General Warning on dash

[ZaphodB]

Not a joke you can normally see oil on the rockers

That's why I said "per se" , I thought you wer expecting the level to be up there in the rocker box

So what is the dip stick level ?

 

[varesecrazy]

Not a joke you can normally see oil on the rockers

Yes you can normally see 'evidence of oil"

Ok so it's now looking quite likely that oil is NOT circulating


Back to basics,

What state was the Old oil in when you drained the sump?
(did you use a pump.. Or remove the Tapered Bung?)

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Not a joke you can normally see oil on the rockers

So do you suspect the oil is not being pumped at all? I think you need to manually check the oil pressure with a gauge screwed into the hole the sensor screws into. However, I appreciate you probably don't have a pressure gauge but you could try cranking the engine with the pressure sensor removed. get a good big can under the hole ready to catch the oil. It should spurt out vigorously. Of course you don't want the engine to start so you must disable the ignition before doing this. Without a pressure gauge all this will tell you is that oil is being pumped but if no oil, or a very poor dribble is seen then you know oil supply is the problem - I'm wondering if the pickup strainer in the sump is partially blocked and limiting the oil supply to just enough to operate the sensor some of the time but perhaps then some more contamination floats into the strainer limiting the supply enough to turn the light on but then floating away or being sucked through the strainer and allowing enough pressure to put the light out - until the next time it gets a wee bit more blocked up?

 

[Billybilly]

So do you suspect the oil is not being pumped at all? I think you need to manually check the oil pressure with a gauge screwed into the hole the sensor screws into. However, I appreciate you probably don't have a pressure gauge but you could try cranking the engine with the pressure sensor removed. get a good big can under the hole ready to catch the oil. It should spurt out vigorously. Of course you don't want the engine to start so you must disable the ignition before doing this. Without a pressure gauge all this will tell you is that oil is being pumped but if no oil, or a very poor dribble is seen then you know oil supply is the problem - I'm wondering if the pickup strainer in the sump is partially blocked and limiting the oil supply to just enough to operate the sensor some of the time but perhaps then some more contamination floats into the strainer limiting the supply enough to turn the light on but then floating away or being sucked through the strainer and allowing enough pressure to put the light out - until the next time it gets a wee bit more blocked up?

Ii took the sump off and the pickup pipe had broken at the top and it was lying in the bottom of the sump so ive fitted a new pipe a nd put it all back together.i also noticed a crack in the alternator body so ive replaced the alternator and when i took the car out about 3 miles from home the engine management light went on and the engine stRted to jumo about and i lost me speed down to about 5 mile a hour after parking safely i turned the engine off and restarted it up and it wes running okay so i drove home no bother but im worried about driving now.can you help please

 

[ZaphodB]

Ii took the sump off and the pickup pipe had broken at the top and it was lying in the bottom of the sump so ive fitted a new pipe a nd put it all back together.i also noticed a crack in the alternator body so ive replaced the alternator and when i took the car out about 3 miles from home the engine management light went on and the engine stRted to jumo about and i lost me speed down to about 5 mile a hour after parking safely i turned the engine off and restarted it up and it wes running okay so i drove home no bother but im worried about driving now.can you help please

Wow, that means the pump wasn't able to pick oil feed up at all during the fault, which will have compromised all the bearings (con rods and mains) in the engine, and as a result oil pressure will have suffered (even after you fixed the pickup).

I'd be checking actual oil pressure now to see where it's at.

How long did you run it for with this warning up on dash?

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Wow, that means the pump wasn't able to pick oil feed up at all during the fault, which will have compromised all the bearings (con rods and mains) in the engine, and as a result oil pressure will have suffered (even after you fixed the pickup).

How long did you run it for with this warning up on dash?

I was just about to make the same reply but you beat me to it. Even if some oil was being dragged up, it'll have been so aerated it's lubricating abilities will have been greatly compromised.

As you say "How long was it run like this"? I fear this engine is probably now a bit of a "ticking timebomb" even a few minutes with a severely compromised oil supply is likely to have done quite a bit of damage.

I know it's a bit late to say this now, but it would have been a good idea to drop at least a couple of the main bearing and big end caps while the sump was off, so the condition of the bearing shells and shaft journals could have been seen.

 

[Billybilly]

So do you suspect the oil is not being pumped at all? I think you need to manually check the oil pressure with a gauge screwed into the hole the sensor screws into. However, I appreciate you probably don't have a pressure gauge but you could try cranking the engine with the pressure sensor removed. get a good big can under the hole ready to catch the oil. It should spurt out vigorously. Of course you don't want the engine to start so you must disable the ignition before doing this. Without a pressure gauge all this will tell you is that oil is being pumped but if no oil, or a very poor dribble is seen then you know oil supply is the problem - I'm wondering if the pickup strainer in the sump is partially blocked and limiting the oil supply to just enough to operate the sensor some of the time but perhaps then some more contamination floats into the strainer limiting the supply enough to turn the light on but then floating away or being sucked through the strainer and allowing enough pressure to put the light out - until the next time it gets a wee bit more blocked up?

