Oil light

[Stumpy]

Oil light has been staying on for half a minute on start up. Noticed it would go away once I hit around 2000 revs. This has been happening for a while. Thought it was the sensor and no biggie. Took the car in for a routine service yesterday and the mech said the oil light wouldn't go off and the car got rough and stalled. When I turned up today to check it out, it wouldn't go out and stalled on a short rev session with mech under bonnet. Just wondering if anyone out there has had a similar experience. He replaced the sensor so it's not that. It could be a blocked take-up with something in the mesh or a dead oil pump. The engine was rebuilt 40 thou ago and is a 3.0 liter aspirated diesel. It's a 99 SR5 dual cab. anyone know a rough cost of oil pump replacement. Lot of labour in it.

[Manxman]

Are you sure there's enuff oil in it, of propper type and clean? Of course, you should have fitted a gauge-Tojo won't do it for you, but it's still needed, or at least a damned good idea. I fear it's too late, and you may be up for another rebuild shortly. Consider the vehicle suspect and treat it kindly, keep close to home until proven ok. expose and plastguage a cam brearing, and if u can, a main and bigend. Also check pickup screen. if they show ok then you've survived without much damage--unlikely, but not impossible. Oil pump/front housing replacement-prob Mech.=abt 3-5hrs, depending. DIY-allow full day if you have parts on hand. It should have been checked for wear at rebuild. and replaced if at all suspect. NB make sure your oil cooler mounted pressure regulators haven't jammed open-old/dirty oils can make that happen. Min oil pressure at idle is abt 10psi AFAIR. check new pump before installing, and if new pump, pref new housing.

[Stumpy]

The car has done mostly highway driving (I leave for work at 4.30am and come home around 1pm) about 80kms a day on a 110kmh highway with almost no traffic and the oil light has not been on at all during that time, only on warm up. It seemed to just come on at the mechanics. He's a good mate of mine, nothing shifty or suss about him and he goes out of his way to make sure things are right on his own time, always been like that, so he's not trying to make a quick buck (in fact he's so booked up you gotta wait a month to get it). Weird place for it to happen. Still reckon rebuild's looming if the light has been out most of the time?

[CONROD]

As Manxman said, remove the oil sender, stick a T piece in and do a oil pressure test. This will remove all the guess work as to wether its got pressure or not. The light will come on at about 2psi from memory. The reason I say put a T piece in is, if it shows you have good pressure and the light is still illuminated, you know its the switch although you said it was replaced.

When was the oil filter changed last. A long shot here you didn't by any chance throw a bottle of that Oil Flush Rubbish in.

Do a pressure test and go from there.

One good thing is its shutting down due to lack of pressure to save terminal damage.

Did you hear any big end knock prior to shutdown ?

[Stumpy]

Yeah, mech did that while I was there; no oil pressure at all! Zilch! Concerned now!

[Stumpy]

Oil done every 15,000 kms. No flush put in it.

[CONROD]

What happens when you remove the oil filter. Remove it and let it drain, then crank the engine over with no oil filter on. Lay a heap of newspaper underneath, I know this sounds bloody crude, and then have someone crank it over.

As the oil filter is one of the first to receive oil under pressure if the pump is pumping this will give you the heads up without any disassembly.

Like I said its crude, but it will save you a heap of time, effort and money if you do crank it over and it kicks and sends a sh*t load of oil out, you can rule out the pump as the culprit. ( Wear safety specs and don't look up )

Maybe it is the relief valve in the filter.

See how you go mate, pretty sure the sump can be removed whilst engine is still in the car.

[Manxman]

15,000km for oil changes!!!!!!! Most people I know change every 5,000km, or run a bypass filter. The pressure regulating valves in the oil cooler are prob stuck open with carbon deposits. BTW Oil filters normally at 10,000km, and fuel & air filters at 15,000km. Do NOT miss oil changes!!!!

NB frequent hi speed long distance can extend oil changes, perhaps to 7500km, but unless bypass filter, no more.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Manxman

[Stumpy]

If I changed the oil every 5000 it would be every two and a half months. That's a lot of oil!

[trentmeyer23]

Your intervals are too far apart. If you make kms before time, then you change the oil, 10,000km would be an absolute maximum.

[Manxman]

only way I know to extend oil changes safely is to use bypass filter eg Jackmaster even so it's not a perfect fix, my experience is that 10,000km oil changes do shorten useful motor life significantly. many do this, to save oil. whether it's cost effective long term is unresolved. Remind me not to buy it from you.

