Hey everyone, so my 92 DOHC with the low oil pressure light coming on. It used to go on once every few days, now it is on whenever the car is idle, never on while driving. I know that means <9 psi, but what does that mean for the engine. It runs great like there is not a thing wrong with it, will it become a noticeable problem, what will the symptoms be that it is about done? Also, is there a chance it will damage my refurb heads I just put on? I would really like to try and avoid that. Should I stop driving it or just run it until it dies. Are there any down & dirty fixes for it that will let me just pound miles on it to go back and forth to work?

Thanks,

Bret

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San Marino Red - Honda 3KGT VR4 For the win!

I guess we'll start with the obvious stuff. Is there oil in it? Check your oil level first. After you car is warmed up, shut it off. After 5 - 10 minutes, check your oil. That will give the oil some time to drain back in the pan.

Also, what weight is your oil. (ie 5w-30)

later,
Curt

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It means bearing tollerances in your motor have worn excessively. This is what causes low oil pressure. You can try replacing the low oil light sender & oil pump and running 20w-50 oil, but I can guarrenty you will need a lower end rebuild in the very near future.

If you keep driving the motor in this condition, a number of things can happen. Two most common things are spun bearings and siezed cams (which means your expensive head rebuild will need to be redone).

I'd suggest you park the car and NOT RUN it because it'll be cheeper to rebuild the motor in this condition rather than wait for something to break.

A basic motor rebuild consists of polishing the crank & rods, new matched bearings, new rings, and a minor overbore (if need be, but not always necessary). You can get more elaborate and get new pistons, crank, rods & wrist-pins, but on a car that will never be modified or boosted, there's nothing wrong with reusing the old ones IMHO unless the rods don't rotate freely on the piston.

To give you an idea of how much this will cost, we charge something along the lines of $1500 for a basic rebuild (I think this even includes pulling the motor). If you wait and a bearing spins or something, then it gets even more expensive. Every shop charges different rates so don't hold too tight to that number.

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06 Blue EVO 9

Alright, so I take the car in to the Mitsu dealership for an oil change (currently running 15w40) and they say hey, your oil pressure sensor is broken we can replace it. I said sure, so they did and no more low oil pressure light. The engine sounds great, no ticking that you would expect to hear from low oil pressure. Is the problem solved? Or is the new sensor just detecting the current faulty pressure as normal and not lighting anymore. I'm taking it back tomorrow to change the other sensor, the one that controls the gauge as that is out too. If the lower engine really is bad, I should start to see fluctuations in the oil pressure, correct? But could it be it was never bad and it was just that sensor all along?

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San Marino Red - Honda 3KGT VR4 For the win!

Just the sensor FTW!

The oil pressure sender is a completely separate source from the light. The pressure sender is for the gauge. There is another for the light.

I've never heard of both sensors being bad at once, but I suppose it's possible. The thing is though, if the sensor (for the light) was "broken", then the light would never come on. When you turn the ignition on (but not start the car), does the light still come on?

As for lifter tick, yes they usually would be noisy if the oil pressure was really low. Specifically at idel when the motor is fully warmed up. However, just recently, we had a 94 TT that had a flickering oil light and no lifter tick. It spun a bearing on the way to the shop.

I guess, if your pressure gauge reads good, the oil light is off (and the sender is hooked up), and the compression is good, I wouldn't worry about a rebuild for now.

Alright, the oil pressure sender is definately broken on both of my cars, the oil pressure just reads nothing all the time.

The sensor that is for the light specifically is the one they replaced. The oil light does come on when the ignition is on and the car is not started, so the light works. You are saying that you haven't seen a bad light sensor intermittently flash the oil pressure light.

I guess the only thing to do is get the pressure sender fixed tomorrow and keeping an eye on the pressure. I believe the pressure stays pretty constant in the middle somewhere all the time, correct?

I certainly don't have a lot of faith in my Mitsu dealership here in town, they've been a little shady in the past, it would be helpful to have a second opinion.

G-ELL, are you going to be at NG tomorrow or Thursday? I was thinking about cruising down for the evening to say hi to everyone and can bring the mini-mits down tomorrow or Thursday and maybe you could just take a peek at it and listen to it run. I would hate to do something stupid and blow up my engine, that's just like me.

I'll be getting a room for Friday and Saturday night but will have the main mits with me then.

I appreciate all the help.

Bret

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San Marino Red - Honda 3KGT VR4 For the win!

No NG for this hip cat. Too much work to do. We just baught a Dyno and we're renovating the shop with new offices, a show room, and redoing the bathroom.

b.t.w. It's common for the oil pressure sender harness to fall off. There's a thread on 3si with pix on how to fix it. I don't have time at the moment to search for it. Don't pay someone to do it. It's really easy.

Drivers side right above the front half shaft. It looks like a hockey puck. just put the clip back on.

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What's a half shaft? Quick someone put a computer in front of me, I'm lost. I'll look and see if I can find it, if not I'm sure my mechanic will slap me upside the head and tell me to get out of his way.

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San Marino Red - Honda 3KGT VR4 For the win!

the shaft that goes from the transmission to the drivers side wheel. (axle any clearer?)

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Bad decisions make good stories.
Look at it! LOOK AT MY @SS AND TELL ME IT'S PRETTY!