, to 1-2k for a complete rebuild, god knows what for a new engine
Cost-wise, not a clue! Anythin from a few hundred if it hasn't damaged anything major, to 1-2k for a complete rebuild, god knows what for a new engine
02-16-2009, 02:03 PM
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Look at this as an opportunity to get a more powerful engine in 
Until I read the 2nd half of your thread I was going to ask about fueling as I had a similr prob with the westie but all it was, was a broken screw in the carbs so the butterfly was loose.
Fortunately, labour shouldn't be *too* bad as it's relatively easy to access and remove the engine (if indeed removal is required) so don't get ripped off. Is the engine standard or highly tuned?
Until I read the 2nd half of your thread I was going to ask about fueling as I had a similr prob with the westie but all it was, was a broken screw in the carbs so the butterfly was loose.
Fortunately, labour shouldn't be *too* bad as it's relatively easy to access and remove the engine (if indeed removal is required) so don't get ripped off. Is the engine standard or highly tuned?
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02-16-2009, 02:44 PM
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I'm guessing the oil pump is screwed possibly perforated and the white stuff is air from it 
. Just because it shows pressure at idle doesn't mean it will still provide enough pressure under load.
That's what I would think in an aircraft engine if I saw the same symptoms and I would put down in a field loss of power, low oil pressure, high oil temp = fecked oil pump that's my guess but I'm no mechanic.
. Just because it shows pressure at idle doesn't mean it will still provide enough pressure under load.That's what I would think in an aircraft engine if I saw the same symptoms and I would put down in a field
loss of power, low oil pressure, high oil temp = fecked oil pump that's my guess but I'm no mechanic.
02-16-2009, 11:00 PM
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Interesting Boab - I think there is pressure under load simply because it's blowing into the catch tank, which normally indicates too much oil (but perhaps pressure in the wrong place would also cause that? it blows from the top of the dry sump tower where the oil swirls around).
Graham - I will certainly bear that in mind thank you, it may well come to that!
I can't put a more powerful engine in due to race regs, but the engine is a little bit tuned - I'm not sure about the ECU but it has a different inlet manifold/exhaust manifold and a larger throttle body than a normal engine, and puts out approx 20bhp more. Not highly tuned compared to a lot of them!
Graham - I will certainly bear that in mind thank you, it may well come to that!
I can't put a more powerful engine in due to race regs, but the engine is a little bit tuned - I'm not sure about the ECU but it has a different inlet manifold/exhaust manifold and a larger throttle body than a normal engine, and puts out approx 20bhp more. Not highly tuned compared to a lot of them!
02-16-2009, 11:35 PM
#10
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Originally Posted by dreamer,Feb 16 2009, 10:58 PM
I'm not massively worried about the oil discolouration - it wasn't mayonnaise and could be condensation and misleading.
Oil discolouration - water in oil and vice versa is much more indicative of head gasket failure