beeing a newbee....I have read alot of posts about low oil pressure, but not come across the ultimate answer (....sure not all oil pressure issues require the same solution) but there has to be a few normal solutions for this !
Car has good pressure under cold condition, but when warm.. pressure drops to 2nd mark, and under idel falls to just under 1st mark..and oil lamp flickers..
Engine was rebuild 5k since, and with new parts !
Just replaced oil and filter....same problem !
before you drop the pan, check to see if it's dented. if it is, then It's a VERY good idea to drop the pan, hammer it out, and replace the oil pickup/strainer. Also make sure you're putting in the right amount of oil (LOL) it's 4.5q.
Try a Canton Oil filter. I bet you'll notice even the stock gauge will sit a little higher. I noticed increased oil pressure across the board for the most part, mostly at idle and cruise when I switched to a Canton Oil Filter.
Your systoms didn't concern me until you said your oil light is flickering. That's an indication from two seperate sources that you have critical low oil preasure, plus the fact you said the engine was just rebuilt??
1. check oil pressure with a known gauge that is correct. If you have to, buy a new one and just screw it in the supply port the check it.
If it is actually low.
1. check oil level. ( would assume you had already done this, but no one assume anything)
2. visual check pan, as mentioned above. Reason, if the pan is, and or still dented or pushed in, it can restrict the oil pump pick up in the sum and restrict the oil flow thus resulting in low oil preasure.
3. remove oil pan and repair dent
4. (Optional when you have the oil pan removed) check rod bearings for excessive clearance. "see Plastie gauge and how to use it" could be they used the wrong sized rod bearings. Do not do this if you do not have a torque wrench to re-install)
That is the way I would go about diagnosing the problem. Let us know what you find.
If you confirm the pressure is adequate with a known good gage, then replace the sender for the idiot light. They do go bad. I've had a number of cars have that sensor go bad over the years.
I have a Stealth N/A that had that problem. After reading some stuff on team3s.com's mailing list, I started using 15W-50 Mobile1 since its a lot thicker and that was enough to keep the pressure from dropping too low.
It worked great for 3-4 years until the crank shaft broke randomly. Instead of replacing the crank shaft, I replaced the engine with a rebuilt one since the engine was like 200 bucks more than just the crank shaft. I've continued to use the same oil in the rebuilt engine and the oil pressure is lots higher. I just use the same oil cause it works (though its expensive as hell).
I'm not sure if that heavy of an oil would be good in a TT with turbos though? I've heard its not good for the turbos but I could be wrong.
dont just use thicker oil. that will only mask the problem not solve it.
Just because the gauge reads low doesnt mean pressure is actually low. Could be a sending unit problem. verify the pressure with a psi gauge. check your power and grounds at the sender. could be a bad connection or signal.
Id lean toward the sending unit or a wiring problem as the cause. Gauges typically last a long time and being that it was just rebuilt (unless it was shitty work) the bearings should be fine.
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Yet another car with low oil pressure
