Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting oil starvation? ??

Recently, I was on a rather tight cloverleaf (Midway/Ingraham Northbound to W. Mission Bay Dr. San Diego) and the car momentarily lost power -- like a miss, but there was no detonation. This happened once before in the very same place a year or so ago -- I had detonation then (no CEL), and so this time I pushed in the clutch, and when the turn was over, eased back into gear. Engine was around 3000-3500 rpm, 3rd gear I think. This turn is much tighter than a normal freeway cloverleaf, and is more than the normal 270 because of the angle of the streets. It's one of those turns you can take much faster if your car has good lateral characteristics.

I was wondering if this is the oil starvation issue -- no ticking sound, however, did I hear.

What is a "spun bearing" and what are the symptoms? Is a "spun bearing" one that has seized up?

I have read some of the forums about this and the oil starvation issue is confusing to me -- is it due to transverse mounting (why only right hand turns?) and ultimately, why build a good handling car with this kind of vulnerability (I can hear the answer -- this was an inexpensive car, and FMC couldn't have simulated/predicted/cared...and typically, after 60k or so, they want your car to break down anyway)

Anyone who has had this problem, has it been accompanied by a loss of power?

Just keep the oil half quart above max line and cut back on the above 3000 rpm sharp turns

The oil starvation issue does not cause a momentary stall. You need to look elsewhere, perhaps at the fuel pump, or perhaps if the turn is tight enough and the ruel tank is low enough it may be a normal situation.

The oil starvation issue means that you can loose oil pressure (or better said, no oil is getting picked up from the pan for the oil pump). The biggest issue is that there is not adequate oil drain back from the heads so that at sustained high rpm there is very little oil in the pan. Combine that with a sweeping right hand turn and what oil there is in the pan is no longer under the pick up pipe.

If you loose oil circulation at high rpm, there is a very high likelyhood that you will wipe out a rod bearing.

It helps to avoid driving hard on sweeping right hand turns. It also helps to slightly overfill the oil. I use 6 quarts instead of 5.8, and many here will use up to 6.5 quarts.

Some have installed a Moroso oil accumulator that will provide additional oil under pressure for a short time when the oil pressure drops.

Some have done the 3.0 liter conversion with the 3.0 heads that have better drainback.

Fuel *was* low. I filled up the very next day. Jim you probably nailed it -- I didn't think about that -- I have had this happen before, probably the exact same set of circumstances (go there often enough, typically don't sto to fillup until the trip odometer reaches 220 or 230 (bad mileage probably = city driving + the 1151 02, need to replace that -- wonder if I should get both?))

DF

As soon as I read that I thought fuel. Fill up more often! It's not good to run it that low. I usually hit it at 1/4 tank or more.

Yes, never run it close to empty, especially if you have the returnless fuel system (Late 99-2000 models). I ran my car down to about a 1/4 and it began chugging very badly over 2K RPMs. That was a really "fun" ride to the gas station.

The problem is that there is a filter within the pump itself (Not the external fuel filter) that clogs. It's a pain and once this begins to happen, chances are the filter will get too clogged. My friend lost hers at 60K and mine at 55K is probably going too.

That one cloverleaf on Misson Bay Drive on the way to Pacific Beach HAS to be the best road in America!!

It's a two-lane, banked, decreasing radius turn!

I miss San Diego!

Everytime I read about the oil starvation issue, I wonder about those who go to the Dragon Run each year. I'm paranoid enough to take it easy on the right hander's, which really sucks since the car handles so good, and I'm also running a constant 6 quarts. But do I need to watch all right turns, or just the sweepers? And what do the Dragon Runner's do...I'm sure they don't push in the clutch on the right turns and power through the left handers. What's the real scoop here?

Just the sweepers at high revs. You need to have been at high rpm long enough for the oil to hang up in the heads and the turn must be sustained enough to roll the available oil away from the oil pump pick up pipe. I don't know how long it takes, and I'm not anxious to find out.