...and lost oil! Happily driving up the A46 in Lincoln at 60 mph when I started to loose power and as I got to the A15 roundabout it cut out and wouldn't start again. At this point the oil temp had risen quickly but only to 180°F (82°C) I hadn't been driving long and the temp was still below the first increment before the power loss. Being in a cover band I was on the way to a gig, my bassist towed me the remaining three miles. Left it there over night, returned in the morning started it up and limped home after discovering my brake down cover was inadequate. This is what it looked like back home; Oil over the rear; ...and exhaust; ...in the tinware; ...and ultimately seem to be coming from the fuel pump; Took the fuel pump off to see it there is any damage, just seemed to be a lot of oil hanging around. The pump seems to work as I thumbed the mechanism; Anybody got any ideas?
Before i scrolled down to the pics i was thinking fuel issues. Is that the only point where the pump is leaking?
Yeah that's the highest point where oil was found. I'm going to replace the fuel pump and ancillaries, see how that goes.
What is the oil level like and does the dipstick smell of fuel? Long shot but it could also be from the distributor, maybe the O ring has failed and it's leaking on fuel pump side?
That oil needs changing. Drain it and put new 20W50 oil in to the max mark on the dipstick. That pump in the pic looks like a repro. They don't last as they are poor quality. I went electric pump in the end.
it does look like one of the nuts was loose unless it was just mid way through undoing it that the picture was taken
Also did the leaking oil spray onto the pulley belt causing it to slip and reduce the fan speed, therefore less air cooling.
You said the engine suddenly cut out, maybe the fuel pump diaphragm is split, you said the actuating arm goes in and out but if you connected some hose to it into a jam jar of fuel you may find it doesn't pump the fuel.
If the oil level is actually still normal, you mayy need to check the "oil" to see if you could run a two stroke outboard with it. It may be contaminated with petrol through a leaky fuel pump or carburettor and smell of petrol. A petrol oil mix is too thin and so loses lubrication. This may lead to overheatng symptoms at lower temperatures with the engine grinding to a halt through damage. Or more luckily stopping because the fuel pump has stopped working with a massive leak as @mgbman suggests.
I'm dying to go out and check all this, but it's wet out there! Cheers everyone for the things to check list.
Oil level is 2/3's so not much lost. Not that I can be sure where is was to start. Oil doesn't smell of fuel. There is no oil above the dizzy oil seal and is in good condition. Where to go?