[TR] New One

[Dave]

When I was in college (back in the Pleistocene) I had an MG that would start in any weather.  When it was really cold I would start the car and the oil pressure come up for a second or tw and drop to zero when all the oil got pumped up into the engine.  I would shut it down and wait a few seconds and restart and the cycle would repeat.  Typically, on the third try the oil would stay up and all was good with the world.

But that was really cold weather.  40 deg F should not make the oil so thick it would not flow down to the sump.  Maybe you should pull the valve cover and check for a build-up of sludge.

BTW, oil came from seaweed.  Coal came from land plants.  Makes sense.  Liquid fuel from liquid based plants, solid fuel from celulosic plants.


 

 

Dave Massey


 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: TERRY SMITH <terryrs at comcast.net>
To: Triumph Mail List <triumphs at autox.team.net>
Sent: Sun, May 14, 2017 7:15 pm
Subject: [TR] New One

Okay, so I made the switch today.  Drained the Mobil 1 10-30 full synthetic, replaced the oil filter, and put in 4.5 quarters of Valvoline VR-1 20-50 racing oil.  

Aside:  I wonder if the dinosaur it came from ever raced? Maybe it was chased by a T-Rex.  Wonder if my average driving speed is more or less than the full-tilt speed of a T-Rex?  Probably doesn't matter.  Most oil comes from plant material, doesn't it?  And those plants, like Ents from Tolkien, go pretty slow, I think? Unless it's a tree limb that drops in the wind on your windshield.  That happens pretty fast....

Oh well.  Anyway.

I started up after the oil change and, as ever, watched the oil pressure gauge.

It didn't move.

It kept not moving.

It kept not moving some more.

I shut the car down.  This didn't make sense.  I had poured new oil in but now no oil pressure.

Pulled the dipstick.  No oil showed.  What????  Pulled the oil cap from the valve cover.  Oil was still near the top.  It hadn't drained down.  What????

So what the heck.  Garage temp is in the 40's (it snowed last night--double ugh), so the 20-50 VR-1 was apparently so thick it took lots of minutes to drain into the sump where it could prime the pump and pressure the system. At least I think.

Question:  while this lends credence that oil will stick longer to cylinders, do I have to worry in NH cold weather about VR-1 being pushed through the pistons and into the tappets soon enough after start up to avoid damage?  Or did I experience an issue exclusive to fresh oil change?

Weird!
Terry Smith, '59 TR3A  TS 58667
New Hampshire

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