I was wondering, I am starting to have problems with my oil presure, I have pleanty of oil in the engin the engin doesn't have that many miles to speak of, I was kind of wondering if it is possible to maybe change the oil pump to see if this is the problem. I have been told that changing the oil pump isn't that hard, but I would like to know if anyone has any advice at this point?

Thanks

 

Update>>>>

I called a friend of mine tonight who works on Land Rovers pretty much, and he told me that it sounded like maybe something was plugging the system, he told me, that to fully do a simple test to see if it would clear up the problem, now he did say that it is possible that my oil pump is worn, but he also added it isn't common and it could be something really wrong, but he still wanted me to do this.

He said for me to take 2 quarts of diesel fuel and pour it into my engine block, run the engine for no more then ten minutes, then drain all oil out of out of the engine, then he said to take about a gallon more of fuel and with the plug out and oil filter pour the fuel through the engine and wait for it to completely drain, he said to jack the passenger side of the rover up just a little, to make sure that all the fuel is out of the pan.

He said to use a oil conditioner and there are many out on the market that you can use, however he told me to use Advance Oil Conditioner, it is used by top fuel racing companies in their drag cars. He also told me to use a high mileage oil, instead of a normal oil, and to replace with a new oil filter. Now he told me to keep an eye on my oil pressure and see if I see any improvement, after one week of driving he instructed me to do this whole process again. Run it for one more week, then on the last change which would be the third time, to make sure that you use a high mileage oil, and to keep using the oil conditioner, he said that with this method you are spending a lot of money on oil, but you are also at the same time cleaning out the engine, if your oil pressure does not improve, then it might be time to either replace the old oil pump, or go as far as rebuilding the engine.

The reason why he felt that there might have been some type of plug in the system was because of what would happen when I would first start the Rover, it would run great for a few moments, then after a while it would start to loose its pressure, I would shut the engine off wait for about five min, and it would run perfect again. He said if it was a oil pump problem it would do it as soon as you started it up. He also feels that maybe the screen in the bottom of the pan might be plugged, this would require removal of the pan and cleaning the screen.

I did everything that he told me to do, and it seems to be working now, but I will still change it again in a week, lets hope that this problem might be fixed, because, it cost $400.00 for a new pump assembly, and I just don’t want to go there at this moment. I will keep you informed of my process.

 

Your friend pointed you in the right direction I would add or change a couple of things.
How often do you change your oil, what oil do you use, how many miles on the truck.
Change the oil again, do as you did before or buy a qt. of engine flush from the auto parts store or use 2 or 3 qt.s of ATF, don't over fill the engine. Let it idle for 20 minutes, then drain the oil. One thing Rovers are known for is loosing oil pressure do to sludge build up, they will also plug up the oil pick up tube thus starving your engine for oil.
I would make a point of doing a flush every other oil change, 3000 miles, use a good oil like Castrols 20/50W and a good filter like K&N's 3001 which is an extra large filter with good filter material and a great spring and valve assembly.
If in the future, you engine noise comes back, plan on pulling the oil pan for additional cleaning and inspection.
Mike

 

Thanks Mike!!! for the info and I will put it to good use. You know I am glad you told me that Rovers are known for this, because I would hate to think that I was the only one. But anyway, my buddy did mention what you talked about, however he felt that adding a flush to the engine at this time was not going to do the job, he has worked on Rovers, mainly the engine areas, and he said the same thing you said, that Rovers are very known for getting plugged up, and that is why he told me to take those steps first.

The main reason why I added Diesel fuel to the old, was to make sure that it had some type of lubricant and diesel has that, and it also does a good job on keeping things from scorching as he put it. He told me that the main reason why it plugged up was because the engine most likely has never been flushed, and in his words he told me this, buying a flushing agent to flush through your engine can do a good job, if it is done at least once a year, starting from a newer engine, however most people don’t do this, and never will do it, and more engines would be saved if more people would flush their engines at least once a year.

After I had added the fuel to the oil the first time, it did the job I guess, but what really made a difference is when after I had emptied the oil pan and removed the filter, and poured almost a whole gallon of fuel through the engine, it went in the top and ran out the bottom and it amazed me how dirty it was, I mean it wasn’t the black, but it was very dirty. The reason why he thought it would be a good idea for me to do it again in a week is because it would have time to run all the new oil through the system, and also flush out some of the old that might have been left in the engine, so pretty much that is what I have done thus far, this weekend I will do another change, but I don’t think I will do it again for at least 2000 miles.

Now there was something that you told me, you said to use a 20w 50 oil, now that is a new one to me, I have seen this oil in the stores, but always thought it might be too much for the engine, but I will check into that. Right now the engine is running good again, has a small ticking noise, but nothing to bad. I did learn a valuable lesson is all this, and that is to make sure that you change your own. The last time I took my Rover to one of those oil change places, and they did their job, but I found out that they used the wrong oil, and a cheap oil as of matter of fact, and didn’t use the oil filter that I requested, even though I know that there is nothing I can do about it, I do know if you want something done right you have to do it yourself.

I also am learning more and more about Rovers, and how well they are built, and even though repairing them can be costly, it is worth it. I have so many friends that keep telling me to sell my Rover, but I am growing more attached to it as time goes along, and the more I make my own repairs the better I get.

Now, I have some other questions to ask, but that will come with time. I want to thank you for your comments, I am glad that you took the time to write, and hope to hear from you some time really soon.

 

The reason for the 20/50W oil is that our old Rover engines have always had oil pressure problems, even back in the early days when Buick built and used this engine, they had problems. So the 20/50 gives better oil pressure at lower RPM's, thus better wear control.
Mike

 

So that is good to know and I will use it on my next oil change.
Thanks Mike!