I have brought a coupe turbo to play with and am in the middle of sorting it and getting it to a better standard, i have a few problems though.

When the car starts i get 3 bars of oil pressure but it gradually decreases to 0. Does this mean i have a leak some where?

After changing the timing belt i have now developed what sounds like a noisy tappet, but it didnt do this before i changed the belt. Any ideas?

Kris

as the oil warms, it thins and the oil pressure at idle will drop - but 0 bar sounds wrong

i know but im from the cinq section so dont know anything about turbos hence me asking here.

your not going to like this but 0 oil pressure is bad.....very very bad.

the 20vt should have no more than 1.5bar hot (mine drops to 1.7bar after a really hard run, IE just came off the track)

unfortuantely it usually means the bottom end of the engine is imminemtly about to fail, if you have a major oil leak you may also find the oil pressure dropping but 0 is extreme.

its only in the turbo the oil pressure i believe, im not 100% sure though.
The turbo was changed due to it smoking not it has stopped smoking but im lossing pressure. I stuck some oil in the turbo (rather a lot) before i turned the car over - could i have stuck a pipe on wrong that may cause this?

If you had stuck too much oil in the turbo, (personally I crank the engine over with the electrics disabled.) then excess oil should be smoking like a pig....

If it is cold idling at 3bar then that is good. mine once warmed mine drops to 2.5 ish. The fact yours registers 3bar suggests the gauge is working ok.

0 bar sounds bad, (terminal) I wonder if the tapping is a bottom end knock

so remove the ht leads and crank it yes?

There was no knocking what so every before the cambelt was changed thats the thing that is getting me.

i noticed on FCCUK you said you have a 16vT, they are a little different.

i think they run with lower oil pressure but 0 is deffo not right, if the sender for the oil wasnt working you would see 3 bar permently so thats not the problem.

the oil pressure is measured in the block not in the turbo, i believe the 16vT has a different cambelt setup that involves 2 aux belts? has it been done correctly?

the tapping noise could well be the bottom end as bridges suggested.

you would have to have a spectacular oil leak for 0 bar pressure, do you have the undertray off so one would be obvious?

also, what grade oil have you put in?

Ry

no oil leak from any where, which makes me think ive put a pipe on wrongly.

the turbos run just over 1 bar i believe, but you are right 0 is defiantly wrong.lol

For the 16vt you have a cambelt and balance belt both have been put on correct from what i can guage ( a mechanic did this for me)

im using 10 40 oil i think, thats what ive read up on to use.

Oh thanks for the reply too, ive got naff all on fccuk

what pressure were you getting before you changed the turbo?

its not going to be easy to have put the pipes on wrong.

short of suggesting your bottom ends on the way out i'm stuck for ideas now.

on FCCUK i think you need to be a little more specific with your question and what has been done before the problem, people like to have all the info.

Ry

ill check the bottom end tomorrow and see what comes of the check. there was no noise before though, this is what is leading me to believe its not the bottom end - before the was pressure but the turbo seals had gone so was blowing smoke

How is the car running though? What is the tempreture like while driving? Is the oil pressure light on when it is idling with the low oil pressure? How is the fuel consumption with the situation?

runs fine, temperature is normal (are you think blown hg? - no loss of water or oil) no oil pressure light when on 0 either.

I now this will sound wrong to everyone, just use the car. Mine idled in between the 1st line and zero and drove beautifully that way for 2 years and reliable for long journeys before I changed to a 20vt+.
Some say the reason this happens is that the oil pressure sender is faulty, some say the gauge. One thing that I have checked and some 16vt owner may be able to verify is that if the red light for the oil pressure is not on, pressure and tempretures are fine and here is no noise to indicate anything amis with the engine, just drive and have fun.
For a piece of mind, I would say get your hands on a decent short block and buy the bits over a course of time then have it all rebuilt with a new oil pump and have it on standby if anything were to happen.

Does the low oil pressure light work? Mine comes on with the ignition on but engine off, then immediately goes out when the engine starts.

Mine might be wired differently to standard as I don't have a pressure gauge (16VT in Barchetta: no room for extra clocks) but 0 pressure isn't right.

Take it to a decent garage and get them to check it...running around with 0 on the dial would spook me and the consequences are fairly horrible if it is 0.

Let the engine run and get someone to ref it up to 2000rpm.

Open the oil input and look or there is coming out oil under pressure (drops of oil), if not, you should replace your oil pump.

If there is coming out drops of oil, you should replace your oil pressure sensor.

If you want to diagnose quickly without doing the above, get to your local fiat dealer and just ask to read out your obd faults with their examiner smart. This should only cost you about 10 or 15 dollars (here back in belgium its 15 euros)

Rustbucket said:

Does the low oil pressure light work? Mine comes on with the ignition on but engine off, then immediately goes out when the engine starts.

Mine might be wired differently to standard as I don't have a pressure gauge (16VT in Barchetta: no room for extra clocks) but 0 pressure isn't right.

Take it to a decent garage and get them to check it...running around with 0 on the dial would spook me and the consequences are fairly horrible if it is 0.

Click to expand...

Sounds about right...

agreed,a garage with a mechanical oil pressure gauge is the way forward,but it doesn't sound good.