Furiousd 0 Posted March 16, 2007 (edited) Hi 1st post here so appologies if this has been discussed to death or anything. I was lost in leeds last night and ended up in stop start traffic for about 1hr. My Oil temp gauge doesn't seem to work (Never reads anything, or jumps up to high briefly then drops again to nothing) The water temp didn't seem overly high for this type of condition (About 3/4 and normally sits just below 1/2 on a steady run) The oil pressure is always about 1/2 way and goes down when in gear and up higher when not (Jumps up briefly between gear changes). Sorry to go on, but to cut a long story short the oil pressure went into the red on a hill start and cut out and wouldn't re start (The friendly cabbie behind helped push it out the way) 30 mins later it re-started but pressure was just out the red. I then parked for a few hours to let it cool then it worked as well as it normally does (Well), as it has this morning. Does this sound like anything to worry about? or was it just too much stress for these engines and over heated? Am I correct in thinking the oil pressure reduces the hotter the oil is the lower the pressure gets? Should I check the oil level is high enough? Sorry to go on, but any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Chris Edited March 16, 2007 by Furiousd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob_the_Sparky 9 Posted March 16, 2007 My first check would be oil level, it is common to have bad valve seals leading to a bit of oil burnt. Oil temp gauge wire is probably bust, it has done on both of my cars! The wire goes round the back of the block close to the exhaust and can berak the wire. If the wire touches the block then it will read full on the gauge, which probably explains the odd flicker that you get. If engine has stopped due to lack of oil pressure then cross your fingers as lack of oil pressure will rapidly damage bearings... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim.Badger 15 Posted March 16, 2007 Given the symptoms you've listed I'd check all your sensor wires and earthing points. I'm not sure why it cut out but the refusal to re-start will likely be down to a bad connection on the starter, a dyeing (sp?) starter or a bad earth (or all three). Its well worth doing a search on the brown multiplug as it seems you have a problem with this. Also as mentioned above the earth points could be bad; if they are lose or corroded excesive heat will make them expand and you'll lose contact. Your oil pressure is completely wrong imo; it is reacting in the opposite maner as it should, it should go down in neutral and go up with revs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Furiousd 0 Posted March 16, 2007 Thanks for info, great help. I think I confused you with my terminology (As I;m confused generally) the more the needle goes up (Higher) the lower the oil pressure right? So the oil pressure drops in neutral and I assume this is normal? Is there any reason why the oil pressure dropped so much? Its back to normal now and car seems as it was. Is it possible it survived with no lasting damage. I take it I should check the oil level asap. It doesn;t smoke, the engine was rebuilt 2K ago and I've not noticed any leaking on the drive. Thanks again Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim.Badger 15 Posted March 16, 2007 Low oil pressure is left, high oil pressure is right. \ | / Good pressure \ | / High Pressure \ | / Low pressure Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Furiousd 0 Posted March 17, 2007 Thanks for the confirmation on that. I checked the dipstick this afternoon and it was indeed in need of oil, it was below the second line. Its now been topped up with 2 litres of oil and now gauge reads high pressure when in gear and normal when in neutral instead of normal in gear and low in neutral. I've only had the car about 6 weeks and the oil level was full when I got it. As I said before it doesn't appear to burn oil (No blue smoke from the exhaust) or leak any so is it normal to use this much oil? Once again thanks for the advise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rescue dude 0 Posted March 18, 2007 The oil level and oil pressure have nothing to do with each other. You should have decent pressure with a very low oil level. Saying that you still need to keep the level up to at least the minimum or you will be after a new engine. It all comes down to basic maintenance. Get it up on a ramp and have a look for leaks. and change the oil and filter regularly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
