Xflow low oil pressure, and possibly water in the oil
steve m - 15/11/12 at 05:02 PM
Hi Guys,
I aquired another xflow, after mullering the old one big time,
the replacement engine was quickley installed, after new head gasket etc and got running, and was ok
A few days ago my oil pressure was quite low, 30psi (ish at 3k revs,) and all my other xflows ran at 60psi+ at 2k
so after a bit of investigation, i seem to have water in the oil
The dipstick level is also a 1/2" higher
i also have the following readings on compression with engine pretty hot, and wide open throttle
No 1 13 bar
No 2 15 bar
No 3 14 bar
No 4 15.5 bar
Tomorrow i will do a cold compression test, to see the differences
Now to me, apart from a headgasket, or warped head, how could i get water in the oil?
My plan is, to change the head and gaskets to "the spare" and retry,
any other comments ?? to try and put a smile back on my face
regards
steve
renetom - 15/11/12 at 05:41 PM
Hi
The obvious seems to be head gasket , there's only 2 liquids in an engine oil & water .
Check the head is not warped, wilst you have it off check the valves for leaks (petrol test)
If the gasket has gone between the cylinders it may account for the pressure readings.
Oil pump ???, maybe worth a look.
Good luck
René
steve m - 15/11/12 at 07:29 PM
ta,
i know!!
chillis - 15/11/12 at 10:49 PM
quote:
Originally posted by steve m
Hi Guys,
I aquired another xflow, after mullering the old one big time,
the replacement engine was quickley installed, after new head gasket etc and got running, and was ok
A few days ago my oil pressure was quite low, 30psi (ish at 3k revs,) and all my other xflows ran at 60psi+ at 2k
so after a bit of investigation, i seem to have water in the oil
The dipstick level is also a 1/2" higher
i also have the following readings on compression with engine pretty hot, and wide open throttle
No 1 13 bar
No 2 15 bar
No 3 14 bar
No 4 15.5 bar
Tomorrow i will do a cold compression test, to see the differences
Now to me, apart from a headgasket, or warped head, how could i get water in the oil?
My plan is, to change the head and gaskets to "the spare" and retry,
any other comments ?? to try and put a smile back on my face
regards
steve
Ford quote these values for oil pressure - 35lbf/in (2.5bar) at 2000 rev/min hot and relief valve opens 57 - 67lbf/in (4.0 - 4.7bar) Obviously an
uprated oil pump would read higher.
They also quote 11 -13bar (160 - 190lbf/in) compression at starter cranking speed
TBH if any fluid has leaked into the cylinders then the comp test may not show up. A leakdown test would probably show up a head gasket problem but
its not kit most people would have.
Assuming you don't have an oil to water type oil cooler then it seems likely the issue is head gasket.
Was the head gasket you used of known good quality? I know of a number of people recently who have used 'cheap' head gaskets (from
ebay/motor factors) for Pinto's that have failed almost immediatly and your problem does look like it fits this modus operandii
Scrupulously clean gasket faces for the block and head (I'm sure you did this) check the faces with a decent straight edge if you have/can borrow
one and a good quality head gasket.
Check your torque wrench they do go out of calibration over time especially if left 'wound on'.
Might be worth checking the head bolts arn't bottoming out (can't imagine why they would unless both head and block have had some mental
amounts skimmed off - seems unlikely but worth checking)
Cleaning out the contaminated oil could also be quite a challenge
Not much the put a smile on your face I'm affraid 
Alan M - 16/11/12 at 09:33 AM
quote:
Originally posted by renetom
Hi
The obvious seems to be head gasket , there's only 2 liquids in an engine oil & water .
Check the head is not warped, wilst you have it off check the valves for leaks (petrol test)
If the gasket has gone between the cylinders it may account for the pressure readings.
Oil pump ???, maybe worth a look.
Good luck
René
Is it definitely water? There is a 3rd liquid in an engine: Fuel!
