possible oil pump faliure

tahutci · Post by **tahutci** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 4:44 pm

Hi guys

im pretty new to forums but i was just wondering peoples opinions.

i have a 5th gen a few months ago i replaced the timing belt and did the manual tensioner conversion everything seemed better than it was before which was great but recently, it hasn't been kicking into vtec and feels like its trying to limit the revs above 5k, also the oil light is flickering at idle and it doesn't start when very hot as in for 20 mins after its been turned off it wont start again. sadly i''ve also noticed that there are some metal shavings in the oil and yes the oil level is perfect. so after some research it does seem that its the oil pump that's gone what do you guys think? also if it is that would i have to get the engine properly flushed to remove all the shavings?

i love the car and never want it to die so im gonna do all i can to bring it back to life.

thanks

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 4:51 pm

Welcome

Sorry you've joined with such a sad tale - that does have all the symptoms of H22 oil pump failure I'm afraid, yes.

Not sure how the not starting when hot is linked to that though. Do you mean it turns over but won't fire, or it won't even turn over?

As you've just had the cambelt changed with a manual tensioner conversion, it's worth checking that your cambelt hasn't slipped/gone slack, but if there's metal shavings in the oil, whatever has happened it's not a good sign at all and flushing won't sort the problem, because it means bearings and the like have worn out through lack of lube. That can only be repaired by a strip down and overhaul. If that's the case, an engine swap with a known good lump would be the quickest and cheapest solution.

Have you got any pics of the shavings so we can see the extent?

In the meantime, don't run the engine any more!

Post by **Merlin** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 4:54 pm

Welcome to LG!!! Sorry to hear you have problems but if it is a gonner replacement engines are at least cheap.

@NafemanNathan you experienced something similar didn't you?

tahutci · Post by **tahutci** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 4:56 pm

erm no i dont have any pics atm but im gonna do some more investigation tommorrow, ill drain the oil and see how bad it is, should i take off the oil pan and have a look will there be any visible signs down there? an engine swap sounds good but id prefer to rebuild it myself cos the i know i have a mint engine plus i really enjoy that kinda stuff lol.

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:04 pm

Unless the engine is very badly knocking, it's unlikely that you'd be able to see anything more if you took the sump off. The crank, big ends and main bearings would have to be completely shot before you can see anything while it's still fully assembled.

As to how much work would be involved in rebuilding that engine, it depends what bits are now wearing out. If the cylinders have scored or the top end has started to wear then it'll get very expensive to overhaul... If it's just the bottom end bearings (do the piston rings at the same time as a matter of course), then not too bad.

tahutci · Post by **tahutci** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:18 pm

So really the only way to know how badly things have gone is to strip it apart completely and look at the bearings and cylinders? its just been sitting there for a couple weeks now just wanna do something with it, like make some sort of progress been driving a 1.9 diesle pug in the mean time and its driving me nuts lol.

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:37 pm

Really yeah, but before that, drain the oil and see what these metal shaving looks like/how much there is and I'd say it is worth taking the cam belt covers off to check everything in there is still how it should be. You have nothing to lose here doing the easy checks before jumping in at the deep end.

tahutci · Post by **tahutci** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 7:00 pm

Yeah true ill drain the oil and check everything and post some pics of the oil tommorrow.

Post by **NafemanNathan** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 8:57 pm

Sorry to hear about your woes

To save precious reading time, I agree with everything wurlycorner's said... sadly. From what you've said I wouldn't hold out high hopes for much of it being salvageable. You'd be best off purchasing a known good engine from a known respectable seller and stripping and rebuilding that one for your piece of mind. Say £400-£500 for a low mileage one, but ultimately I think you'd spend less time and money than replacing parts of your existing one.

tahutci · Post by **tahutci** » Thu Dec 26, 2013 6:05 pm

Ok so I finally got round to draining my oil and totally forgot I had a magnetic sump plug in there is was covered in shavings, I have a pic but for the life of me I can't figure out how to post it up here lol