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Pondfish · #1 14-08-09, 20:21

Help!
Just rebuilt the head on my 1999 2.0L Vectra estate after the waterpump collapsed on the M3.

Everything looked OK but after driving for about 5 miles the Oil warning light starts to flicker then stays on. when Oil light comes on the head sounds really dry tappets ticking etc.

Water temp is OK, no oil in water, and no water in oil.Headgasket seems fine, and i had about 11Bar compression on all pots after fitting new inlet valves.

After letting the engine cool down for about 15 mins, i can start it and the oil light goes out, but after a few miles it comes back on again.

Can Anyone throw any light on this? Could it be the oil pump gone???

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Leeky · #2 14-08-09, 22:07

Maybe the oil pump pick up pipe is blocked. Its definately a oil starvation issue in the top end, but the oil pressure sensor I believe is mounted below the head on it. I would be removing the sump and checking the pick up pipe, and then replacing the oil pump personally. Oil thins as it heats up, so in theory it should freely travel around the oil galleries in the head and elsewhere.

Pondfish · #3 14-08-09, 22:26

Thanks Leeky,
Looks like i'lll be taking the sump off. just pray it's not the mains that have gone! could well be a blocked pickup pipe though! - fingers crossed.

Leeky · #4 14-08-09, 22:34

It doubt it be the crank shells mate, oil is pumped from the bottom of the sump, not above it, the crank as far as oil lubrication is concerned uses splash lubrication as it turns to spray the oil over the internals and the underside of the pistons.

If the head is tapping when run then its not getting oil through the pick up pipe and into the head for some reason. Its probably just sludged up, but I would still be concerned about terminal damage if the water pump has given up to the ghost at motorway speed! Your talking 3-4k rpm in a 2.0 arent you? Thats bad with no coolant flow even for a few seconds!

Both the head and block were spotlessly cleaned before fitting the head gasket yes?

Pondfish · #5 15-08-09, 10:22

Hi Leeky,

you offer a glimmer of hope if it's not the mains, but i thought the oil was pumped directly to these bearings and then on to the head?

Well the actual breakdown was a little strange - yes i was travelling around 70mph (about 3000rpm) but the water temp gauge was normal - only reason i pulled over was that the oil light started to flicker. no noise or any other indication that anything was wrong. once i stopped, the engine was smoking with oil escaping all around the rocker cover. luckily, as i did not have recovery, i broke down just before some roadworks and got free recovery to fleet services.

i waited about an hour for it to cool down and had a look - plenty of oil, but it was low on water - topped up the water and started it - it started fine, but was loosing water from the waterpump area. I found a sevice road at the back of the service station and armed with as many bottles of water as i could find, decided to get back onto normal roads and find somewhere to leave the car where it wouldn't get towed away.

I signed up for RAC recovery next day and had to return to the car for the recovery. The RAC asked me to turn it over - nothing would not fire - this was the point where the cambelt slipped due to the collapsed waterpump bearings bearings i think - not at 70MPH otherwise i could never have driven it away from the service station. Anyway i think that "just turn it over for me" cost me 8 bent inlet valves. The headgasket looked absolutely fine when i removed the head so i don't think there was any damage below the head - we'll see i suppose

Any advice as to what to look for once i remove the sump? any tests i can do to eliminate certain areas when looking for the problem? Any advice greatfully recieved!

Leeky · #6 15-08-09, 15:20

I'm no expert but if its the big ends gone you'll know it from a mile off! It would also be constant really, from the second it started up, has a very characteristic knocking type sound. From memory it is not tappet related nor sounds like its from the cylinder head. Its forever since I actually heard a Eco knocking from big end damage though!

I still dont get how your rocker was ****ing oil out and smoking really! Only thing that springs to mind is excessive oil pressure, caused by head gasket failure, or possibly gas build up due to a blockage - But thats unlikely as well.

The oil pick up pipe is what you want to be removing to check its clear.

Also check the mesh of the actual pick up to see its not blocked and try pouring some oil through it.

Pic below of what it will look like sump removed:

Hope This Helps.

Pondfish · #7 16-08-09, 10:37

Wow, thanks for your time and effort Leeky. Haven't really got the tools to tackle this over the weekend, so i'll have the sump off on Monday evening.
There is a good chance it's just blocked up - i guess i should have taken the sump off when i had the head apart and checked the oil pump.
One other thing - i've heard mention it might be the oil relief valve stuck open (crap stuck preventing it sealing properly), is the relief valve situated near the oil pump?

Leeky · #8 17-08-09, 12:35

I assume you mean the safety valve, diagram below should help you for that mate.

It might be worth removing it and giving it a clean. Hope this helps, and sorry for the delay, we've both been distracted the last few days!

Pondfish · #9 17-08-09, 20:16

Thanks Mate your really are a star!
Removed the exhaust and sump cover this evening and it's like the black hole in there! What i think are two balancer shafts and all the casing is covered in black scale (looks like baked on oil). plenty of scale in the bottom of the sump cover, and peering into the opening in the oil pick up pipe with a torch i can see a perforated metal strainer about 50% covered in this black scale.
Although it's a mess, i was glad to see it. hopefully a good clean is going to sort this Oil problem out!

Tomorrow i will set about removing the pick-up pipe, oil pump and safety valve (thanks for the diagram Leeky) for a good clean-up.

Just read your new thread for your Supertouring 500 project Leeky - i'm impressed! Where do you get the time and dosh to do a project like that (jealous)? I guess it helps having a partner who shares your passion!

Leeky · #10 18-08-09, 07:00

	Quote:
	Originally Posted by Pondfish Thanks Mate your really are a star! Removed the exhaust and sump cover this evening and it's like the black hole in there! What i think are two balancer shafts and all the casing is covered in black scale (looks like baked on oil). plenty of scale in the bottom of the sump cover, and peering into the opening in the oil pick up pipe with a torch i can see a perforated metal strainer about 50% covered in this black scale. Although it's a mess, i was glad to see it. hopefully a good clean is going to sort this Oil problem out! Tomorrow i will set about removing the pick-up pipe, oil pump and safety valve (thanks for the diagram Leeky) for a good clean-up. Just read your new thread for your Supertouring 500 project Leeky - i'm impressed! Where do you get the time and dosh to do a project like that (jealous)? I guess it helps having a partner who shares your passion!

Having a girlfriend that will spend as much time as me doing things makes a huge difference!!

We're killing off ST No. 500 now, as its being used to release some life into our latest project, a ST200.

Fortunately we the supplies and time spend over years of vectra ownership most things are possible. There isnt much I dont generally know about vectra's, ive stripped, rebuild, fixed and diagnosed enough problems in my time to learn about them!!

Good luck with your plans today, let us know how you get on!