Hi all,

Well after what seems like a life time with the car missing a sump, I finally got it all back together again today and fired it up, great to hear the old beast again.

However, I still had the car on stands at this point, so as to keep an eye out for leaks or anything that was not right. Then I noticed a drip, eventually traced this back to the cover plate on the oil pump, it has never leaked from here before so I was somewhat suprised to see it.

My question is , is there or rather should there be a seal or gasket that fits onto this cover plate that seals to the main body of the pump, or does it rely on simply being two machined surfaces to seal it.

I did some checks online and found nothing relating to this, but I did find out that I appear to have a Ford KA pump , rather than a pump from the RWD cars, has anyone else got a KA pump, are they better than the old ones, or just more widely available?

Cheers

Rich.

as far as i can remeber there was never any gaskets on the ones i rebuilt, the inside of that cover is ground true anyway as the rotors seal against it from memory. Dont know about the Ka pump im surprised it fits as although the KA lump looks very similar its quite a different engine, is the plate held on with cap heads? if so it could be leaking from under one of those, a small copper washer might help.

The pump I have differs seemingly in one aspect only, the cover plate. The RWD pumps I have seen for sale here and elsewhere all have 4 bolts holding that plate on, whereas the pump I have has 3 bolts to mount it with, the pump works well, 50 psi at cold when I ran it today, and has been on the car since I have had it, which is about 4 years now.

Your idea of small copper washers is a good one, or maybe fibre washers . JUst odd it has started to leak today after a good while without a sump being fitted, I had not removed the pump either so had not disturbed the cover.

I will try your idea anyway, thanks.


ETA - just had another look at it and the oil looks to be weeping from the sides of the cover plate rather than a bolt hole, I may whip the whole thing off tomorrow and have a better look.

[Edited on 31/5/12 by Westy1994]

Added a pic to show leak .




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I am wondering if because of the very close nature of the steering column that this pump has HAD to be fitted, are the older pumps bigger in the plate thinkness??.

[Edited on 31/5/12 by Westy1994]

I would put a very thin smear of Hylomar on the plate just to be sure. And then use the Hylomar on the threads. The oil is probably finding it's way down the threads?

CP

My 1300 x flow oil pump has 3 studs securing it to the block and 3 bolts holding the outer cover plate in place.

Ahh the plot thickens then, because there is a part number on my cover plate , so I googled that and it brought up the oil pump for the KA, I know the KA ran a derivative of the Kent engine, but having never seen a pump from one, I was unsure.

So I am now thinking, if the 1300 ran the 3 bolt cover plate and the KA did as well, has someone swapped the plates over due to the clearance issues I mention above?.

Do what Rolls Royce used to do, thin smear of blue Hylomar and a silk thread

That seems to be the most popular response so far, so I will do that tomorrow, if it was good enough for RR then I am fine with that, hehehe.

Rich.

When you take the plate off there should be an O ring seal set in a groove in the pump body. The oil shouldn't be able to get to the bolts as they are outside of the O ring.

David

Thanks David, is there, as I was attacking this from the bottom and with the thing still fitted with all the other stuff about the place, seeing inside the unit is nigh on impossible, I will remove the whole thing tomorrow and check that out, sounds like the 'O' ring has perished due to the lack of being wet with oil, possibly. The engine hadn't run for over 9 months so I guess rubber seals drain off over time. Question is now, are they available as a service part?.

O rings are available from most engineering or bearing suppliers so you should be able to find one. A decent motor factor would probably also have them. New standard oil pumps for a crossflow are about £30 so it makes sense to just replace it if it has any sign of wear when you take the plate off. Some pumps had four bolts holding the end plate and some had three. Most later pumps have three.

David

^^^^^^


You were absolutely correct regarding the 'O ' ring, having now removed the whole pump from the engine, it was , as I said nigh on impossible to peer in side it with the thing fitted. Yes the ' O' ring is somewhat flat and quite brittle now, so I will go on a hunt for a new one.

I don't really have a problem with replacing the whole unit, but my only concern is the clearance I have to work with. It does sit very very close to the steering column, and I don't want to waste money on buying a pump that will not fit my installation .

Has anyone recently bought a new pump , that could measure the width of the whole pump, from mating face on block to end face of cover please.

The pump I have is pretty good, the working pressures are fine, and very little wear to either the rotors or the cover plate.

Cheers

Rich.