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> oil pressure problem, oil light keeps coming on
mrbubblehead
post Apr 13 2011, 07:55 PM
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im having a problem with my 914. the oil light for my 1.8, keeps coming on. never when the engine is cool. but after it is good and hot. it will come on when get off the freeway and sit at a stop sign. it comes on when im hard cornering. it even came on once after i was getting on the freeway at wide open throttle then immediately decelerate. i am running 20-50 wt oil. and 800 rpm idle. and oil level to the top line. but the problem gets worse as the oil level drops. im not real familiar with the type 4 engine. but know the type 1 very well.

i have a couple ideas for where the problem may lie.

1. oil pump is wore out

2. windage tray, or lack of.

its not a defective oil pressure switch, i replaced it with a new one with the same result. in fact, i now have oil light and an oil pressure gauge.

im pretty sure this is not normal for a type 4. but i want to ask anyways, so i can rule it out. any ideas?
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Mike Bellis
post Apr 13 2011, 07:59 PM
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Switch to Brad Penn oil. I'm not sure the dual viscosity oil is the best choice for an air cooled engine.

If it goes on at a stop light it is...
1. low oil
2. Not enough viscosity at temp
3. bad oil sender
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TheCabinetmaker
post Apr 13 2011, 08:21 PM
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I would do a compression test. Low compression could indicate worn rings.
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Valy
post Apr 13 2011, 08:39 PM
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QUOTE(mrbubblehead @ Apr 13 2011, 06:55 PM) *

i am running 20-50 wt oil.


The oil looses its viscosity with time and heat. As our engines heat-up more than water cooled engines, your engine will become W20 very fast.

Did you measured the oil amount when you replaced the old oil?
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IronHillRestorations
post Apr 14 2011, 06:56 AM
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If changing oil doesn't help the problem, it's probably time to rebuild the engine.
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Cap'n Krusty
post Apr 14 2011, 07:55 AM
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Pumps on these engines don't really wear out. Low oil pressure is generally a result of too much clearance in the bearings or the incorrect oil viscosity. Ring wear doesn't affect oil pressure, nor does compression. I recommend 20w50 Brad Penn oil. Anything other than 20w50 is too thin in most parts of the US, except in the midst of winter in the really cold states. Modern multi grade oils are fine for use in these engines.

The Cap'n
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tradisrad
post Apr 14 2011, 08:13 AM
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what is the pressure gauge reading when the light comes on? I am not sure what folks think of these pressure boosting kits
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TheCabinetmaker
post Apr 14 2011, 08:26 AM
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Thanks Cap'n, I didn't know that. Now that I think about it, it does make sense that ring blowby would not affect the pressure from the pump. Duh!
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Jeffs9146
post Apr 14 2011, 12:02 PM
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I had this problem on my 6 a while ago so I purchased a mechanical oil guage and installed in where the pressure sensor is to check and it was fine! So I just purchased a new sensor and all was good!
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r_towle
post Apr 14 2011, 12:25 PM
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QUOTE(Cap'n Krusty @ Apr 14 2011, 09:55 AM) *

Pumps on these engines don't really wear out. Low oil pressure is generally a result of too much clearance in the bearings or the incorrect oil viscosity. Ring wear doesn't affect oil pressure, nor does compression. I recommend 20w50 Brad Penn oil. Anything other than 20w50 is too thin in most parts of the US, except in the midst of winter in the really cold states. Modern multi grade oils are fine for use in these engines.

The Cap'n

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I switch out to 30 weight in the winter if I am driving...otherwise 50 weight only.
or its your bearings...
Rich
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mrbubblehead
post Apr 14 2011, 09:22 PM
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thanks for all the input everybody.... as a bandaid, i turn the idle up to 900 rpm. and here are my new numbers.

rpm set to 900

cylinder head temp 300 degrees

oil temp 210

oil pressure 13 psi at idle

no light at idle now. but the real test will be tomorrows drive home from work. hopefully this will buy me some time. this way i hope to find a good engine core to put on the stand for a proper build. so if anyone has a cheap 1.7-1.8-2.0 laying around i am in the market. emphasis on cheap. LOL.

thanks again
doug
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ArtechnikA
post Apr 15 2011, 04:49 AM
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Also note that the light will light any time the wire is grounded. If the wire is chafing anywhere in its run to the panel and has rubbed a bare spot, it can short-to-ground and light the light - no matter your real oil pressure...
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Jeffs9146
post Apr 15 2011, 07:44 AM
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QUOTE
rpm set to 900

cylinder head temp 300 degrees

oil temp 210

oil pressure 13 psi at idle




What is the oil psi at 500 rpm's?
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Cap'n Krusty
post Apr 15 2011, 08:11 AM
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QUOTE(mrbubblehead @ Apr 14 2011, 08:22 PM) *

thanks for all the input everybody.... as a bandaid, i turn the idle up to 900 rpm. and here are my new numbers.

rpm set to 900

cylinder head temp 300 degrees

oil temp 210

oil pressure 13 psi at idle

no light at idle now. but the real test will be tomorrows drive home from work. hopefully this will buy me some time. this way i hope to find a good engine core to put on the stand for a proper build. so if anyone has a cheap 1.7-1.8-2.0 laying around i am in the market. emphasis on cheap. LOL.

thanks again
doug


The oil pressure may be as low as 7PSI at idle, when hot. The idle speed for a stock T4 engine is SUPPOSED to be 900-950 RPM. While the oil temp is a little high, it's not really an issue here. You said you have a new oil pressure switch. Are you SURE you have the correct switch? Many non-VW specific switches don't have the correct pressure trigger point.

The Cap'n
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Jeffs9146
post Apr 15 2011, 08:17 AM
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ConeDodger
post Apr 15 2011, 08:20 AM
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You didn't by any chance put pipe thread sealing tape on the new sender did you?
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reharvey
post Apr 15 2011, 09:16 AM
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QUOTE(ConeDodger @ Apr 15 2011, 09:20 AM) *

You didn't by any chance put pipe thread sealing tape on the new sender did you?

I had this low oil pressure problem with one of my 914s. On a hot day at idle the oil pressure light would come on. I tryed all the things suggested here but the bottom line was that the main bearings were worn out.
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Drums66
post Apr 15 2011, 12:55 PM
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......From where I sit it is hard to diagnose..try the simple things mentioned 1st!
I don't use multi-grade oils in these cars (just me) no issues!(against popular belief)
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mrbubblehead
post Apr 15 2011, 11:06 PM
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ok i have some new numbers. just to answer a few questions. the sender is a new vdo 2 post sending unit. one for the idiot light the other is for my digital oil pressure guage. no sealing compound was used. i installed it dry.

these numbers were taken today on my way home from work. it was hot. 91 degrees here in so cal.

here we go.....

at 3200 rpm

oil pressure 39 lbs
cylinder head temp 318
oil temp 212

at 900 rpm (idle)

oil pressure 13 lbs
cylinder head temp 308
oil temp 212
this was after a 30 minute freeway drive at 75 mph.

and for those of you wondering how i came up with my numbers, i built a whole new dash with all dakota digital gauges.Attached Image
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silver74insocal
post Apr 15 2011, 11:12 PM
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hey um..you dont have enough gauges on there dude (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) thats f@ckin sweet
ps: sorry i have nothing constructive to add
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