Edited June 14, 2015 by Manxman

[CONROD]

Just out of curiosity, what does the oil look like when you drop it to do a oil change. Obviously its gunna be black, but does it run freely or is it like thick treacle, sludge might be the problem.

For the sake of $50-$60 every 5000km /6 months, what ever comes first is nothing compared with a tear down even to find the problem.

GOOGLE (alloytec engine sludge) and have a squiz at what owners of VE Commodore owners are being faced with by prolonging oil changes

[Stumpy]

Thanks Manxman, Conrod and Trentmeyer23 for all your input. The car is at the mechanics where it first showed the problem. I don't have access to doing any of this stuff in his workshop for obvious reasons but I am going to copy and paste all this useful info into an email and send it to him. From now on I reckon I will be doing 5000 to 7500 km oil changes myself. Does that mean changing the oil filter on oil change too?

[CONROD]

Yeah bud, some folk say do a filter every second oil change, but as you have found out mate is it really worth skimping on a $15 part, especially when filters are getting smaller and smaller compared to the ol Z9s and Z30s that use to be the norm,

You can buy 10w40 or 15w40 diesel oil in bulk (10 or 20 litre drums ) pretty cheap

Best of luck champ, keep us informed mate of the outcome.

Be good if it was just the wire from the oil pressure switch earthing out some where and illuminating the dash light, but as you said the mechanic checked for pressure and none existed,

Cheers mate

[Manxman]

your experience reminds me of why i am a DIY man. I keep having to pay top price for qualified incompetence. It seems a very common problem, at least when I want something done for me. I keep finding that my standards of workmanship at least as good as theirs, much cheaper and a lot slower. Eventually I won't be able to keep it up, but for now, I'll soldier on. I really hate paying thieves.

[Stumpy]

Just an update; car is still at mechanics. He's been working on it after hours cause he's too booked up during the day. He did all the stuff you guys recommended. Reckons oil pump was shot. He showed me the cog and it had slight grooves in it and said it had never been off, even on engine rebuild. Getting the timing belt done while he's got it all apart. Hope to have it back mid week. He's gonna supply me with the oil he uses so I can do my own oil changes every 5K.

[Stumpy]

Well it's four weeks later and I'm finally back on the road. The oil
pump was the problem and with a shiny new one fitted the oil light
disappears within 5 seconds on start up. The car was in the air for four
full weeks on a hoist with the front end dismantled while my mechanic
tried to find time to work on it. He emailed me at 11:12pm one night and
said he was getting delirious so he's going home. Most of the work was
after hours and he didn't charge me for a lot of it. Top bloke! All in
all it was a fairly major job and while he had everything off I got him
to replace the timing belt and drive belts. The main and conrod bearings
were also shot and needed replacing. I got new rotors and a bunch of
other peripherals with the end result being $2070.00. Thanks for all
your input. He used your suggestions and said it was good information.
His name is Matt and the business is MJP Automotive in Meadows SA if
you're ever in the area. Gotta book a month in advance though cause he's
too busy!

What I learnt: If your oil light is on and you know you've got oil in it, try replacing the sensor. If that doesn't work take off the oil filter, let it drain, crank over the engine and see if it's pumping out. If not, it's your oil pump or blocked pickup. Either way you're in for a few $.

[Manxman]

Glad to know it's fixed--sad it was such a big job. Run your motor in carefully, over abt 1000km, then change oil & filter.

recommend you investigate Jackmaster filter if you're doing high milages quickly. If buying used, make certain all parts are correct as OEM. The central bolt in particular, as it's special-do not substitute it. NB I recommend the use of a horizontally mounted oil filter, using the oil cooler from a 3L(?) It gives more room to replace the filter. I think you can still use a Z9 filter. Use a long, fullly threaded stud for the bolthole under the filter with a flanged nut to hold the plate on, and the extra length of the stud to foul the sandwich plate so it doesn't unscrew with the oil filter. I also recommend some Locktite on the central sandwich plater adapter nut for the same reason. An electronic oil pressure guage is a good idea. You'll need 0 - 100psi readout. NB there are a variety of senders and gauges-the gauge range should match the sender range. Do not use a 0-150psi sender on a 0-75 gauge, nor VV. The better ones are marked . VDO use 10-180 Ohms range for oil pressure, 0 - max. It is a linear response. Not all others are the same.