# car losing oil pressure



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

Well i took my car to work tonight and i noticed the oil pressure gauge is down around 20-30 instead of where it usually stays around 40-50. 
when i stop at a light, the car feels like its gonna stall out and the pressure gauge drops right down to 0. 

It gets close to 0 and i put the car in neutral and rev the motor a bit and it goes back up to about 15-20

Is there an oil pump or something that i need to check?

Im about 25 miles from home and hope it will get me back...

I checked the oil, i was a little low.. i added oil but its still doing this.. 

is this going to seize my motor? and should i rev the motor in neutral to prevent it from going to 0.

Im no mechanic, but 0 oil pressure does not sound healthy to a car.. 

not sure if i should try to make it home or call AAA...

any thoughts?


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

BTW: it did get me to work (25 miles) .. so i am thinking it will get me home.........


----------



## jodyand (Sep 16, 2003)

Your oil pump maybe going out but its not something you can just check without putting another gage on it. I think you may want to call a wrecker and have it towed to a shop. The oil pan will have to come off to change the oil pump and hopefully you didn't do to much damage to the motor.


----------



## jbetts13 (Dec 28, 2003)

hope it not the fire bird


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

Sounds to me like something is a foul. Does the engine make any metalic tapping or knocking noises? Or is this a steady but low pressure that significantly lowers at idle? What grade (viscosity oil are you running in it now? If the oil pump is going south on you; you can get by with adding some 20W-50 oil or SAE 40 if you are not already doing this. This trick may work while it is warm but you will have to have the problem fixed. Best to put a known accurate guage on the engine as Jody mentioned.


----------



## aguysmiley (Jul 2, 2004)

I just went through this same thing this winter with my truck. It had the exact same symptoms as you described. I put my test gauge on it and confirmed the low oil pressure. I then replaced the pump. While I was in there I checked for loose bearings and found nothing wrong. Started it up with the new pump and let it warm up. It looked great so I started my 20 mile drive home from work. By the time I got home, I was back to 5psi at idle and could hear a faint knock. I drove it back to work the next day and pulled the engine after work. It had three loose rods this time. Ordered a new long block through the shop and installed it three days later. Once again I lost oil pressure, with a brand new long block and another new pump. I put my gauge back on it and found that the sender for my electric gauge went bad. Kind of a strange coincidence. I was mostly upset that it didn't see 200,000 miles with the original engine. It died just over 197,000. 

None of that really matters here I guess. What I'm really trying to say is don't drive it! Verify your oil pressure, and go from there. If it's just the oil pump, you still may be able to save your engine.


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

Well the oil pressure dropped as i idled the car.. 
i was gonna get a tow home but my AAA card had expired... (nice suprise) so instead of paying for a tow for 26 miles I limped the car home.. i had to put it in neutral and idle it a bit when i came to a stop...

it got me home ansd is going to the shop tomorrow.. gotta love the car.. 213,000 mmiles and it keeps on going..

PS. no wrapping or ticking noise at all..


----------



## Chris (Sep 15, 2003)

Sounds like it is time for an engine rebuild and/or replacement...
How bout changing over to a nice 383 stroker?  Best of luck to you friend owl. 

-Andy
Bye


----------



## jbetts13 (Dec 28, 2003)

> _Originally posted by simple_john _
> *Well the oil pressure dropped as i idled the car..
> i was gonna get a tow home but my AAA card had expired... (nice suprise) so instead of paying for a tow for 26 miles I limped the car home.. i had to put it in neutral and idle it a bit when i came to a stop...
> 
> ...


is it your F-bird that you had problems with it over heating


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

> _Originally posted by jbetts13 _
> *is it your F-bird that you had problems with it over heating *


yup...


----------



## jbetts13 (Dec 28, 2003)

dam it's all ways the pontiac's how about some pics of it what year is it ?


----------



## aguysmiley (Jul 2, 2004)

Yeah, them doggone Pontiacs anyway.......


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

What is the latest with your Firebird SJ?


