Intermitant oil light

Piper · Post by **Piper** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 7:01 pm

I posted this in the bus barn, but thought this may be a good place to ask as well. My 83 westy has a 1.9 waterboxer, at stop lights when the engine is at heat, and my foot is off the accelerator, the oil light sometimes flickers on and off, as soon as I hit the gas, it goes out and stays out until the next stop, when again my foot is off the accelerator, and the bus is at a dead stop. The problem started after getting an oil change, the oil is at the right level, and only has 50 kms on it. What gives? Should I be worried? The engine doesn't sound like its starving for oil, but still...it doesn't happen every time, but I'm still concerned

Post by **david58** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 9:56 pm

Put a manuel gauge on it and read the pressure when the light is flickering. Or try a new sending unit. Checking the pressure by teeing into the port the sender is in will tell you the real deal.

AMBROSIA · Post by **AMBROSIA** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 4:33 am

Is the oil used the right type? I presume the filter was also changed?
Using the wrong grade of oil will result in different oil pressures.
This engine should be using normal mineral oil.

If your planning on fitting a proper VDO sender then you will need an adapter to clear the pushrod tubes.

On mine i've used a brake pipe fitted with normal ends and then a female to female adapter on one end. The male end will bolt into the sender hole and then you can bend the brake pipe to best place the sender.
Make sure you bleed the pipe before fitting the sender otherwise you will get false readings.

Piper · Post by **Piper** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 3:39 pm

AMBROSIA wrote:Is the oil used the right type? I presume the filter was also changed?
Using the wrong grade of oil will result in different oil pressures.

I'm running regular 10W 30 and yeah the filter was changed too. I never had this problem before this particular oil change

Piper · Post by **Piper** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 5:16 pm

should I be running a heavier oil?

Post by **Piledriver** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 6:12 pm

Probably a 15W-40 diesel oil in warmer weather, look for the CI (NOT CJ4) rated ones.

You're in Ontario, right?

If she's broken in, 5W40 Rotella synthetic works great.
(Mobil1 turboDiesel truck oil OK as well)

Put >280K miles on my old MV before she finally spun a rod bearing.
(crank was fine, rod BEs were just loose as heck)

FRAM filters are the work of Satan, too. Replace with a WIX/Bosch/Purolator ASAP if installed, do NOT wait for the next oil change. May fix problem.

Piper · Post by **Piper** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:14 pm

yeah, I'm in On tario, and just getting ready to put the bus to bed for the winter, but Iw ant to get this figured out beofre I do. I'm going to check the filter, and replace it tomorrow, if the rain stops here. Thanks for your help guys, I'll let you know what happens.

Piper · Post by **Piper** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:19 pm

I pulled the NAPA filter off, and replaced it, and the oil I lost when it came of with Quaker State products. The light shines no more. Strange! The NAPA filter felt so heavy after only 100kms and the Quaker State felt so light. Than ks everyone, I was getting worried!

Post by **Piledriver** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 1:44 am

You are probably just lucky at the moment.

Read the whole thing and go buy a Purolator or WIX.

http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfil ... tml#quaker

Spend the extra 50 cents-$1, also buy some decent "CI" (NOT CJ etc) rated diesel rated motor oil while you are at it, if you like having one piece lifters.

Rotella-T SYN (NOT the dino anymore) is good. So is the Mobil1 "Turbo Diesel Truck" flavor, as well as a (very) few others.

The EPA is actively out to drive old cars off the road IMHO, if not intentionally, very effectively by forcing oil reformulation to only work OK on late model cars so the cat converters will go 150K+ miles.

(I laugh at conspiracy theories as much as the next guy, but GM didn't just get religion and suddenly stop making EOS by choice)

Piper · Post by **Piper** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:51 pm

so the filter I pulled off was an unlabeled WIX that made the light go on, and the one I put on that made the light go out is a FRAM in disguise? I'm confused. If this is true, should the problem not persist?

Post by **Piledriver** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 7:12 pm

The problem is the "cheap store brands", even NAPA apparently, vary as to actual manufacturer from week to week.

There are't THAT many actual manufacturers. You have FRAM, Purolator, Champion labs, WIX... Baldwin, a few others.

QS filters are probably FRAM. FRAMS issue is RANDOM quality as much as anything else.

Piper · Post by **Piper** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:24 pm

Oh, ok, like batteries, different paint job, same garbage. I get it now. Thanks! I'm just glad the problem isn't persisting.

Post by **Piledriver** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 5:09 pm

FRAMS have a nasty habit of occasionally bowing their contents (including the paper) into the oil circuit on cold starts.

(That's fatal to the engine. Ask Wally, was first startup, recently. I have found filter guts in oil passages on several motors I have rebuilt as well...Likes to wad up on top of the pressure relief piston)

Purolator Pure One/Mobil 1 filter (Bosch at a minimum, but the Pure One is probably cheaper) highly suggested.

tencentlife · Post by **tencentlife** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 6:27 pm

The basic FRAMs are crap, and should be avoided, however, oddly enough, their Tuffgard and Extragard are actually some of the better OF's you can buy at the chain stores. As for Bosch, don't let the name mislead you, they are garbage. The best OF you're likely to find at a FLAPS is the Mobil1.

Post by **Piledriver** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 10:24 pm

The BOSCH filters are Champion Labs made, and are generally considered to be pretty good, but not as good build quality as the Mobil1s (also Champion Labs IIRC) or Purolator Pure Ones... The "Pure One"s are usually cheaper or same vs the Bosch, and either are ~1/2 the cost of the Mobil1.

In any case try to run the 1 quart size if it clears everything, the 1/2 can (stock size) has half the filter area for the same price.

(won't clear on a 914 w/o grinding on the steel crossbar, IIRC just clears on a Bay bus, depends on the ex system on a upright conversion, if you have a remote filter, no brainer)

I still haven't seen a filter PERFORMANCE shootout (all that matters in the end...) but a lot of people like to take them apart