Perhaps you have a fuel cut off valve stuck or a faulty pressure regulator and are filling the sump with petrol
Has your coolant level dropped?
steve m - 16/11/12 at 09:53 AM
Good spot!
But im 99% sure its not fuel, perhaps i will add a spark plug to the sump, and it could fire from the bottom as well 
strange thing is, that the oil isnt very contaminated, and the water level in the water system hasnt really moved
But the dipstick has a white residue, but the oil filler cap does not ?
Also the oil catch tank was full of a creamy oily watery mess, but that could of been from my last "dramatic" blow up a couple of months
ago, as i dont think i cleaned the catch tank out
so now im wondering, if the engine has actually been sucking this watery mess up ?
Alan M - 16/11/12 at 10:15 AM
Can you beg, steal or borrow some block testing fluid?
Have a look at: http://www.blockchek.com/instructions.htm
A cooling system flush and oil flush will help to get rid of contaminates from your previous disaster
chillis - 16/11/12 at 10:24 AM
quote:
Originally posted by steve m
Good spot!
But im 99% sure its not fuel, perhaps i will add a spark plug to the sump, and it could fire from the bottom as well
strange thing is, that the oil isnt very contaminated, and the water level in the water system hasnt really moved
But the dipstick has a white residue, but the oil filler cap does not ?
Also the oil catch tank was full of a creamy oily watery mess, but that could of been from my last "dramatic" blow up a couple of months
ago, as i dont think i cleaned the catch tank out
so now im wondering, if the engine has actually been sucking this watery mess up ?
Could any coolant have got into the sump when you did the gasket change? That might have been enough to give you these symptoms - I have observed
milky fluid in catch tanks before due to the crankcase fumes also carrying over a little moisture (there is a little that can occur with condensation
after you've parked up for the day - its why motor oil has agent to capture moisture and what can make it look creamy) so I'd not be unduly
worried by this unless it was a lot in a short period of time.
If the head gasket was leaking then all the oil would start looking a beigy colour, did when my H.G. failed.
Perhaps give rocker cover, dipstick tube etc a good clean up and replace oil and filter and see how you go?
[Edited on 16/11/12 by chillis]
steve m - 16/11/12 at 10:41 AM
This engine, is a totaly new one, and has been upside down sump off etc, so definatly no water in the engine pre instalation
compression today on a cold engine are pretty well the same,
So head is coming off, and another one to be fitted, to eliminate the head from the equasion
what make of gasket sets should i go for, as the one i used was Payen and the ones ive always used
another possible problem could of been my torque wrench, as ive always suspected it to be wrong
Steve
[Edited on 16/11/12 by steve m]
johnemms - 16/11/12 at 11:11 AM
Get the engine 80+ nice & hot to start to get the moisture
out of the oil & engine block..
Constant on and off and low miles will cause condensation inside the engine
especialy with this cold damp weather..
Just a thought... 
britishtrident - 16/11/12 at 11:43 AM
Head gasket failure on a kent xflo engine is rare, I never encountered it in the heyday of the xflow.
If the water in the sump is coming from a blown head gasket or crack in the block or head the coolant level would have gone down significantly
Generally if no water loss or oil in the water then the head gasket is Ok, the only exception this is where the gasket blows out between
cylinders which used to be very common on70s era BMC A series 1275 engines.
Head gasket failures rarely show in change in compression test results the only exception to this when the gasket blows out between cylinders in
which case the engine would run noticeably roughly and be down on power.
One of the major clues to a blown head gasket is that carbon deposits on the spark plug, combustion chamber and piston gets steam cleaned off.
Assuming the all the crankcase and rocker cover breathers are clear and working correctly my first suspicion is the water is getting into the
oil by codensation, make 100% sure the thermostat is controlling the water temperature to at least 84c working temp.
Also if an oil cooler is fitted tape it over in current coldish ambient temperature conditions it should be taped over
[Edited on 16/11/12 by britishtrident]