stiddy

Hey anyone can help please..

Have a 4.0L XR6 and on the way home tonight the oil pressure dropped to zero and then the oil light came on.. and the head became very tappy..
i instantly turned the car off and got a tow home..

Anyone tell me the prob i think i have to get a new oil pump
any suggestions?
anyone know how much they cost?
Is it worth getting an aftermarket one or getting genuine ford?


it has to be done tomorrow.. have a 3hr drive on thursday

stiddy

Umm yea thanks for your help guys.. pffft

Anyways for All of you that actually care.. it was my oil pump drive shaft and the external gears.. a common problem with series 1 au's apparently..
well according to ford anyhow..

i initially thought it was just the gear on the pump drive.. it was shredded.. ok.. the motor has to be lifted up bout 12inches or so.. the sub frame has to be dropped and the sump has to come off to do this..
mechanic will charge around $600 labour.. which is what i thought i was up for.. PLUS $180 for an aftermarket oil pump which is what i wanted.. (genuine ford oil pump is $384)

All was good and well until i looked up inside the block and saw the actually drive shaft gear aswell had been shredded that also needed replacing.. the part from ford is about $100 bucks..
the radiator has to come out.. the timing chain and all the front of the motor has to come to do be able to do this..
which is what happened to me.. looking at another $400 o $500 labour..

All in all i had the 2 gears, oil pump.. and oil pump drive shaft replaced

the car was off the road for 4 days and cost me about $400
If you take it to a ford dealer or mechanic you wont see much change out of about $1200 bucks for parts and labour..

hopefully this helps someone..

Tza

do all cars have wee inherent problems with each model? or just Fords?

johnydep

That $1200 charge is more like a Ford Dealer price, I asked my local mechanic & he reckons it should cost under a grand.

Did you find out why so much damage to the pump & pump drive?

I know a few guys with series one's that have had no engine problems, and they drive thier cars very hard. They have had trans & diff problems though.

Could it have been your oil grade, type or oil change intervals?

stiddy

Im not sure of why so much damage.. i use 10w/30 penrite oil and i change it every 5000 to 7000km's so i doubt its oil or change intervals..
i do drive my car resonably hard but i dont punish it as such.. i let the car idle for about 5mins before i drive it and when i drive it i grandma style it for another 10mins before i start to sink the boot in.. and i grandma it and let it idle down for 5mins after every drive..
and even then its not constantly high revs or burnouts..

so yea im pretty sure my driving style or basic maintenance of the car isnt the problem with them..
but according to ford and my mechanics they both seem to have big problems with pump drives in the au's
and my mechanic also said that the new gen 3 chev v8's have general bottom end troubles aswell.. and in agreeance with this my mate has a Vy ss ute only just ticked over 10,000k's and his bottom end is knocky and in need or a rebuild..

clevo400

Check the type of oil u using. May b too thin like water and the oil pump gear cavitated and shattered. Just guessing. I normally check what bearing and bore clearances of the engine b4 buying oil. Small clearance use 10W30 but big clearances use 20W50. U'd think an XR6 would have small clearances. What model is ur XR6 ???

__________________
regards
Stephen

stiddy

hey,
My model is an AU XR6 series 1

The oil recommended by ford is 5w/30 (even says it on the oil cap)
but i was getting oil surge and my mechanic said to use either 10w/30
or 15w/30 to prevent this.. so i used 10w/30 and no oil surge..

so yea it seems to be alright for now..

johnydep

10W30 is fine for his engine.
The mention of cavitation has made me think though, if the oil level is to high the oil will aerate & cavitate. The cavitation can cause more damage than running an engine slightly low on oil.

When the oil level is on the full mark cold, it will rise significantly after a 20 - 30km drive, oil expands with heat.
Having the oil level slightly under the full mark will cause no harm at all, some dip sticks even have two marks & want the oil level any were between the two marks.