austin somerset

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Fri 4 Aug 2006 22:29
austin somerset - yand
help !! i have an austin somerset with the origonal 1200cc engine cylinder pressures are fine , and there is no smoking , it does not lose oil or water however the problem has just started suddenly and that is it lose,s all oil pressure when the engine reaches it s normal water temp untill then it is running at about 30 on the oil indicator then suddenly and slowly the oil pressure drops untill it reaches zero if i rev the engine it will rise slowly but as soon as it goes on tick over it drops again any ideas folks i dont know where to start looking
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Fri 4 Aug 2006 22:51
austin somerset - kithmo
Is it rattly when the reading is zero ?
If not then it could just be a faulty sender unit or gauge. What you need to do is get the oil pressure checked by hooking up a gauge to the pressure sender point on the engine. Another possibility is the pressure relief valve spring may be weak or the seating may be pitted. Not sure on the somerset but on the A-series engine it was under a big brass nut on the side of the engine block.
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Fri 4 Aug 2006 23:28
austin somerset - madf
Pressure relief valve gets my vote. Easy job to remove and inspect it if it's same a A series. IIRC likely to be pitted or partially jammed open by dirt.

Has car had regular oil and filter changes?
madf
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Fri 4 Aug 2006 23:31
austin somerset - bell boy
and from me pressure releif valve if its got one (it might be in the pump) please dont carry on running it till youve found it.............
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Fri 4 Aug 2006 23:38
austin somerset - Civic8
Could be both,I had one in 70`s,both pump and relief valve needed replacing....An Apprentice at the time,car given to me by parents lovely engine though,never had a problem after that.very smooth engine compared to ford at the time...which put me off of ford
--
Steve
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Sat 5 Aug 2006 21:16
austin somerset - fordprefect
According to the handbook for the Devon (same engine) , " to clean the pressure relief valve, unscrew the hex headed plug in the block side next to the dipstick location (between the 2 filter connections). Once this is removed the spring is released and the valve can be withdrawn with a suitable probe"

Hope this helps
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