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        General >> Give/Need advice to/from others >> Prelubing System - The Rattle Is Gone!
        
(Message started by: VladSoare on Sep 20^th, 2004, 1:26pm)

Title: Prelubing System - The Rattle Is Gone!
Post by VladSoare on Sep 20^th, 2004, 1:26pm

Hi, guys.

Some of you may remember that a few weeks ago I was asking about the oil pressure switch: what size it is and how hard it is to remove. That's because I had bought an engine prelubing system.

I bought it from http://www.autoenginelube.com and it works as follows:

Basically, there is a small tank with a solenoid, connected to the engine block through a hose. With the ignition on, the solenoid is open, and pressurized oil enters the tank. When you shut off the engine, the solenoid closes, and the oil is trapped inside the tank. Next time you start the engine, when you turn on the ignition the solenoid opens, and pressurized oil comes from the tank and enters the engine.

When I first saw the oil pressure switch, I was terrified: it was so incredibly tight in there that I thought nobody would be able to insert a tool to remove it. I spent two weeks looking, scratching my head, cursing, buying and trying out all sorts of spanners, more cursing, etc. until I finally found one that fit. It was a 23 mm ring spanner.
However, the anti roll bar didn't allow the spanner to move, so I had to cut the spanner in half.
Anyway, in the end I managed to get the pressure switch off.

In place of the pressure switch I had to install a T piece. Then on the T piece I had to install the pressure switch and the solenoid. However, everything was so tight in there, that installing the T piece on the engine block was out of the question. I made a slight adaptation. I cut a short piece of hose, inserted a hose fitting in one of its ends, then installed it on the engine block. Then at the other end of the piece of hose I mounted the T piece, oil pressure switch and solenoid.
This had a small drawback: the pressure switch got connected to the engine block not though a metallic fitting, but through a hose, so that its electrical connection to the ground got broken. I ran a piece of wire from the T piece to the negative terminal of the battery, because otherwise the dashboard light wouldn't have worked anymore.

I found a perfect place for the tank: on the left hand wing, under the air filter box. I removed the air filter box, mounted the collar on the wing and inserted the tank into the collar, upside down and slanted at about 45 degrees.

For the electrical supply of the solenoid, I had to find a fuse that supplied 12V on ignition, but zero without ignition. A few minutes of playing around with a multimeter was enough to find the winner: fuse no. 16.

Anyway, to cut a long story short: the moment of truth: this morning, the oil pressure light on the dashboard lit up and then went off immediately. Started the engine and there was absolutely no rattle at all. Not even the slightest trace of a rattle. I couldn't believe my ears!

So the system works exactly as advertised. I can only recommend it.

Title: Re: Prelubing System - The Rattle Is Gone!
Post by SaveTheNight on Sep 20^th, 2004, 9:19pm

great news Vlad .. I use them on some of our race cars with quite good results .. but it does concern me regarding the"hose" fitting ..I do know that you're fastidous and will have made every attempt at ensuring a safe connection ..but you must be sure of the fitting as the oil will be lost at an alarming from rate from
that point.. if the connection did " burst" ..almost at a rate that you wouldn't even know until damage had already been done ..say on a moderate journey ..the oil switch/light may not be enough warning .. my view would be to make a solid joint soon as you get time ..now that you know what the job involves and the
dimensions required .. hate to see such effort lead to a problem rather than solving one < as you have so far > ... regards ...STN
ps. there is also some concern in my own opinion as to the real cause of the rattle and from my experience it would seem that there is a percentage of later chain problems actually post tensioner fitting ..as if the extra pressure strains already weak guides ..the tensioner blades that I usually see are broken from wear due to heat and the material becoming brittle although often they seem to stay "roughly " together until proper failure occurs .. lastly the " rattle " is also a warning which the lube system will prevent ..hmm ..and where there's a rattle there's definitely an underlying problem ! but really hope yours is great and I may be very wrong anyway ... also hope you're well Vlad ..catch you soon .... STN