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

still sitting in my driveway 
im assuming its the oil pump.. plus i need to get the brakes fixed (that i broke) 
I am having my truck done this weekend then the chicken is next... no $$$ lately... its all pouring into that big box in my driveway....:furious:


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

I wouldn't want the bill for that job..........brakes AND an oil pump? That is gonna cost a dollar or two. :truth:


----------



## Rodster (Sep 26, 2003)

Hey SJ
What year is your car?
Rodster


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

You could always try some Kendall SAE 70 or some good ole' Walmart Supertech 20W-50. Might hold you over until you can get the money to fix the pump. army :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :spinsmile :tractorsm


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

Rod 1990. 213 K or 214,000 miles

Chief.. I have not even told my mechanic about the oil pump.. he's very reasonable and i do trust him.. 
i looked on line and the prices were only 50-75$ for the pump (part) not sure about labor.. but he has never soaked me before.. problem is.. he's wicked busy so i end up leaving the car for about a week and he gets to it when he can... 
good guy.. fair prices.. 
and he will enjoy mocking me for breaking the bolts on the brakes..


----------



## Chipmaker (Sep 16, 2003)

I would not be surpised that in the end you find out its the bearings........

I had an old beater car (1949 Merc Coupe, V-8 flathead) as a teen that I used to run a quart of straight 50wt oil to 4 quarts of 90wt gear oil in just to give it sufficient compression to run. Used to turn the radio up all the way to drown out the bearing and rod knocks, and got many miles out of it doing typical teenager stuff. Also used to put a box of black pepper in the radiator to help seal up the crack in the block, as well as oatmeal from time to time.


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

You never tried the raw egg trick Chipper? :furious: :lmao: :furious: :lmao: :lmao: :spinsmile But then the world changed when Barr's Stop Leak hit the market. army


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Chipmaker _
> *I would not be surpised that in the end you find out its the bearings........
> 
> *


I hope not.. if it were the bearings wouldnt it be making noise? the motor was not any louder than normal and still had the same pep as always... after i do the truck - this saturday ill bring the car and find out definitevly.. i dont want to be putting much money into it.. but still love the car..


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

> _Originally posted by simple_john _
> *Rod 1990. 213 K or 214,000 miles
> 
> Chief.. I have not even told my mechanic about the oil pump.. he's very reasonable and i do trust him..
> ...


SJ, I wasn't thinking about the cost of the pump. I was thinking that in many cases the oil pan cannot be removed without either jacking the engine up or removing it altogether. Hopefully there is enough room to him to just drop the pan and change the pump out, replace the front & rear main bearing seal along with the pan gasket. As Chip mentioned, with that many miles the pump may not fix the problem and it could be the bearings. If that is the case, it is either add the molases oil or pull the engine and rebuild or a rema. Hope you can fix it on the cheap and get another 100K out of her. :thumbsup:


----------



## aguysmiley (Jul 2, 2004)

I'm sorry to say this, but in a '90 firebird the engine has to be pulled to get the pan off.


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

I was afraid that was the case. That is gonna really suck SJ. You may want to look into a reman. engine and be done with it. At 214K, you can bet there will be other issues like timing chain, valve job, compression loss. Might be best to just replace or rebuild it while it is out of the chasis. :truth:


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

great... well you can see why i leave this stuff to the mechanic... i thought you could just remove the pan... duh...


Im hoping he can tell me definetly if it is the oil pump or some other thing.. i dont know if i want to spend the money to put a new motor in.. but i would not mind a 350... mines a 305 now..


----------



## Stewart (Sep 17, 2003)

Why mess around SJ why not put in a small block 400? Howl with the hounds instead of staying on the porch with the pups!!!

Just kidding, but bigger would be a whole lot more fun and harder on the pocket book!!outta here


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

if it is the oil pump.. i may regrettfully send the car to the metal heap... not sure if i want to put a grand or 3 into a car with a tranny that has 213,000 miles on it.. Im hoping its something else...


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

SJ, I would suggest changing the oil and filter out and using some 20W-50 oil and sell the car as is. I would tell any buyers about the oil press. problem. Maybe some kid or someone will be interested in it for a beater car if it will hold decent oil press. with the heavier grade oil. Or you could donate it to a school vocational program.


