The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

I just learned today that one of the Ex-Pat Sprints here in the USA has suffered a major malfunction.

The owner switched the car to K&N filters, but did not check the mixture to ensure the car wouldn't be too lean. Then he used low 89 octane fuel in it on a long drive going between 85 and 95 mph for 150 straight miles.

Now, there is oil coming out of the water pump vent hole in the block and the car won't idle. It sounds rather tractorish on start-up.

I think he's holed a piston. Anyone care to speculate?

OUD is a red 75 Sprint that once was owned by Oxidonian and was on eBay about 4 times two years ago. I brought it over to the USA and got her roadworthy -- and she was a fine car -- before I sold her due to OMK 172R's arrival.

Richard Truett

Oil out of the waterpump slot just means the water pump lower seal has gone for a change instead of the more common upper. Had that last year on blue.

Comp test time.

Tinweevil

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1978 Pageant Sprint - the rustomite, 1972 Spitfire IV - sprintfire project, 1968 Valencia GT6 II - little Blue, 1980 Vermillion 1500HL - resting. 1974 Sienna 1500TC, Mrs Weevils big brown.

Has he still got the crank case breather hooked upto the carbs? I unhooked mine once and put one of those little filters on the breather outlet, fired it up and oil immediately started p155 out of the slot . hooked up the original hoses again and no oil has leaked out of there since!

I have a K&N filter in the original box and run 93 octane, plug colour is good, seems ok although idle can change from one tank to another!

cheers
Mark

yep.
the breathers are still hooked up as normal.

i've never heard of oil coming out of that slot before.

i was thinking maybe something went wrong with a piston and blow-by and pressure in the crankcase is forcing oil out of that slot.

but i have never had an engine go on me like that, so i don't know what those symptoms mean.

based on the way the engine sounds and how badly it runs at low speeds, i think something inside the engine is broken.

but our dolly sprint friends in the UK won't let us down. they've seen this before, i bet.

Richard Truett

if he'd holed a piston there would be a lot more than that going on
comp test and the usual checks could have just burned a valve out
but untill a comp test is done then most is speculation

Richard, sorry to hear about the car, I have run my sprint on 89 but it is not running lean. I would thimk that if the car was very lean it would make the engine run hot and possible burn out a valve. When we run in the US we try to use chevron and 93. I know my TR4 has to have the 93 octane or higher. You must have some nice open roads and no highway patrol to run at those speeds for that long distance. You cannot do that out on the west coast.
How many sprints have you owned and are there many in your area. I only know a few here on west coast.
Hope not to much wrong with the car.
Denis