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TR4 SUDDEN OIL LOSS


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Hi All.  I hope someone can give me good news.  This morning I checked engine oil level following first outing on Drive It day. To my horror I needed to add 1.5 litres of oil to top back up. I have owned the car since 2013 and have never seen oil loss on this scale before. The drive was 80 miles including one Welsh mountain. Engine was overhauled in 2006, and has covered  less than 25000 miles since.

Willie

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Hi Willie,

that is a lot in one go.

Filling to the top of the dip stick is not generally recommended. The engine tends to steel the oil from the top and progressively less as it goes down.

If there is no puddle under the car - have you looked underneath the car at the chassis etc - is it dripping/wet/damp at all. Look at the diff casing this tends to catch and hold excess spray.

What breathing system have you got. It is usually the snorkel and a suction pipe to the carbs - any clues there.

Remove the rocker cover oil filler cap and with the engine running what si the blow-by like - it could have been sucked into the crabs.

Roger

 

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Roger, no sign of obvious oil loss underneath. A bit of a struggle as this is week 9 post hip op for me!  Diff looks clean viewed from rear. Breather is standard late TR4 [July '64]. Strong blow with filler cap removed.  I removed the hose to rear carb but no obvious oil presence.  Shot of manifold attached for info. Is it "normal" for the odd sudden loss?

Willie

P1140144.JPG

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"Strong blow with filler cap removed"

That's not good, clean air should enter via the filler cap, & fumes sucked out of the rocker cover into the carbs.

But aside from that, current thinking is to fill to just over half way between min & max on the dipstick.

Bob.

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Hi Willie,

 the engine hoovering up all the oil is not common but is a continous process on a slower scale.

However there is nothing/very little stopping the the carbs sucking and the engine pumping.

hat colour are the plugs, exhaust tail pipe.  Did anybody report blue smoke from the tail pipe.

 

Roger 

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1 hour ago, Willie said:

Roger, no sign of obvious oil loss underneath. A bit of a struggle as this is week 9 post hip op for me!  Diff looks clean viewed from rear. Breather is standard late TR4 [July '64]. Strong blow with filler cap removed.  I removed the hose to rear carb but no obvious oil presence.  Shot of manifold attached for info. Is it "normal" for the odd sudden loss?

Willie

P1140144.JPG

Whats the yellow thing between the carbs?

Stuart.

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The yellow things are magnets on the metal pipes to try to improve fuel consumption! Given to me a few years ago. 24mpg on 95 octane suggests they don't do it for my car! 

#1 plug about right, #4 slightly rich. Tail pipe slightly black.    No eyewitness accounts for colour of exhaust smoke as it was aa solo run, just me and The Boss.

Willie

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1 hour ago, Willie said:

The yellow things are magnets on the metal pipes to try to improve fuel consumption! Given to me a few years ago. 24mpg on 95 octane suggests they don't do it for my

The last witch was burnt at the stake in 1727 :o    none of the add-on's will produce any extra MPG.   Don't even think about Lead bricks in the fuel tank.

You could put Magnets on the rear face of the sump to catch any steel filings that are floating around.

Roger

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Thanks Roger, alternative use for the magnets is a great idea! I'll definitely do that.

Meantime, I guess there is no obvious cause for the oil loss?

Best wishes to all            Willie

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Apologies from a simpleton for some simple suggestions. Your dip stick is the only means of measuring your oil level. As we are all totally dependent on it have a good look at what and how it is measuring.
Is the stop washer moving around - for example. Is it going all the way home?

james

 

Edited by james christie
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Just a thought, but do you have the original type canister filter on the car ? And have you changed the element lately ? If so, you might find that the o ring between the alloy housing and the steel canister case isn’t seated properly.
 

If this is the case, even if it’s only slightly displaced from the groove in the alloy housing, you’ll get a steady dribble down the canister onto the centre bolt. On a decent run at motorway speeds (3000 rpm upwards) you will lose a good deal of oil.

regards

Tony 

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Thanks for your response Tony. No, the engine has the spin on type filter. There is the slightest of oil traces under the cartridge.

Ref Bob's reaction to the "blow" with the oil filler cap removed, I need to see if anything isn't quite right there, although I'm not sure what to look for! We don't have a mice problem, so I don't believe anything has crawled up the breather pipe and died!!

Willie

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22 hours ago, RogerH said:

The last witch was burnt at the stake in 1727 :o    none of the add-on's will produce any extra MPG.   Don't even think about Lead bricks in the fuel tank.

You could put Magnets on the rear face of the sump to catch any steel filings that are floating around.

Roger

Why place the magnets on the rear sump face Roger, is it to be closest to the pump filter?

Tim

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H Tim,

Ideally they should be on the bottom surface near the drain plug. But they would get wiped off here.

The sides near the plug would have the same problem. So the rear face near the drain plug is second/third best

 

Roger

 

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Willie,

Well only three ways for the oil to get out, drip down onto the road or out of the exhaust, or lastly have you checked the coolant is it still nice and blue not that yellow mousse?

How strong is the blow back out of the filler cap? There should be very little crankcase pressure or else the engine will sprout leaks everywhere, possible blocked breather tube to carbs?

Perhaps time for both  a compression & leak down test.

Alan

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37 minutes ago, RogerH said:

H Tim,

Ideally they should be on the bottom surface near the drain plug. But they would get wiped off here.

The sides near the plug would have the same problem. So the rear face near the drain plug is second/third best

 

Roger

 

I have a very strong rare earth magnet on the sump just above the drain plug. I don't know if it ever catches anything since after a run to warm the oil I of course remove the magnet before draining. I also have a magnetic drain plug and am pleased to say at each oil change I find very little swarf on it and then only tiny particles.

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Hi Alan, happily both appearance and fluid level in the radiator are normal. I'll maybe check the pipe from rocker box tomorrow.  I'm baffled because its never happened before and the engine oil is often OK after a decent run. No visible blue discharges  when ticking over at home.

Willie

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Are you sure the level was correct before Drive It Day?

Silly question maybe, but you have not found the 1.5L anywhere or any trace of it, so was it there to start with?

Iain

Edited by iain
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Air filters blocked or contaminated causing excessive suction on the breather pipe ? 

Ralph.

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Willie 

I would make sure the oil is just below the top mark on the dip stick ( I cut another groove in mine about 1cm below top mark as my “normal”)

ensuring the dipstick is fully home and oil fully drained into the sump. This does take a while after a run. Check it the next day when engine cold and on a level surface.

any of the above could account for “missing” oil.

clean/degrease  all your under bonnet areas and go for another run out  checking for exhaust smoke and stopping every 10miles to check for oil evidence under the bonnet etc

and move the car after being stood on each of these stops to check the ground for drips.

It sounds like one of those strange things that appear to happen just to worry us.

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