I seem to be having a problem with having a low oil pressure lately.

All this happened after revving the engine past 6000rpm (Just the normal high rev to clear the carbon deposits) and after that, my oil gauge began to show 0 at idle, and while driving, around 15 or so psi (On stock gauge)

I tried cleaning the oil sender spade, and sensor; but no luck.

There ware no buzzers, lights or anything which warn me of the low oil pressure.
Now I'm afraid to drive it anymore since I wouldn't want anything burning from no oil circulation.

Could anyone with some insight shed some light onto this frustrating issue?
It would be greatly appreciated!

 

Does the gauge increase as RPM's go up? If so, its just the OEM pressure gauge failing. If it shows zero pressure all the time regardless of RPM turn the car off and get a tow!

thewird

 

Yeah, the gauge increases when the RPM is going up, it seems to be quite normal when I'm driving. The only issue is when I'm at idle, the oil is down to 0 psi.

The weird thing is that this only happened after I gave it a good rev to 6000rpm a few days ago. Now the car is acting up.

Plus, when I'm decellerating, the engine idle seems to dip dangerously low, sometimes even stalling. I checked my dashpot clearance, both the clutch switches. And at some points, the check engine light flashes on for a second the car shakes a bit, then dissapears.

It's quite fustrating when everything's unknown.

 

That is a typical way for the oil pressure gauge to read as they get old and start failing. As long as the pattern is consistent and goes up with RPM, its nothing to worry about. It bouncing wouldn't be an inconsistent pattern. It increasing should be directly related to RPM's and nothing else.

The other things you described could be a variety of things lol.

thewird

 

Thanks thewird.

I just figured out that you're right, my oil pressure gauge is just getting old. It sometimes jumps back to normal psi, and works alright, while sometimes, it just goes to 0.

I kind of figured out the culprit for my intensely low idle.

My engine is not compensating for the extra engine load for when my fans turn on. When the fan is on + in neutral + clutch in, the engine goes extremely low idle (200-400rpm) until I put it in gear or something.

Does anyone know how to fix that? Making the engine compensate for the extra load that the fans put on? I tried searching numerous times on all the forums.

Thanks.

 

What RPM does it idle at normally? Something with the throttle (TPS, idle screws etc) might be off or could be something else altogether.

thewird

 

The engine idles at 850-900rpm normally. Perfectly fine. It's only when the fan is on. When the fans are on with the clutch in, the idle drops to a deadly 500rpm, and when I'm in neutral, the engine goes to around 200-300rpm, and sometimes even stall.

The car has been fine for a long time. (Put together and re-wired by Mazdee's), but I have a feeling that the E/L controller is not working for the rad-fans.

Is there anything I could check for?

 

Don't think its the E/L controller. It should be able to hold its idle even if there was no timing correction for the fans. It wouldn't have that big of a drop.

thewird

 

Check your grounds maybe.

thewird

 

I don't mean to be a noob, but where would the grounding wires be?

 

Arrowspeed..................... your oil pressure is related to the wear on the main and rotor bearings when they wear they remove some of the bearing material (babet) when that happens ,the oil pressure drops. You could try a mecanical gauge to test the old gauges reading for starters, also what type and weight of oil are you using try a 20-40 does your engine also run hot it could be thinning out your oil too , if you find that the pressure is low ,you might be able to increase the pressure bye using a higher oil pressure regulater (Racing beat) or (mazda tricks)you also could be having your turbo leaking into your exaust (does it smoke) If you are able to,take the Engine front oil pump cover of and check the front main bearing for wear. It is a job for a qualified Mazda tech or gearhead don't let anyone touch it if they never have before , the is a lot of goofy guys willing to screw up your car so be carefull .(Its a pain in the *** to do, Plus you have to be carefull to grease up the needle bearings under the crank front pulley so they dont fall out of place upon reasembly if the bearings are worn you could repace the front and rear bearings but if you have to go that far you might as well take the engine out and service it properly, or rebuild it since it is out anyway good luck ..... Fred

 

I'm with thewird on this one,, get a mechanical gauge and check it warm at idle.

 

I believe this Yellow FD is at Mazdees now, see what Dave said.........

 

Yeah, I brought the car to Mazdee's, Dave said it could be a old oil gauge (Since it stock). And the low idle could be caused by a broken intake gasket, or a leak in the intake gaskets.

Just got update that, nothing was wrong, just needed some adjustment as the idle screws and dashpot were old.

 

I wouldn't worry about the oil gauge. As long as its moving up with RPM, its telling you there is pressure. I would only replace the sender unit if its not working at all or you just want it working properly hehe.

Also, I saw your car at Mazdee's last week. I love the paint job lol. Who did it and is that color changing effect from pearl?

thewird

 

Yeah, it was at Mazdee's for around a week while Dave was checking it out. All it was it just needed some adjustments, now it always idles above 800rpm.

It was this bodyshop called Philada at McCowan and 16th, across from Markville mall.

It's a Rover Yellow with some greenish pearl effect. And yes, its some kind of color changing pearl which the bodyshop introduced. lol

thewird, you're right about the oil sender, it's just old, sometimes if I tap it, it jumps back up. And it takes $120 to change the oil gauge! I wish I was rich enough to afford fixing every single thing on the car (not even my speedo works correctly), even changing the oil gives me a dent in the wallet. haha

Hopefully we could have a end of season meet before the snow starts so I can cruise a bit more before storing it away.

 

If you tap the gauge or the sender unit on the engine? Usually its the sender unit that fails. If by tapping the gauge it jumps, maybe there is a loose connection on the back. You could try pulling out the dash yourself and having a look . Might be able to fix the speedo too.

thewird

 

Yeah, it could be something I will do during the winter days when it has tons of time in the garage. lol.

I honestly believe it is just a old gauge, since my speedo still moves, but just responds extra slow. But that's no problem, the speedo is only a minute late on telling the speed =.=.

Hopefully there'll be some kind of end of season meet.

 

glad to hear your car is running well!

 

Hey arrowspeed, glad that your yellow FD is back on again, and YES, there will be the year end season meet, check the new thread.........

 

Thanks thewird.

I had the same problem today but looks like nothing to worry about since the pressure goes up as rpm goes up