Oil Pressure Problems

[UpTheIron]

Was approaching home yesterday evening after spending Xmas at my dads and as I came to a halt in traffic on the M1, braking from 70ish to walking pace I glanced at the pressure gauge to see that it was registering 0 psi. Or more accurately it was as far over the the left as the needle could go.

I was just about to go for the kill engine / take it out of gear / avoid middle lane morons and see if I could coast over the the hard shoulder when it returned to an all the more reasonable 30 - 40 psi.

I watched the gauge all the way home (another 150 miles or so, and all fine and I don't think I've lunched the engine just yet).

Got under the car this morning to check sensor properly attached etc and looks OK. Fired her up and all fine, but when I blip the throttle (gently) the oil pressure drops, only to return again when I maintain a steady RPM.

My usual mechanic is taking a well earned break, so i) any suggestions for somebody local to High Wycombe who could take a look ASAP? and ii) any ideas what the problem could be? Sticky relief valve or tired oil pump maybe?

[UpTheIron]

tovey said:

you can try the v8 center in high wycombe Tel No 08009706759 or 07957872615.ment to be very good.

Would normally take it to Perry, but no answer so I'm guessing he's taking a break.

[UpTheIron]

GreenV8S said:

It is worth taking any oil pressure problems seriously because they can destroy your engine very quickly, but in this case I would suspect a broken wire to the oil sensor or duff sensor, misreading when the engine moves as you apply torque. Do you have a low pressure warning light too? This could be used to confirm that you do have *some* oil pressure even when the gauge says you haven't.

Pete,

I'm taking the approach that it is something more serious until proven otherwise. Warning Light is functional (at ignition on) and doesn't come on when gauge reverts to zero, so fingers crossed it will be sensor / cable / gauge.

The good news is I have managed to get it booked in for first thing tomorrow morning, the bad news is I will be paying main dealer prices!

Cheers


Paul

[UpTheIron]

Mikej said:

At the risk of stating the bleedin obvious - you have checked the oil level haven't you ?. Mike.

Funny, I didn't think of that Funnily enough, the oil level is probably slightly HIGHER than it has been previously - just been serviced.

[UpTheIron]

heliox said:

Dont take any chances and try driving it until your engineer looks at it, this was exactly the same symptoms mine showed before Christmas and turned out to be the pressure relief valve had stuck open in the oil pump, hense no pressure.Only by blipping the throttle would the gauge register pressure, funny your oil light hasnt come on as Peter mentioned. h

So far dealers investigations have found no problem, however the oil switch is leaking slightly. I'm changing the sender, oil switch and pressure relief valve to be on the safe side.

Sods law however - took old sensor out and it literally fell out - the mounting bolt missing most of its threads and the new one won't take. At least the threads into the engine are OK, so it just a case of getting the new bolt from the factory, who are closed until Monday.

So now car until the middle of next week at least

[UpTheIron]

Jeff,

Thanks for your input . What happened with yours when you left the engine to idle after starting up, then blipped the throttle lightly? This would sometimes cause me to lose pressure also...

What was the damage (replaced parts and cost) on yours if you don't mind me asking?

Cheers


Paul

[UpTheIron]

Jeff,

Thanks (I think!). How many miles has yours done? Similar age to mine (I've done about 21k).

Time to start bracing myself for having my wallet emptied moment perhaps!!!

Cheers


Paul

[UpTheIron]

N4 SPY said:

Interesting thread this (aren't they all) but I sometimes experience the gauge showing a very high oil pressure reading when the car is cold, I keep checking the gauge and after a while I see it's back to normal. From this thread I think I'll check connections first and go from there. Scared the pants off me first time it happened but I've learnt knwo that it's the gauge an not the engine ................ I guess alot of us have had that moment of panic but we still keep coming back for more!

IIRC the bible refers to a failing sensor often giving very HIGH or low readings....