ok driving home on the highway today my oil light came on. I wasn't driving particularly obnoxiously by any means, so I drive it to an auto parts store and give it a quart of mobil 1 10W 30 (it was BARELY low, but hey).

light is still flickering/on, but it goes off when the engine is under load. The pressure guage still reads changes in pressure--you know, next to the fairy tale boost guage. I'm thinking its oil pressure related, but i'm not sure where to look. :shrug

any ideas? Do you think its ok for short trips, or should I find alternate transportation for monday?

thanks!

Matt

p.s. the car has 64k on it, original oil pump I think, mobil 1 10W30 every 3-4k...

Evo 16g w FMIC running hella rich for about 1k now...

it's probably either
1. short in wiring curcuit
2. oil pressure sender is going bad
3. oil pump
4. engine bearings

i would check the bearings and the oil pump immediately before you need to replace the engine :whoa

I know this is stupid, but how do I check the pump/bearings? I know how to do the sender (chiltons) and check the base pressure...

did you do the 60,000 timing belt change yet? if you haven't i'd do that and change the oil pump while you're at it. usually i don't think oil pumps go bad until later, like 90,000+, but it couldn't hurt to see if that's your problem, ya know.

yeah I got the tbelt done, i'm not sure if the oil pump was done with it, I had it done by a mechanic do to personal/family issues at the time....

maybe my shiny oil wasn't corrosion in teh oil lines after all....

tomorrow i'm gonna try and get the "mechanical guage" for oil pressure chilton's talks about. Are these guages car specific, or can I just pick one up at auto zone? It also says to check oil pressure cold and hot, but only gives 1 pressure for our car-- 11.4 or something psi. Does anyone know teh cold oil pressure? Should I rev teh car and check it at rpm too? thanks!

Vandy

mechanical guages are just guages that don't use electronics to give you the read out. which means you don't want to put it in the cabin of the car becuase if the hose pops off, you'll have oil all over your shit. and just like electrical guages, they are not car specific.

but i don't know the psi while cold becuase i don't have a real oil pressure guage either :)

thanks...

but there is a gugage that screws in where the oil pressure sender is currently, i.e. you screw it out and screw the guage in--anyone know anything about this?

i've never gone "guage shopping" at a local parts store but i think you should be able to find a mechanical guage with a direct connection with threads. otherwise i think there are little kits that let you hook a hose up to it. you should at least be able to order one.

but i have no idea what the thread size is.

i'm sure one of more experienced will come in here and shine some more light on this issue for you later :)

ok went and got a shitty mechanical oil pressure guage today, i'm gonna check the pressure tomorrow. If the pressure is ok, which of these 2 should I order from satan? The idiot light sender or the oil pressure sender?

thanks!

i believe the oil pressure sender would make the oil light turn on, i could be wrong though. or satan could probably tell you.

checked the pressure, i've got (supposedly) 20psi according to the crappy guage I used at idle, but i'm thinking its more like 15ish because it doesn't read zero when turned off...

Also, the idiot light sender has broken off, but just the metal tab. I'll probably just replace the whole sensor, actually. gonna go to the hardware store right now, gonna find out if I can find a similar metal tab...

Vandy

when did you check the pressure? usually the prssure is check by running your car until warm, then turn it off and wait about 5-10 minutes so all the oil settle's back into the pan and then check. if you do it right after shutting it off you'll get a false reading becuase the all of the oil isn't in the pan.

don't know if you knew that, but just a headsup anyway.

Originally posted by 420a-Tnthewerks
when did you check the pressure? usually the prssure is check by running your car until warm, then turn it off and wait about 5-10 minutes so all the oil settle's back into the pan and then check. if you do it right after shutting it off you'll get a false reading becuase the all of the oil isn't in the pan. don't know if you knew that, but just a headsup anyway.

:scratch

Maybe you can enlighten me, but I'm curious as to how there will be any pressure if you "let it all go back down to the pan". I'm pretty sure there is only pressure present when the engine is running, turning the t-belt and therefore turning the oil pump...

I think i'm just misunderstanding what you're saying...

edit: actually I think you may be confused with oil level, as in volume vs. pressure.....

Originally posted by Vandy420a
:scratch Maybe you can enlighten me, but I'm curious as to how there will be any pressure if you "let it all go back down to the pan". I'm pretty sure there is only pressure present when the engine is running, turning the t-belt and therefore turning the oil pump... I think i'm just misunderstanding what you're saying...

oh wow, what the fuck was i doing, i was somehow thinking of checking the oil level... :shrug :order that's pretty funny though.

anyway, did you get the sender replaced?

Originally posted by 420a-Tnthewerks

Originally posted by Vandy420a :scratch Maybe you can enlighten me, but I'm curious as to how there will be any pressure if you "let it all go back down to the pan". I'm pretty sure there is only pressure present when the engine is running, turning the t-belt and therefore turning the oil pump... I think i'm just misunderstanding what you're saying...

oh wow, what the fuck was i doing, i was somehow thinking of checking the oil level... :shrug :order that's pretty funny though. anyway, did you get the sender replaced?

Gonna do it this afternoon--long story on getting it though x(

ARGH its still flickering after teh replacement...the clip is slightly loose...

will the actual pressure sending unit cause this flicker, or just the idiot light switch?

Originally posted by Vandy420a
ARGH its still flickering after teh replacement...the clip is slightly loose... will the actual pressure sending unit cause this flicker, or just the idiot light switch?

yeah, if the oil pressure sender is going bad, it can cause the light to come on.

why isn't anybody else commenting :scratch

i was also wondering, did you change the oil since you seen the copper color in it?

yeah, good memory but I didn't see any color in the oil this time....just changed it yesterday

alright i'm getting the oil pressure sending unit from Satan tomorrow, if I can't get it then i'm not sure what i'll do, probably just have to make an appointment at the dealer. This scares me, though. I've seen their service dept., and its BARE BONES.