running a little warm/dripping a little oil

Moderator: The Midas Forum Staff

running a little warm/dripping a little oil

Postby billybob » Mon Jul 13, 2015 8:14 pm

Hi all,
so the midas is running and driving now...a few things to sort but should be relatively easy.
First thing is that the fuel pump drips a bit of oil out the bottom. I have replaced the gaskets either side of it but it still seeps out of the small hole underneath. Ii am wondering if it is because I over filled it with oil just a bit but in any case it looks like a new pump may be required at some point as I don't think it is possible or worth rebuilding it. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm getting 60 on the pressure gauge i just fitted when the car is cold and 40-60 when its hot depending on the revs obviously.

Second thing is that it is getting warm quite quickly. I have no idea how accurate the temp gauge is in the rover 200 dash- the fan does kick in but only when the gauge reaches red. I have a kenlow controller to fit but no instructions. The thermostat is opening up so that side of things is okay. The thing that bothers me with this kenlow unit is that it suggest poking the sensor through the rad....I would do this if the rad was new but suspect it may give more trouble by puncturing the crusty rad!
Anyone know if it is acceptable to fix the sensor to the top of the rad on the outside? At least this way I could tune the fan to come on when I want rather than a touch too late.
I also have no wiring diagram and can't find one anywhere.....Please if anyone has had experience fitting this kind of relay controller let me know! I don't want to fry the poor thing.

Hopefully I will start to get some enjoyment soon rather than test runs every now and then hahaha.
One more thing whilst i'm at it, I stripped one of the wheel nuts when changing the discs and pads- they are midas alloys and I'm not sure what wheel nuts to go for, all of the ones on fleabay say they are for steel wheels only, not really sure if this makes any difference though??


Thanks all
billybob
 
Posts: 73
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2015 2:24 pm

Re: running a little warm/dripping a little oil

Postby ACourtney » Tue Jul 14, 2015 2:09 pm

Hi,

I've never seen oil coming from the fuel pump. Usually, it is petrol coming from the rubber diaphragm. The most common problem with the fuel pump is that the diaphragm starts to leak fuel. The fuel can get into the oil and thins it down, so you don't want to do any mileage with a leaky fuel pump. Can you see where the oil is coming from. If it is coming from around the diaphragm - joint at the top - then you probably have a fuel leak as well.

The Rover 200 gauges need to have some resistors added to improve their accuracy. This has been covered elsewhere on this forum, but a quick search didn't uncover the wiring diagram. Perhaps someone else could assist.
Fitting two fans, wired off different circuits is always a good idea, especially if the car is likely to get caught in summer traffic jams. The two most common causes of a Midas overheating are 1) the thermal switch packing up or 2) the fuse on the fan circuit blowing. The thermal switch can be short circuited and the fuse replaced, but by the time you realize that you have a problem it is usually too late. I would wire in a manual override switch on to one of the fans too.
The gaps between the tubes on a standard radiator should be big enough that the Kenlowe temperature probe should pass through without causing a problem. Having said that the last time I fitted a Kenlowe fan it had a variable thermostat with a temperature probe that went in through the top hose connection with a rubber seal. If you are concerned, I would move the fin material out of the way with a small screwdriver first. But then again if you are that worried, perhaps you should look out for a replacement radiator.

The wheel nuts are basically the same as a Mini. Without seeing a picture of the one that stripped it is difficult to advise what you need, but usually the tapered type is used with alloy wheels. Take a look at the range that Mini Spares carry
http://www.minispares.com/shop/classic/ ... .aspx?2001 you should find one that matches yours there.
User avatar
ACourtney
 
Posts: 488
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 12:22 pm
Location: Oxford

Re: running a little warm/dripping a little oil

Postby billybob » Tue Jul 14, 2015 2:59 pm

Hi,
thanks for the reply. The leak from the pump is coming out of the tiny hole in the bottom of the pump itself. I have no idea what this hole is for or if it is even meant to be there. The diapragm is bone dry and since changing the gaskets around the pump to block joint, this area is dry as well. There was no petrol smell from the oil that seeped out, hopefully this means that there is no petrol getting into my oil! However, I'm edging towards a new pump now that you have said about petrol possibly getting in the oil.

As for the temp gauge, the previous owner said that the resistors had already been added. The x2 fan idea is a good one and I like the idea of an overide. However, when the fan comes on the temp falls perfectly well enough and so my wallet is saying to stick with one. I'd just like it to kick in earlier and as I already have the controller I'd like to make this automatic as well if I can. You are probably spot on with a new rad though. I know this question will seem daft as technically the rad could be from any donor without knowing the history but is the standard fit a metro one?

Thanks for all the help,
billybob
 
Posts: 73
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2015 2:24 pm

Re: running a little warm/dripping a little oil

Postby ACourtney » Tue Jul 14, 2015 4:55 pm

Yes, the Gold (Mk3) uses a Metro radiator. There are two possible versions - Mk1 Metro (80-84) and Mk2 (85-90)- The Mk1 has both the inlet and outlet on the same side (N/S), whereas the Mk2 is a cross-flow and has the top hose running across to the other side (O/S).
Both can be fitted, but you probably want to stick with the same version you already have unless you plan to replace the top hose at the same time.

I don't recall ever seeing a hole in the bottom of the fuel pump, so I suspect it is not meant to be there.

Regards,
Alistair
User avatar
ACourtney
 
Posts: 488
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 12:22 pm
Location: Oxford

Re: running a little warm/dripping a little oil

Postby Jvr19630 » Tue Jul 14, 2015 5:32 pm

The leaking hole at the bottom of the fuel pump means the internal seal to stop the oil getting into the operating mechanism has failed. Without the hole it would hydraulic and stop the pump working. Replace the pump
Cheers John
Jvr19630
 
Posts: 82
Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:37 pm
Location: Nottingham

Re: running a little warm/dripping a little oil

Postby Rich » Tue Jul 14, 2015 7:30 pm

Better still, blank the pump off altogether and fit an electric pump instead. You can mount it on the rear subframe out of the way and cut it into the fuel line, it will save you the next problem, fuel vapourisation.

The thermostatic switch you have will only need two of the three tabs connected. Use a continuity (circuit) tester to establish which two tabs become connected when you turn the dial right down, stick a live fed through one of them (it doesn't matter which) and run the other one to your fan relay. Wind the dial back to around half way and fine tune against your temp gauge once you have modified it to read correctly.
Last edited by Rich on Wed Jul 15, 2015 5:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Rich
 
Posts: 1250
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 1:27 am
Location: Devon

Re: running a little warm/dripping a little oil

Postby billybob » Tue Jul 14, 2015 8:48 pm

thanks guys!

John that makes sense regards the pump. Next question is, which pump to choose as there are a few knocking about. I'll take a look later on, think it depends on the Carb that I have.

Good advice for the fan, I think in the meantime I will wire in a manual override for when stuck in traffic and then when funds allow I will sort a new rad and fan and wire it all in with the controller at the same time.
billybob
 
Posts: 73
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2015 2:24 pm


Return to Mk 3 Convertible

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

cron