Andy Farmer

Oil (20:50) and filter changed now and engine running much better. Good pressure on start and about 25psi when the engine has warmed up. Thanks all for your input, much appreciated.

Thanks for the help so far, much appreciated.

This may sound daft but for the life of me I cannot find how much oil is supposed to be put in this engine. Any pointers would be much appreciated.

Thanks for the feedback. I do plan to do a full oil and filter change now I have the 20:50 oil and I was already asking myself, what else did the seller not do as part of the agreement so will be checking other aspects too, such as brakes. The company I bought it from appeared to be reputable and indeed the owner, on the subject of lack of oil in the engine, told me quote "the mechanics have been with me for over 35 years and would be most unlike them". Well the fact is, they both screwed up and the company owner screwed up too for not checking. I'll do the oil change this week hopefully.

Thanks for the feedback. I do plan to do a full oil and filter change now I have the 20:50 oil and I was already asking myself, what else did the seller not do as part of the agreement so will be checking other aspects too, such as brakes. The company I bought it from appeared to be reputable and indeed the owner, on the subject of lack of oil in the engine, told me quote "the mechanics have been with me for over 35 years and would be most unlike them". Well the fact is, they both screwed up and the company owner screwed up too for not checking. I'll do the oil change this week hopoefully.

Hello, my first posting on here as a Stag owner and am hoping the fonts of all knowledge can help. I have 2 MG's also but this is my first Triumph classic. So a few weeks ago I bought a 1973, 3ltr V8 Triumph Stag (Triumph engine) from a company who deal with all things classic cars. Judging by the amount of history that came with the car, the previous owner (sadly now passed away) really did look after it with all receipts, MOT's and a full service history. The company I bought it from serviced and MOT'd the car before delivering it to me. Time and work constraints prevented me from taking it for a drive immediately but last Sunday I said to myself, "nice day so why not go for a spin". Something in me though told me to check the water and oil levels before setting off and I'm glad I did. The dip stick was bone dry and although I had run the engine just after delivery and it run fine, there was no sign of any oil. Reluctantly, I turned on the engine and it started fine and ran well so I switched it off after a couple of minutes. I checked the dip stick again thinking oil would be present, but it was dry. I got under the car and could see a new oil filter had been fitted and there was no sign of any oil leak. I contacted the seller and he told me he has 2 long term mechanics and both thought the other one had filled it with oil but actually, neither of them did !! Her apologised and offered to refund a small sum for the error which I accepted. I had a new bottle of Castrol GTX 15W-40 on the shelf so topped up the engine as I feared more damage would be done if I didn't. Oil pressure on re-start was very low and if I'm reading the gauge correctly, shows about 25lb per square inch but then gets to about 48lb per square inch as the engine warms but then drops again and doesn't really rise again. It may well be that the GTX 15W-40 is the wrong oil for this engine (guidance please) but having done some research, I've bought some Heritage 20W-50 and whilst I enjoy watching Fuzz Townshend on the TV, I was not influenced by him as such but more by the notion this oil would be better for a classic car engine. I plan to drain the engine of the GTX oil, replace the new oil filter with another, and basically do another oil change myself as I'll know it's been done !! My question then is, would the GTX oil cause the low oil pressure and fluctuation in pressure when the engine is warm or would damage have been done on the occasions when the engine was run "dry" ?There must have been some oil present otherwise the engine would have been very "tappy" but in fairness, it started well and run well and smooth for the times the engine was run in my workshop. No sign of any blue smoke from the exhaust either and no signs of overheating. My second question is do you think the replacement 20W-50 oil will improve the oil pressure or are these Triumph engines just prone to low oil pressure ? Thanks and sorry if I rattled on a bit !!