oil light comes on - motor ticks

[fjdave]

Hi
Can anyone help?

Every now and then when driving my oil pressure light comes on and the engine ticking really bad. Switch the car off, restart it and both problems are gone.

I have changed the oil and filter 4 times in the last week, thinking that something may be floating in the oil, I have even poured kero down it to help flush it out.
no success.
I just took it for a drive, 60kmh it started ticking, then the oil light started flickering, ticking got worse and the light stayed on. I switched it off whilst I was driving and hit the starter again. it had come good.

What on earth do I start pulling apart to sort this out. This car is my daily driver

Im using castrol GTX2 (just tried shell helix and no difference) and several different brand filters

Dave

[SICK SS]

oil pumps probaly rooted

[253@7k]

What type of oil are you using?

[kniever]

What type of oil are you using?

it says at the bottom if his post

[253@7k]

No i mean oil weights. for example if your running something too thin like a 5w20 then when it gets hot it will become too thin for a commodore oil pump to pick up causing the oil light to come on and the lifters to tick.

[the drunken_admiral]

Hi
Can anyone help?

Every now and then when driving my oil pressure light comes on and the engine ticking really bad. Switch the car off, restart it and both problems are gone.

I have changed the oil and filter 4 times in the last week, thinking that something may be floating in the oil, I have even poured kero down it to help flush it out.
no success.
I just took it for a drive, 60kmh it started ticking, then the oil light started flickering, ticking got worse and the light stayed on. I switched it off whilst I was driving and hit the starter again. it had come good.

What on earth do I start pulling apart to sort this out. This car is my daily driver

Im using castrol GTX2 (just tried shell helix and no difference) and several different brand filters

Dave

have you taken the rocker covers off to see if oil is getting up to valve train?

[fjdave]

when the oil light is off, and the motor aint ticking, it seems to get oil at the top..

oil is 20w50

I have also noticed a noise at the front of the motor near the pump - a growling noise. it only started today though, whereas the other problem has been for a week or more.

I just cant explain why it happens periodically. I would have thought a blocked pickup would be constant.
it happens under load, at idle, when warm, when cool, anytime...
stops generally when u restart the car.

[the drunken_admiral]

when the oil light is off, and the motor aint ticking, it seems to get oil at the top..

oil is 20w50

I have also noticed a noise at the front of the motor near the pump - a growling noise. it only started today though, whereas the other problem has been for a week or more.

I just cant explain why it happens periodically. I would have thought a blocked pickup would be constant.
it happens under load, at idle, when warm, when cool, anytime...
stops generally when u restart the car.

you said you changed the oil ....was it 4 times in one week?is this batch of oil you put in,still reasonably clean?

[fjdave]

reasonably clean. i poured it through a filter, the was a few little pieces of very fine crap. nothing serious. It had done a manifold gasket, and the oil was milky. Having sorted that issue, i flushed the oil a few times to get the milky crap out. its after this that the problem has occured...(it did it a lot with the 1st batch of new oil)
i thought it would have had a blocked pickup for sure, but its too irregular. and i can go and drive it hard under load without a drama, sometimes it will do it, sometimes it wont!

[samuels]

reasonably clean. i poured it through a filter, the was a few little pieces of very fine crap. nothing serious. It had done a manifold gasket, and the oil was milky. Having sorted that issue, i flushed the oil a few times to get the milky crap out. its after this that the problem has occured...(it did it a lot with the 1st batch of new oil)
i thought it would have had a blocked pickup for sure, but its too irregular. and i can go and drive it hard under load without a drama, sometimes it will do it, sometimes it wont!

i noticed you said you flushed it out with kero.....try the branded engine flush,i'd say theres still a bit of kero still in your oil galleries,thinning the oil out,you may just have a dicky oil pressure switch,have you tested the oil pressure?

[GTP 85]

Just make sure you're filling up to correct level. My old VT oil buzzer would go off slowing up to lights (only about half litre too low!)

Also my g.f's VR v6 wagon ticks and carries on for a few seconds on cold starts. I just put it down to a dicky oil pick up coupled with thickish oil. She runs 20w something?? Ive only ever run my V6's on either 10w or 15w and never blown a motor or had any dramas

Gilbs

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

I put my money on the oil pump. Running water with your oil because the manifold gasket went will bugger it. When you turn it off and start it again, the oil draining down fills the pump and primes it again, getting the oil circulating well, once it runs for a bit all the extra oil in the pump gradually pumps out and you lose oil pressure making it tick and causing the light to come on.

[vnstu]

how many kms has the car done?

[COMMY VP 666]

5thousand, recon motor,also just had a look should there be oil on the lil connection part

e.g the cable connection to the sender

[PaRaDoX]

its called the idiot light for a reason......


wouldn't be suprised if your pickups blocked, the ticking noise is your lifters starving for oil and the light goes away when your oil thins up and can flow more.. if i was you id use a 10w-40, no lubrication is bad your putting excessive wear on your rockers

[wez]

For later readers of this thread-
Take out the oil light sender, pour about 200ml oil down the hole and while someone briefly starts it up.
If oil squirts back out, the pump works, if not, it's either the pump or the pickup. If you've been good with regular oil changes, it's probably the pump.

[TUF UTE]

mine is doin exact same thing after having my heads replaced, im putting money on oil pump, i have 0 oil pressure and ive had a lot of coolant with my oil. ripping sump off this weekend

[Tony.]

Did you find out what the problem was? I am having this issue at the moment!!

[Vlad01]

once the oil light comes on and you get chattering sound its too late. damage has been done, even if it only 3 sec its f'ed.
tear it down and start again.