----------



## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

before you jump SJ, have it checked. May not realy be a major problem. If it is a bad oil pump, I would be leary about just replaceing it. Lot of wear in a motor with THAT kind of miles. Eather do the used/reman motor thing, or maybe it's time to off the thing to some kid that wants a nice play thing.


----------



## guest2 (Dec 27, 2003)

sj
One other thing to look at would be the unibody. At 214K miles there may be stress cracks forming in areas such as spring mounts, shock towers, radiator support, etc... Not trying to scare you away from the car, but you need to have someone evaluate the entire car before dumping big money into it. Preffferably not someone who stands to make money fixing it. You don't want to spend a few thousand on engine/trans and then find out there are still a whole lot of issues to deal with.


----------



## Chipmaker (Sep 16, 2003)

Worn bearings may not necessarily make a rap or noise. My sons NIssan 240SX used to have really low oil pressure also, but it did not rap or make any noise, and it ran like a banshee. He also had a cracked head, and it was cheaper in the long run as the car had 160K onit to get a low mileage engine than to have to tear that head off and fool with it in such cramped quarters. Well he defaulted to me on the payments for the car as well as paaying me back for the motor and a heap of other things that was repalced as long as the engine was o ut (clutch, Pressure plate etc etc) so I sold the car, and had the old engine just laying here. It was plum full of good aluminum, so I decided to strip it and salvage the aluminum for my foundry use as well as the cast iron block. It was then I found that the main bearings were way past worn out stage, and it amazed me knowing how it ran and sounded before that it sounded and ran so good. So worn main bearings may not necessarily make the motor make a noise.


----------



## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

Chipmaker is right. A warn main bearing will not always make noise. Now a worn ROD bearing...THATS the knock you hear.


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

If the bearing are worn and you are considering junking the car; you have nothing to loose by changing the oil out to SAE 40 or 20W-50. I bet that will get your oil pressure back up where it needs to be and last another 50K or more. The only issue with running such a thick oil is during cold weather. Either park it in a heated garage or use some kind of block and oil pan heater during cold weather. Waaaaaaaaay cheaper than a new engine. :driving:


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

thanks all.. i will see what my mechanic says.. he is an honest guy and would not point me to a motor unless i really wanted one.. worst case.. ill psee if i can ut the thicker oil in and drive it.. ps.. i mostly park the car in thewwinter anyway.. 


again thanks
sj


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

well i finally got my car back from my mechanic...


When i drove it down the oil pressure stayed right where it should have been so i am not sure what is/was going on..

Changed the oil in case it was a clog in the filter or something.. and he ran it for over an hour and it stayed fine...

he also fixed the brake calliper (where i broke the calliper bolts) and put in a sensor to get the electric radiator fan to kick on..

107.89$ man i wish id done it sooner for that little i let the car sit for 6 weeks.. well ill ride it out and see how it does... 

i drove it all weekend and it seems fine.. although this morning.. he pressure started to drop when idling... i dont know what the problem is... for now ill drive it till it goes and if the pressure begins to drop again ill put the heavy oil in it..


213,000 miles i still can not complain..


----------



## jodyand (Sep 16, 2003)

Well i hope it stays running OK. What had the clog the pick up tube or the oil filter:question:


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

I would keep a close eye on the oil pressure SJ. Could be it was an indicating problem but could have been something else. Either way, you got off on the cheap and that is a good thing. :thumbsup:


----------



## aguysmiley (Jul 2, 2004)

I would strongly recommend installing a mechanical gauge in that car. Temporarily if nothing else, just to be sure your gauge is accurate. Factory gauges aren't the most trustworthy things out there. You can get a cheap mechanical for less than 20 bucks I think, and they aren't real hard to install.


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

i may put in a gauge after all.. the cars been running fine but at times the pressure still drops way low when i am parked at a light or stopped.. 

no rapping or anything but the pressure does drop down to close to 0. 

may be the gage.. may just be tired oil pump? 

im gonna probably drive the car till the spring and then get another 'fun car' to drive..

still no complains with my chicken.. its ben a great ride.


----------



## CatDaddy (May 30, 2004)

SJ, Your pressure sending unit may just be going south. 

