Volvo Owners Club Forum - View Single Post - RT Mechanics

foggyjames · Oct 9th, 2009, 01:40

Taking my moderator hat firmly off for a moment...

Regarding the engine...I'm not sure I agree with Russ that an engine won't have lunched a bearing (or several) unless the oil pressure light has come up. The light is usually triggered at 0.5 Bar, whereas normal operating pressure should be at least 3 Bar. However, if you were thrashing the hell out of the engine while the pressure is only at 0.6 Bar...the light isn't on, but do you really think 0.1Bar will make all the difference? No. So it's not quite that clear-cut...

If it has spun a bearing...unless you've got very, very lucky, it may not be economical to repair the engine when a good used T5 engine can be had for £250 or so. Spun bearings usually mean damage to the surfaces they're in contact with. My advice? Get the sump off, and have a look. Pull the bearing caps off (mains and big ends) and see what is underneath. Get your experienced mechanic friend to help, if needs be. If it were my engine, and there was a spun bearing...unless the wear surfaces are still perfect (unlikely), I'd start looking for a replacement engine. If you want pictures of what I'm talking about, I have some from a recent tear-down of an engine with a spun bearing.

Certainly, the single most common cause of a spun bearing would be oil starvation, and on that basis it's one hell of a coincidence...but it can "just happen"...so proving fault is likely to be difficult. I would suggest that good-will is more likely to get you a result here than the law...but it may be a bit late to go chasing good-will!

What I don't understand is why you upped the ante with regard to how vigourous your complaint was. Calmly explaining why you were unhappy was getting results...but it went wrong big-time when you started talking about recording phone calls, etc. Reading this back, it strikes me that you could have still resolved this had you not got so 'excitable'...and posting it on the various forums may well have totally blown your chances of getting this settled amecably. Further screw-ups may have been emerging, but Russ was still making the right noises...and everyone makes mistakes, so it's the response, not the mistakes that matters, really. It seems you shot yourself in the foot there a bit...

Anyway...it's done now. I wish you the very best of luck with sorting it out. I have a T5 engine sat here if yours is dead and you're desperate. It's got a lot ot miles on it, but it doesn't owe me much.

cheers

James

Oct 9th, 2009, 01:40	#14
foggyjames 300 Register Keeper Last Online: Apr 24th, 2024 09:13 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Nottingham	Taking my moderator hat firmly off for a moment... Regarding the engine...I'm not sure I agree with Russ that an engine won't have lunched a bearing (or several) unless the oil pressure light has come up. The light is usually triggered at 0.5 Bar, whereas normal operating pressure should be at least 3 Bar. However, if you were thrashing the hell out of the engine while the pressure is only at 0.6 Bar...the light isn't on, but do you really think 0.1Bar will make all the difference? No. So it's not quite that clear-cut... If it has spun a bearing...unless you've got very, very lucky, it may not be economical to repair the engine when a good used T5 engine can be had for £250 or so. Spun bearings usually mean damage to the surfaces they're in contact with. My advice? Get the sump off, and have a look. Pull the bearing caps off (mains and big ends) and see what is underneath. Get your experienced mechanic friend to help, if needs be. If it were my engine, and there was a spun bearing...unless the wear surfaces are still perfect (unlikely), I'd start looking for a replacement engine. If you want pictures of what I'm talking about, I have some from a recent tear-down of an engine with a spun bearing. Certainly, the single most common cause of a spun bearing would be oil starvation, and on that basis it's one hell of a coincidence...but it can "just happen"...so proving fault is likely to be difficult. I would suggest that good-will is more likely to get you a result here than the law...but it may be a bit late to go chasing good-will! What I don't understand is why you upped the ante with regard to how vigourous your complaint was. Calmly explaining why you were unhappy was getting results...but it went wrong big-time when you started talking about recording phone calls, etc. Reading this back, it strikes me that you could have still resolved this had you not got so 'excitable'...and posting it on the various forums may well have totally blown your chances of getting this settled amecably. Further screw-ups may have been emerging, but Russ was still making the right noises...and everyone makes mistakes, so it's the response, not the mistakes that matters, really. It seems you shot yourself in the foot there a bit... Anyway...it's done now. I wish you the very best of luck with sorting it out. I have a T5 engine sat here if yours is dead and you're desperate. It's got a lot ot miles on it, but it doesn't owe me much. cheers James __________________ VOC 300-series Register Keeper '13 V70 D4 SE Lux '89 740 Turbo Intercooler '88 360 Turbo Intercooler '84 360 GLT '81 343 GLS R-Sport '79 343 DL '70 164 Last edited by foggyjames; Oct 9th, 2009 at 01:43.