Dry sump pump

[Don Cook]

I know it’ll be a daft question but, on a VX with Caterham dry sump does the belt driven scavenge pump also provide the oil flow / pressure to the engine ?

 

 

Cheers

 

[I reply to every thread]

Depends which pump you have. The standard Caterham setup retains the VX oil pump. The Pace set-up doesn't so in that case the belt drives both pressure & scav

[Don Cook]

AVES,

Thanks. It was fitted from new by Caterham and has the Caterham bell housing tank, so I suppose it will be the standard Caterham set-up.

The reason for the question in the first case is. There is no oil pressure warning light (on my car), so unless you happen to be looking at the gauge you may well drive a considerable distance without oil pressure. If the belt driven pump provides pressure and scavenging then a belt break or some other failure will cause oil pressure failure immediately, however if the pressure pump and the scavenge pumps are separate then after a belt failure you will still have oil pressure until the tank runs dry. In this case a low oil level alarm will give you prior warning.

 

Cheers Don.

 

[stevefoster]

Yep.

What concernsme is hydralic lock under the pistons and con rod snapping as the oil fills up in the block. Esp if you have reasonable oil capacity.

 

I have been considering a small magnetic or inductive sensor and circuit to power my high intensity warning lights should the belt fail and the wheel stop turning. Prime cause would be gravel from a kitty litter trip or the alt belt coming off or failing. The former can be sorted out with an under tray the latter ... I've seen both happen.

 

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