You might want to check the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge (without actually installing it permanantly inside the car) to see if your stock gauge is reading correctly. 

Angel


----------



## bigl22 (Sep 16, 2003)

sj-- it is probably a wornout oil pressure sending unit -- usually what goes first on these fairly modern engines -- not like 35 years ago when everything was shot at 100k miles -- they are preety cheap - change it oput and see what you get oil pump spins up the pressure , but it is the main bearings that hold the pressure-- masins DO knock you will hear an odd, deeper knock - only when the ofending main is being forced down by that piston firing -- rod knocks all of the time but worse when that chamber is fired -- good luck bigl22


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

heres what i am hoping to get in the spring..

its a perfect mid life crisis car...


<img src=http://66.98.248.89/y2k-usa/00CorvetteSil34K/MVC-001S.JPG>
of course my lady has already warned me.. if i get the car before i get the ring.. im a dead man...




so i may be dead.. <img src=http://www.apartofme.com/Gif%20Files/skeleton5_e0.gif> 
but ill be happy!!!


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

Car & Driver just gave the C6 rave reviews on Spike TV last Saturday. 400 hp & 400 ft./lbs. torque. Great handling.


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

c6: nice but way too much money.. id like to get a 1999 or 2000 C5 asl thats all i could afford.. really id love a C6 but id settle with an older one.. definetly 'Garage worthy'


BTW: do you like the headlights on the C6? they might take a little getting used to...


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

I haven't really looked that closely at them. I have been a Chevy man for all but the last 2 years of my life. If this car is anything like my last Chevy; I would beware. Anyhow, you can get about the same performance straight line and better in a diesel pickup with a fueling/timing box. The handling is another story though. As usual Chevy and GM chickened out and went with the 6.0 liter engine vs. the 8.1 liter big block. Still a sharp looking car. :thumbsup:


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

SJ, what is the latest with your Firebird? Any hope for it?


----------



## Toolman (Sep 16, 2003)

Sorry about what's happened SJ.
Sounds like the oil pump & the sending unit checked out ok by the mechanic & you don't hear any knocking sounds.

What's the idle rpm look like? If you have a mechanical oil pump & the engine idle rpm is way low or it's fluctuating, then the pump isn't going to pump as much pressure as it should,,,,,,just a thought....
Sorry to say this but that motor sounds like all the bearings are worn out & that's where the pressure is going,,,thru the excess clearances. 
As a quick fix until you can rebuild or swap out the motor, I'd put in some AeroShell 100 oil & a block heater (to heat the engine/oil in winter) to get by. 
JMHO and best of luck.


----------



## Toolman (Sep 16, 2003)

SJ,
Another thing occurred to me,,,,, you may want to check the oil galleys that return the oil from the top side of the engine back to the crankcase. Maybe they've become plugged or constricted & won't let the oil drain back to the crankcase.


----------



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Toolman _
> *What's the idle rpm look like? If you have a mechanical oil pump & the engine idle rpm is way low or it's fluctuating,
> 
> 
> ...




Hi Toolman.... thanks

The idle is fine... 
ive been using it every day.. it runs fine, great actually... 
but sometimes the oil pressure (or just the gauge) drops low when idling... sometimes to 0 other times from 30 to 10.

im just gonna run it... see how it does... 

Whats Aeroshell 100 oil, is that used in storing the car?? 

im not sure now, last year i took it off the road for the winter... this year i may just keep it going 'till it goes' 

its like the energizer bunny...


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

> _Originally posted by simple_john _
> *Hi Toolman.... thanks
> 
> The idle is fine...
> ...


Aeroshell 100 

Shell AeroShell® Oil W 100 Plus 

Or you could just go to Walmart and buy some of their SAE 50 Racing oil.


----------



## Toolman (Sep 16, 2003)

SJ,
AeroShell 100 is a high viscosity motor oil used in piston engine aircraft.
I've used it successfully in commercial reciprocating piston-type air compressors that suffered the same symptoms as you describe, to boost the oil pressure until the owners could afford to rebuild the compressor. Keep in mind that the compressors were ran in shops that were heated during the winter months...that's why I suggested installing an engine block heater.


----------

