Intermittent oil preasure issue

I though i would start a thread to see if anyone can throw any light on n issue I have been having with oil pressure.

She here's the symptoms

When I start the car cold the oil pressure always shoots up to 6

When the car is warm the oil pressure will come down between 2 and 4 and will go up and down accordingly when I rev the engine.

Now here's the odd bit, sometimes when the car is warm the oil pressure will randomly just drop off and sit somewhere between 1 and 2 and when I rev the car the oil preasure barely goes up, sometimes it will stay that way and other times it can randomly come back to good oil pressure as I'm driving.

It only seems to happen when the engine is warm but it just happens randomly, Sometimes I can drive all day and it will stay good but then other times it drops off and dosent seem to want to come back again.

I have noticed sometimes when the oil pressure drops off if you trun the ignition off and then back on again sometimes it will come back normal again but this is not always the case.

I haven't actually checked to see if it's the gauge giving a false reading or not yet so that's the first thing I'm going to do.

Is there anything else I should check that the symptoms I'm experiencing point to?

Cheers,
Bill

Standard.
Oil pressure sender is a bit naff.

Either replace with OEM sender (aftermarket ones wont work plus it has oil pressure switch built in for dash)
http://www.niparts.com/OEM/3D2F55/NISSAN/2507001Y00.html
USA £18.37 + w/e - buy here: Sender GTIR, Pathfinder etc

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=945048&cc=1211768

Or fit aftermarket gauge and sender.

as above the senders are getting very old now so this should be your first port of call pluss the gauge is old too

somehow I don't think you have a problem with the gauge.

by all means swap the sensor as could be faulty

you've already checked for dents in the sump but check the oil pickup in the sump aswell as it may have debris in there which is partially blocking it.

hate to say it but if the oil pickup is all clear I would suspect a faulty oil pump or oil sticky oil pressure relief valve in the pump.
you need to get this sorted bill asap or it could lead to major bottom end problems as im sure you are aware
if your not sure about anything then either post it up in here or give me a bell

Cheers for the advice bob. That's my biggest fear is the pump being on its way out. I'm not going to run with low oil pressure because I don't want to ruin another engine.

I'm going to try cleaning the oil pressure sensor to see if it's that at fault and if not I will inspect the oil pickup because I'm beginning to suspect that.

If it is the pump on its way out then I'm not happy but I suppose you have to take the rough with the smooth.

I'll keep you posted with my findings, I realy hope it's just a simple fault ie oil pressure sensor, if not then I better get some money's saved up and get one of these engines rebuilt

waste of time cleaning the oil pressure sensor bill
replace it with a different one, take the one off the other engine and stick that on there and see if it does the same thing

Sorry bob I meant to put change, this iPad automatically corrects things that were not spelt incorrectly in the first place lol

I have just been looking at this

http://www.gtirworkshopmanual.com/default.aspx?v=431

From what I can can grasp with my simple non mechanical mind is that the oil pressure regulator is built into the pump, so if that's faulty then it's not good.
From what I can gather from the workshop manual is that there are two relief valves that can be inspected from filter housing.

Can I change those without major work ie just change the filter housing or are these relief valves not something that can be removed without major agro?

Sorry for the daft questions but I haven't got a clue what I'm doing with stuff like this lol

no the main oil pressure relief valve is incorporated in the pump housing and youll need to remove the front chain cover to get it out and inspect it.

inside once you have the cap bolt removed youll see a spring and small piston which should move up and down but after a time they can get jammed up with carbon type deposits which will then give you oil pressure issues so you have to prize them out and clean them with some wet n dry paper to get the deposits off, lube them up with some oil and replace. Norris design did a so called uprated oil pump (probably still do) for shed loads of money yet all that was uprated about it was a washer was placed behind the tension spring to lightly pre-load it which is something you can easily do yourself if you've stripped one down.

anyway that's the last call, try the simple things first  

I've got my fingers crossed its not that and it's something simple, Im going off what the stock gauge is telling me here and I know that's not the best idea because they are pretty useless lol

Thirst thing to do is find out if I have actually got an oil pressure issue or if the gauge is giving a false reading.

Any news on this bill????? Car looked great the other day!!

Bones wrote:Any news on this bill????? Car looked great the other day!!

Cheers Darren  

To be honest mate I haven't been bothered to get get myself out there and see if I can get it sorted lol it's just not the weather to be getting under cars but I need to get out there and have a look because it's only going to get colder out there lol

I need to pull my finger out and get her sorted because Ive been itching to take her for a spin and my mates bought a new focus RS which I need to race  

after lots of dicking about with ebay etc. see below for what i eventually was looking for! :S this - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MECHANICS-MECHANICAL-REMOTE-MASTER-ENGINE-OIL-PRESSURE-GAUGE-TESTING-KIT-WR-/400601474015?pt=UK_Measuring_Tools_Levels&hash=item5d45b563df



youll need this too http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NPT-Threads-1-8-NPT-Female-1-8-BSPT-Male-Adaptor-Brass-/231020600228


--------------------------------------------------------------------zzZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz........
oil pressure test kit - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bergen-Automatic-Wave-Box-Auto-Transmission-Engine-Oil-Pressure-Test-Gauge-/190915065985

get converter below if it dont have 1/8 BSPT included!
saves any wiring. but obviously not long enough to fit in car :S


gtir block hole is 1/8 BSPT - converter to 1/8 NPT http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NPT-Threads-1-8-NPT-Female-1-8-BSPT-Male-Adaptor-Brass-/231020600228

or this (electrics on it are just for illumination), but i dont know what fittings are ..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINI-Moggie-1000-FORD-ANGLIA-ESCORT-TIM-OIL-PRESSURE-GAUGE-KIT-N-O-S-/360810303208

or this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OIL-PRESSURE-GAUGE-ANALOG-MECHANICAL-BRISCA-FI-F2-/321213749112

plus a oil tube - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUTOGAUGE-MECHANICAL-OIL-PRESSURE-GAUGE-NYLON-TUBING-KIT-/271187941863

oh and some of this

Thanks for throwing those links up mate

no worries been there meself, was naff original sender. pressure would drop randomly once up to heat.
usual panic sets in

in the end i fitted an LMA 1 metre braided line from original sender hole.
routed that out by throttle body, secured by strut top. fitted a alu splitter thinger, then screwed in aftermarket senders to that, wired in in with original wires from sender etc. is a pain but worth it.
replaced all 3 gauges with a steel plate mount.

but for a quick and electrics free fix and test that MLR kit will do ya.

yep great advice there bill
I only will run with a mechanical oil pressure gauge as they do not lie, far better than electrical type gauges, if pressure drops then you KNOW you have a problem that needs sorting quickly