hi guys, I changed my engine oil yesterday, replaced the oil filter as well and put in 5L of amsoil. Now when I start the car I check the stock oil pressure gauge and it rises for a bit, I also look underneath the car and there doesnt seem to be an oil dripping out, but when I rev it a couple of times after a couple of minutes the oil pressure gauge drops to zero. And me being afraid of doing damage to the car I shut the engine off. Is there a problem with my car, is oil being pumped through the engine. I really dont want to do any damage to the car. I check the dip stick level and it is on high. Or is it just the guage that is a problem? What can I do to make sure that oil is running through the engine and everything is fine? thanks Darryl
It is most likely just the oil pressure sender unit for the stock gauge, they have a high failure rate. To confirm it, buy a cheap mechanical gauge and screw it into the stock oil sender location
I'm not saying you don't have a problem, but the oil-pressure sender unit on the VG30 is notorious for becoming blocked, hence low or zero pressure readings at the gauge (the gauge itself is quite accurate, in contrast with the temperature gauge). Maybe the detergent action of the fresh oil has dislodged some gunge from the galleries (or wherever) which has then become caught up in the sender. Try the tech section for instructions on how to clear the sender unit (not always successful) and see if that rectifies the problem.
hey man its probably some loose shit thats blocking the oil sender unit mine did the same thing when i changed my oil but i used an engine detox additive before dumping the oil and when i put the new oil in i was getting oil pressure the thickness of the dial on the gauge over 0 so i removed the oil sender unit sat it in kerosene for 15 minutes and then put the air gun through it and left it over night to dry out then i put it back in the next day and at normal running temperatures at idle it sites tad before 4 and at 4000 rpm it sits bit past 6
Those numbers agree with what I get with a new sender unit and a T-piece so I can see the pressures on both the OEM gauge as well as an aftermarket gauge.
When I start the car it goes to the half way mark of the guage which is 4 then after a few minutes it drops to 2 (the dash inbetween the 4) then when I rev the engine it can drop to 0 but after a few seconds it increases to about 1. Why I am scared is that after a few minutes once the car is warm and I have revved it a couple of times, I see a little bit of steam rising form the engine bay ( top drivers side) It kind of smells like new oil, but I am not sure what it is weather oil or water. I hope its not smoke. I spilled a little bit of oil when I was filling it and thought it could be that but I am not sure. The last thing I want is my engine to catch on fire when I am driving it. Any advice on what could be causing the steam? thanks darryl
Smoke from spilt oil highly likely. What grade oil did you put in it? you should be running 15w/40 as per the factory manual (10w/40 at least). The wrong grade oil will seriously screw up the oil pressure, there have been people over here running 0w/30 and such like then wondering why they have smoke, leaks & low oil pressure:bash: If you are running less (thinner) than 5w/40 I would ditch it and put the correct grade in.
oil isnt going to catch fire :biggrin:,just let it burn off Take the sender out and clean the hole thats blocked or a better idea is an aftermarket job
cool thanks for your help guys, thats a big load off, I am extremely paranoid about this car as everytime I fix something something else goes wrong!
Is 5 litres the correct amount? My manual says 3.4 litres, though I think there was a change in oil quantity between series 1 and 2(92+). I use Pensoil HPR 15w60. I noticed a rear main seal leak when I used 10w.
oil drip tray with level marker is a gold edition to any garage Drain oil see how many Ltrs you've drained put a little in the new filter before placment (to account for the oil caught in the OLD filter) top car up to same level as you drained (leaving a little out for fuzz factor) then, check dip stick and add as required. sure you MAY have lost some oil, but too little, followed by a top up, is MUCH easier to fix than too much
I nominate this for the longest single sentence I have ever seen on this forum. Even worse than JP (UniqueZ)!!!
Wouldn't it make more sense to just account for the oil that the filter holds and top it all up from the oil filler hole? lol I'd love to see you try that method on the VG30ET with a horizontal filter thread! haha
lol id have thought so but its what i've been told to do by mates that are never there to help but talk all the time like they know what they're talking about........hang on a sec........ of course it wouldn't work with horizontal thread
