Typical oil pressure ?

Richard Branch

7 December 2015 at 19:25 #51591

Hi Chaps, what is the typical oil pressure of the 16/80 engine? My car seems to run at 40psi when cold and slowly drop to 20psi as it warms up. Thoughts?

Colin M34

8 December 2015 at 23:21 #51596

Sounds about right to me. Has the engine had the rods replaced?

Colin

Richard Branch

9 December 2015 at 10:47 #51597

Thanks Colin, I honestly don’t know if the rods have been replaced. I did ask but Dennis wasn’t sure and unless I whip the sump off I won’t know. I will mark it on my list of things to look at.

Colin M34

9 December 2015 at 14:54 #51598

Hi Richard

Here is the deathly warning!

In the picture, on the left is a normal 16/80 con rod. Problem is that as original they were made of Dural and after 80 years are inclined to suddenly break which is what happened to the one on the right.

Fortunately these are well understood and new rods can be supplied ex-stock from a company who advertises in the Lagonda Club magazine. They use MGB shell bearings and are an all round improvement. This is shown in the in the middle. You can then rev the pants off your engine in third and have a lot of fun without worrying whether you will transform the example on the left into the one on the right.

Most 16/80s in regular use will have had this improvement. I am sure the previous owner of your car would have been well aware of this issue and hopefully upgraded them.

Colin

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