Dropping oil pressure
Discussion
Car is just back from getting the Diff mount bolts sorted. While it was in I also asked the mechanic to have a look a for a very small oil leak from one of the senders (wasn't quite sure which one).
Anyway just back from a run in the ca and notice low oil pressure while driving.
The car started as normal with the oil pressure at about 35 psi when cold. After a while I noticed the oil pressure dropping below zero and then coming back up to ~30 PSI under braking. I pulled over for a while and the reading was erratic jumping between zero and about 15 psi. The oil light never came on.
I'm pretty sure that this is a sender or wiring fault as result of the work done in the garage, but a bit concerned it could be more serious.
Other than fitting a new unit is there another way to confirm if its the sender?
PS car is fantasitic to drive now the Diff mounts bolts sorted.
Anyway just back from a run in the ca and notice low oil pressure while driving.
The car started as normal with the oil pressure at about 35 psi when cold. After a while I noticed the oil pressure dropping below zero and then coming back up to ~30 PSI under braking. I pulled over for a while and the reading was erratic jumping between zero and about 15 psi. The oil light never came on.
I'm pretty sure that this is a sender or wiring fault as result of the work done in the garage, but a bit concerned it could be more serious.
Other than fitting a new unit is there another way to confirm if its the sender?
PS car is fantasitic to drive now the Diff mounts bolts sorted.
Quick clean up of the connector this moorning and then went for a test drive.
- On strat-up oil pressure was ~35psi
- Allowed the car to warm up and pressure droped to ~30psi @ 70 degC
This seemd fine so decided to drive to work to finnish of a couple of things there.
- On the dual carrage way pressure stayed about 30psi @ 3000 rpm and ~50 degC
- Increased revs to about 4000 and pressure dropped to ~10 psi.
- Backed of to 3000 rpm and pressure went back to 30 psi so kept it at about 3000 rpm.
- Once I hit a bit of traffic in town the temperature increased to ~75deg and then the oil pressure became very erratic reading between zero and 20psi.
- The car ran smmothly all the way and the oil light didn't come on.
Just been out to start the car now its cooled down a bit and is steady at idle @ ~30 psi.
Still think its the sender but worried about driving the car in case its something more serious. Is there any way to confirm if its the sender or should I just replace it anyway?
- On strat-up oil pressure was ~35psi
- Allowed the car to warm up and pressure droped to ~30psi @ 70 degC
This seemd fine so decided to drive to work to finnish of a couple of things there.
- On the dual carrage way pressure stayed about 30psi @ 3000 rpm and ~50 degC
- Increased revs to about 4000 and pressure dropped to ~10 psi.
- Backed of to 3000 rpm and pressure went back to 30 psi so kept it at about 3000 rpm.
- Once I hit a bit of traffic in town the temperature increased to ~75deg and then the oil pressure became very erratic reading between zero and 20psi.
- The car ran smmothly all the way and the oil light didn't come on.
Just been out to start the car now its cooled down a bit and is steady at idle @ ~30 psi.
Still think its the sender but worried about driving the car in case its something more serious. Is there any way to confirm if its the sender or should I just replace it anyway?
I had exactly the same thing about 6 months ago. As I put my foot down to accelerate the oil pressure would drop from around 30psi to near 0psi and on lifting it would recover.
After seeking expert advice I was told it was the sender at fault, as if it was the actual oil pressure you'd also see the oil light on the dash come on (which if it does is a sure way of knowing there's low oil pressure in the engine, in which case stop immediately or face a big repair bill).
The sender sits under the front on the engine (looks like a little silver/metal pot) and therefore gets hit with all the crap from the road. It is also prone to taking a knock if you hit a speed bump too fast etc.
I first tried cleaning and tightening the contacts, but this made little difference. In the end I replaced it with a new one (not very expensive). The old one had a dent in it, so had taken a knock at some point. This solved the problem and the oil pressure now reads a steady 40psi - reducing to 30-35psi when the oil it hot. So the old one was under reading anyway.
After seeking expert advice I was told it was the sender at fault, as if it was the actual oil pressure you'd also see the oil light on the dash come on (which if it does is a sure way of knowing there's low oil pressure in the engine, in which case stop immediately or face a big repair bill).
The sender sits under the front on the engine (looks like a little silver/metal pot) and therefore gets hit with all the crap from the road. It is also prone to taking a knock if you hit a speed bump too fast etc.
I first tried cleaning and tightening the contacts, but this made little difference. In the end I replaced it with a new one (not very expensive). The old one had a dent in it, so had taken a knock at some point. This solved the problem and the oil pressure now reads a steady 40psi - reducing to 30-35psi when the oil it hot. So the old one was under reading anyway.
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