Ii took the sump off and the pickuo pipe had broken at the top and it was lying in the bottom of the sump so ive fitted a new pipe a nd put it allback together.i also

Wow, that means the pump wasn't able to pick oil feed up at all during the fault, which will have compromised all the bearings (con rods and mains) in the engine, and as a result oil pressure will have suffered (even after you fixed the pickup).

I'd be checking actual oil pressure now to see where it's at.

How long did you run it for with this warning up on dash?

Couple of short journeys

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Ii took the sump off and the pickuo pipe had broken at the top and it was lying in the bottom of the sump so ive fitted a new pipe a nd put it allback together.i also

Couple of short journeys

Sorry to be gloomy, but it's likely then that it's been cracked for some time before breaking off which means it will likely have been running on aerated oil for quite a while? then when the pipe broke off no oil will have been being supplied to the bearings at all so big ends, main bearings, camshaft bearings and others will all have ben running without an oil supply. Even a couple of minutes like this will have caused damage.

So, what to do now? You could take the engine out, strip it down and recondition it, However it's quite likely so much will require attention - and who knows, you will only know if you completely dismantle the engine. Also things like camshaft bearings are machined directly into the head so if damaged this means a new head. - So, what would I do? Firstly, having made sure the oil level is correct, I'd listen carefully to how the engine sounds when hot. - so the oil will be hot and "thinner" than when cold. If it runs quietly, I'd be especially listening for big end knocks, then I think I'd just run around with it as it is but be listening for "noises" to develop. I suppose there's always a small chance you may get away with it but if it all goes Pete Tong then if it's quiet just now then you'll probably get a bit of warning, most likely bearing knock, before it goes "bang" giving you enough time for a gentle return home or to somewhere "safe". The other option, if the rest of the car is good, would be to look for a replacement engine.

 

[varesecrazy]

Chances are your initial warning light was poor flow,

The later Dash message was No Flow

General sound of the engine will be a good indicator

 

[ZaphodB]

For £14 you could get a check on current oil pressure for peace of mind

Wave Box Oil Pressure Meter Test Kit Tester Gauge Car Garage Tool Universal | eBay UK

Feature: This universal kit is designed to diagnose problems with oil pressure in virtually all imported and local cars and trucks (diesel and gasoline engines). Features A large 2-1/2", heavy duty (steel with rubber housing) easy to read dual pressure gauge 0-400PSI (0-28 bar). Comes with A...

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Billybilly]

Sorry to be gloomy, but it's likely then that it's been cracked for some time before breaking off which means it will likely have been running on aerated oil for quite a while? then when the pipe broke off no oil will have been being supplied to the bearings at all so big ends, main bearings, camshaft bearings and others will all have ben running without an oil supply. Even a couple of minutes like this will have caused damage.

So, what to do now? You could take the engine out, strip it down and recondition it, However it's quite likely so much will require attention - and who knows, you will only know if you completely dismantle the engine. Also things like camshaft bearings are machined directly into the head so if damaged this means a new head. - So, what would I do? Firstly, having made sure the oil level is correct, I'd listen carefully to how the engine sounds when hot. - so the oil will be hot and "thinner" than when cold. If it runs quietly, I'd be especially listening for big end knocks, then I think I'd just run around with it as it is but be listening for "noises" to develop. I suppose there's always a small chance you may get away with it but if it all goes Pete Tong then if it's quiet just now then you'll probably get a bit of warning, most likely bearing knock, before it goes "bang" giving you enough time for a gentle return home or to somewhere "safe". The other option, if the rest of the car is good, would be to look for a replacement engine.

The cars ran great for a couple of days till this morning when i went shopping.in 3 milesì had to stop twice as the yellow engine management light came on and i lost power.any ideas?

 

[Mike1alike]

Wow, that means the pump wasn't able to pick oil feed up at all during the fault, which will have compromised all the bearings (con rods and mains) in the engine, and as a result oil pressure will have suffered (even after you fixed the pickup).

I'd be checking actual oil pressure now to see where it's at.

How long did you run it for with this warning up on dash?

That's why is very useful to use MoS2 oil additive. To not have this kind of sress in this kind of situations. I use Liqui Moly MoS2 and I'm very satisfied with it, makes the engine run really smooth. Tried for a while another brand, Mannol, bought the oil containing MoS2 but it wasn't at all like that LM additive that I can put in any oil. After running a while with that Mannol oil, I added LM MoS2 additive in it and it made it much better, smooth again.

The cars ran great for a couple of days till this morning when i went shopping.in 3 milesì had to stop twice as the yellow engine management light came on and i lost power.any ideas?

The best is to connect a tester tool and read the stored errors on ECU. Otherwise all we can do is just guess. And there are multiple things that could cause you that problem so guessing wouldn't help much.