Technical Still low Oil pressure after engine renewal

Currently reading:
Technical Still low Oil pressure after engine renewal

nyogo83

New member
Joined
Sep 3, 2012
Messages
8
Points
1
Hi All!

I have a '99 1.6 Fiat Brava with 170k Kms. The problems started after I bought the car and did an oil change. After cruisin' in the city, the oil pressure light starting to flicker on idle. The following things was replaced:
- oil pressure switch / nothing changed
- oil pump (the old one was worned)/ nothing changed
- checked the main bearings, it has signs of wear and scratches, so renewed the crankshaft(step 1, -0.25mm), changed main and rod bearings
The last step was done yesterday, today after 50Km the oil pressure light started flickering again:bang:
The oil pressure switch cables are ok.
So...I dunno what to do. The only thing I noticed is the engine warms up faster than it should be(after 5-8mins and ~1-2km the water temp is normal), but the water temp. never goes higher then normal.
I would appriciate any ideas because I'm starting to give it up...

Ps.: I don't know is it relevant, but after the renewal we have some problems with the timing belt. Cam locking tools are on the camshaft, set the TDC (we used the TDC mark on the bell/gearbox/ housing), and after 4 turns the camshafts position are not the same. The inlet camshaft is ok, the tool fit in easy, but the exhaust camshaft is not on its place... The shaft needs to be turned clockwise to fit the locking tool in(it's likely a 1/4 tooth).
Tried at least 5 times to set the timing, but always got this small difference.
Could this be cause the oil/engine overheating, and what would cause this? The mark on the bell housing and flywheel mark is not precise?
Should the TDC be set with dial indicator?
 
Last edited:
the timing isnt right for a start!
i take it you fitted a new belt? and if you did....did you buy a cambelt kit that comes with a tensioner or just the belt?

chances are you may have the tension too much aswell as it being slightly out.
when the oil light flickers what engine idle speed are you getting and does the engine shake quite a bit when ticking over also does it start straight away and easy to start?

You could even have the wrong size belt given to you when youve bought it.... yes it might fit but would need less or more tension that is required.
so i would re do it checking you have the correct length of belt then set it all up again and tension the belt again, once thats done there is more to do with the running of it.

i can assist with that afterwards let us know when youve done that.
 
The timing belt is new and the tensioner too(i bought a cambelt kit). I checked the new belt, and it's the same size as the old one(size and number of teeth are same).Tried to fit back the old belt, just for checking and the result was the same :S My friend will bring a dial gauge at the end of the week to make sure about TDC, so will see.

When the oil light flickers the idle is about 800-850, so i rule out that the low idle would cause the low oil pressure. The engine is not shaking, but the starting is not always easy. Sometimes when the engine is warm, the engine has to turn more to start, sometimes it's start straight. One more thing: when the engine is cold(leave it for 12-16hrs) it starts instantly, but for 1 minute it sounds like running on 3 cylinders, strange sound from the exhaust downpipes(like the pipe has holes somewhere), but if I give some acc. the idle sound back to normal.
Also these parts are 100% sure ok, changed in the last 1 year:
- lambda probe
- ignition coil
- spark plugs + spark plug cables
- MAP sensor

Thx for the help
worship.gif
 
Never assume a part is working because you've recently changed it. New parts can break too. (it's not unheard off).
 
Just one thing:
I set the TDC based on the flywheel's mark and the marks on the bell house(gearbox house). On my bell house there are 3 marks/lines : 0, 5, 10. I turned the crankshaft until the mark on the flywheel lined up with the 0 sign. But...on other forums I heard that the marks on the bell house should be: -5, 0, +5. Based on that, my crankshaft position is not on TDC.
 
Afaik, the TDC is normally set by inserting a rod through the cylinder 1 sparkplug hole and turning the crank until it is in it's top position. I'm not sure the bellhouse marks are intended for TDC positioning
 
i presume you changed the filter with the oil? might need to get an oil pressure test done to see how low it drops to.
 
Yes, oil filter is new, and got fresh new Selenia oil. After I'll check the timing and the oil light still flicker, I'm going to put an oil pressure and temperature gauge on the dashboard. Just asking, if the oil pressure is still low, where should I search for the pressure drop? As I wrote, crankshaft was renewed, main and big end bearings changed, oil pump is new.
 
Yesterday we checked the timing. Looks like the crankshaft was off by 1 tooth. There are 2 dots on the crankshaft's wheel, one should be inline with the RPM counter/crankshaft sensor, the other one in the top should be inline with the small mark on the timing belt cover.
If I stand in front of the crankshaft wheel, the upper dot is between 2 tooth, and in my case the crank was positioned to the tooth after the dot, not between them.
Also checked it with dial indicator to make it sure.
For now, it looks like everything ok(y)

Thanks for the help guys! :worship:
 
Ok, I'm pissed off a little bit. When I came to work, the oil light started to flicker AGAIN.
Now I'm totally confused, no idea what should I do :(
 
Something loose so the pressure escapes?
Or the pump not getting oil....

Time to put some thicker oil in :p

Running 5W-30 on 1.6 and 2.0 20v and no problems...
 
Oil pump is ok, and there is oil pressure.(I already started to think about thicker oil too :D )
For me it looks like the engine is warmer than it should be, because usually there wasn't so hot under the bonnet than now. I can't even touch the plastic top of the engine.
Today had a new problem. I said earlier that the water is warming quickly (from cold start it takes maximum 1-2km or 6-8min) to the normal temperature. Today the water temp gauge pointer started to rise to 1 mark after the half, and after 1-2min it felt back to normal. I checked the cooler fan, and it is running both on slow(when the water temp is above half) and fast mode(when the temp reaches the next line above half).
Water temp sensor and the thermostat was changed few month ago.
1 month ago the head gasket was changed & head was skimmed, because the above mentioned problem.(The head gasket was burned between the 1.&2. cylinder)
Also I think the engine cools down slower than it should be. After 3hr If I start it, the temp is between 0 and half.
 
Was the thermostat recently replaced? If it is stuck partially open, it'll probably allow the engine just enough cooling to stop it going into the red (Especially with some help from the fan) Also, how did you get the temperature to the first line above help? With a good thermostat I can't get my car to go slightly past halfway, no matter what I do.
 
The thermostat+temp sensor was changed almost 7 month ago and was nothing wrong with it. It never went above halfway. 2 month ago the engine started to overheat, final diagnose was its the head gasket(which was true ).
I know that this could happen when the thermo is stuck partially opened state, because the old thermo's spring was broke, so it was stuck halfway opened. It caused the water to boil up almost to the red area :( Thats why I changed it.
 
Proper mixture in the system? No wrong coolants mixed or air in the system (air in the heater system also messes things up)?

On my 1.6 brava the temp gauge only rises 1mm above the middle mark regardless of the weather.
 
Back
Top