oil light flickering at 900 rpms?

[oneqwicksho]

Ok here it goes if know one remembers I had some problems with hard starts with my car I figured the oil pump is on its way out. Well just noticed today my oil light is flickering at 900 rpms. It has new rod bearings with 16,000 miles on them and a new oil sending unit oil is full, no knocks, ticks, or anything as a sign of problems. If you just barely touck the gas it stops

Any help appreciated

Message on form or text or call

(330)-240-8041

Mike

 

[91PDXmocha]

Have you changed out the sensor ? I would first, it being easy to change and costing 5 bucks.

 

[sperold]

Get a mechanical gauge from a Farm supply place with a range from 0 to 40.
Get the piping and Tee to mount both your sender unit and this mechanical gauge ( with a small copper tube preferably) and permanently mount this gauge in your engine compartment.
When you get the reading on the mechanical gauge, then you can decide what to do.
When it is hot, and your car is hot, at an idle you are only going to have a few pounds of oil pressure, so it is important to know how few.

 

[1993MTXSHO]

I've seen roda bearings go bad very fast if something went wrong. Sure you didn't nic the crank when you installed the new ones?

 

[oneqwicksho]

Oil sensor is new but, will check that will do oil gauge first

 

[oneqwicksho]

Put the rod bearings in with no problem dint nick the crank and plasta gauged every journal all were perfect

 

[oneqwicksho]

Ok did a little more testing. If I unplug the dis and crank it to build oil pressure it will build till it flickers and that's it it will not go out.

 

[sperold]

I don't want to start a whole new controversy, but what oil do you have in the car... regular, synthetic, and what viscosity?

 

[oneqwicksho]

Mobil one extended performance with 10w30

 

[sperold]

No problems there.
Try to get an accurate pressure reading at an idle. I have heard on this forum that the light comes on at 2 PSI, and 6 psi could be OK. In any other motor that is low, low, low. If it is any consolation, the pumps are low pressure, high volume.

 

[oneqwicksho]

Yea I'm figuring hopefully hooking up gauge tomorrow and changing the oil sending unit and checking the pressure. My oil pump gasket will be here fri and I have a 70,000 mile pump waiting to go in while I'm down there gonna plasta gauge the journals to make sure everything checks out ok

I just don't want this motor to go to shit put too much time and money into it and car

 

[SHOtime2511]

Any chance you used too much RTV and its cloged up your oil pickup screen?

 

[oneqwicksho]

No used a very small smear. Just put some on my finger and smeared it across the gaskets.

 

[Racer X]

Any chance you used too much RTV and its cloged up your oil pickup screen?

I was thinking this also. Clogged screen, or undertightened pickup tube/ bad pickup tube gasket.

 

[oneqwicksho]

I'm gonna double check it all friday and see where it stands. Drove the car for an hour earlier with no problem. no oil light. no nothing, and the only time the oil light would kick in is if I lugged the motor on take off and it kicked at 600 rpms. Its just having a fit lol

 

[oneqwicksho]

Well I took the car for another drive today around noon that way it was nice and hot outside and after about a half an hour of driving the oil pressure the oil light will come on at idle ( 1000 rpms) could the oil just be too thin cause it looks thin?

 

[ViPER1313]

Did you do the last oil change or did someone else do it for you?

Possibilities:
-bearings are worn after 16k miles causing low pressure
-oil pressure sending unit is bad, even though it was replaced
-the wrong oil was put in the car (ex... 5w20)
-oil pump is dieing, although I have never heard of this
-oil pickup screen or tube is clogged / bolts backed out

If I were you, I would change the oil first if you didn't personally change it last time with 10w30, and put a real oil pressure gauge on the car to see what is going on. If the problem continued, I would tear into the bottom end immediately and see what was going on down there.

 

[sho'noffmtx]

i would stop driving it until you have it figured out. dont want to cause more damage if something is wrong...

 

[Phokus]

Does it do it when you are about to stall out at 900? Or when at idle?
I know if I'm about to stall and keep it like that it flickers and the whole car shudders

 

[sperold]

I share your feeling on the oil "looking thin" when you look at it when the motor is hot. You would swear that they put diesel fuel in there, it pours so easily.
Good luck on your investigation tomorrow and I hope everything works out. Don't tear into it before you get that all important oil pressure reading at idle, especially when you have no noises. And if it is marginal, I might even try an oil change with known oil to see if that changes things, and change the filter to a top brand too, because who knows how a bad filter might trip you up.