Due to my recent new problem of my engine oil splashing out of the dipstick tube having me perplexed, I decided to ask for reasons of a possible cause on a couple of Cortina Mk1 and Ford Crossflow engine facebook pages. I don't normally ask technical questions on social media pages, because you tend to get about 20 different answers (and some totally irrelevant) and you still don't know what the right answer is at the end of it all.
The main answers I received were what I expected and mainly all doom and gloom i.e blown piston rings, cracked block, cracked head etc, however, my engine is in fine fettle. It doesn't rattle, it doesn't produce fumes and it doesn't burn oil, has good oil pressure and good compression, so I discounted all of these.
One of the questions fired back at me was 'Have you fitted an electric fuel pump and removed the manual fuel pump recently?' Which, of course, I had, so this question piqued my interest. Once engaged in conversation with the person who had asked, I discovered that the flat blanking plate I had fitted to cover the hole in the block left by the manual pump could be causing the issue. Apparently, Burton Power products manufacture one with a 'deflector' plate on which stops the oil splashing up past where the manual fuel pump used to be fitted.
I have to admit, I was a little bit doubtful at first, as my dipstick is on the nearside of the engine and this plate would be fitted to the offside rear of the engine where the manual fuel pump was originally mounted, so I couldn't see how this would affect things. However, I then had to concede that I had only had this problem since converting to an electric fuel pump, so it was very possible. Anyway, to cut a long story short, this does indeed seemed to have cured the problem! I no longer have engine oil splashing up the dipstick tube and covering the inner wing, alternator, front axle and starter motor! A very good result, and well done to Burton Power Products! Such a simple design, but very effective.
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