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MG TD TF 1500 - Canister in sump

What is the purpose of this canister? The pipe goes to the side of the sump but it is a dead end.


Mort Resnicoff (50 TD-Mobius)

mort, that is your oil pick up..the canister contains the sump screen. the pipe does not dead end..the hole in the sump lip you see just above the pick up pipe fitting is the oil passage to the oil pump. regards, tom
tom peterson

I believe the somewhat convoluted path the oil must take to the pump is what makes it somewhat difficult to prime. Most modern pumps are mounted lower and have a pickup like this and self-prime.

You can also see that no cotter pins or safety wire are used on this engine or any other modern engine that I can recall.


J E Carroll

Tom,
Thank you for that info. As you can tell from my questions, this is my first time probing into an engine.
Based on your comments I assume removal and cleaning are appropriate.
After re-assembly is there a special method of priming the pump before starting?
Mort
Mort Resnicoff (50 TD-Mobius)

mort, since you found some garbage in the sump..and since the pan is off..it would be prudent to check the screen.
in regard to priming the oil pump.. it depends on your pump. early pumps have a priming plug, later engines do not. easiest way to prime is to use a pressure tank tapped into one of the block oil gallery plugs...but..if you did not open the pump during this maintenance event it will be full of oil. if you just dropped the pan, the pump should not lose prime.
after refitting the pan and replenishing the oil in the sump, prior to turning the key on, remove the spark plugs, disconnect the fuel pump electrics, pull the coil wire and then turn on the key and spin the engine over..if the pump has not lost prime you will see an oil pressure rise with in several seconds. regards, tom
tom peterson

Thanks Tom,
I took the screen and canister apart and cleaned everything. I will follow your advice on the oil/prime.
Mort
Mort Resnicoff (50 TD-Mobius)

If the oil pump has become air bound, take the pump apart & coat the inside with vasoline, & then you are good to go!
Len Fanelli

i like len's vaseline idea if the engine is out of the car, but a borrowed pressure pot or priming plug are much more appealing to me if the engine is still in the car. if you have just dropped the pan, the pump should not lose prime. regards, tom
tom peterson

My oil pump had been packed in grease by the original assembler many years ago. I subsequently pretty much disassembled everything to check end gaps, have the rods done, have the rotating components balanced, etc.

All of that work apparently pretty much moved the grease out of the pump and it was reluctant to prime. I used a trick I learned from aircraft installations for priming hydraulic pumps - pressurize the reservoir with air.

It takes surprisingly little air pressure to raise a column of oil the foot or so to reach the pump inlet, probably only a pound or two, all well within the ability of the various gaskets in the engine to withstand. In this case I didn't even bother to run it through a regulator, just took an air gun to the dipstick tube while partially blocking the breather tube. Cranking the engine at the same time brought instant prime.

Some airplanes that have the hydraulic pumps mounted above the hydraulic tank have the tanks pressurized with a little bleed air pressure. Changing one of those pumps and then starting the respective engine brings a howl of cavitation until the bleed air pushes the oil up to the pump.
J E Carroll

The vasoline idea is great with a caveat -- it becomes useless if the engine is rotated backwards, even a little bit. Bud
Bud Krueger

Mort, I enjoyed meeting you at the British-by-the-Sea event. One of the best car show venues I have attended.

I recently had my oil pan off of the car. The baffle is removable and must be removed the thoroughly clean the pan. I found a 1/4" of what looked like tar of the bottom of mine. I had to use a scraper to remove it.

I also disassembled, cleaned and re-sealed my oil pump. It is the older, non self-priming type. In regard to priming, I serviced the engine with fresh motor oil and cranked the engine with the spark plugs removed, and with the oil pump pressure side pipe (to the oil filter) removed. Oil flowed out of the pump outlet very quickly, thus indicating that the pump was primed.
Corey Pedersen 1951 TD #7169

Inside my canister shown above is a cylindrical screen. It slides up and onto the delivery post and is held loosely in place by a washer and cotter pin. The screen does not make contact with the top of the canister. There is about 1/4" gap at the top.

Is this correct?
Does it matter?
It's been running like this at least since I bought it 3 years ago.

Thanks,
Mort
Mort Resnicoff (50 TD-Mobius)

mort, it has been awhile since i had the pan down on my car, but i recall there was a small spring used in the oil pick up assembly. i could be mistaken, but i thought the order of assembly was spring, screen. washer, cotter pin...but i maybe mistaken..when i had my engine apart i fitted mine with the later cast aluminum pick up "shoe" so i am a little fuzzy on the details on the pick up assembly. others here should jump in on this. regards, tom
tom peterson

part #3/79 Abingdon Spares. Good memory Tom. The spring holds the filter strainer up against the pickup canister. I think the order from bottom up is cotter pin/washer/spring/screen? George
George Butz

This thread was discussed between 12/06/2013 and 14/06/2013

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