Ecotec: Oil Light coming on!!! Help!!!

[Waussie]

Hi All,

Just recently picked up a Lexcen (VS Clone) for a good price, now I think I know why.

After starting engine up, the oil goes out but then comes on again only a matter or minutes later. Doesn't matter if I rev it, it stays on. I can tell it is starving for oil as it tends to get a bit of a clatter about. Have parked it up for now.

Thought about getting another Ecotec V6 until I found out what the rebuild price is on these babies.

I got talking with a few wreckers and mechanics and it seems that the oil pickup in the sump is rather small on these engines and they are prone to blocking up quite easily and this is apparently a common problem.

Has anybody fixed this and have any ideas to pass on before I tackle this job? One suggested unbolting an engine mount, jack engine up and remove sump, clean out pickup and sump.

Any ideas appreciated.

Thanks....Waussie - WA.

[POVRTY]

have you checked your oil?. u will have to do more then undo 1 engine mount to remove the sump

[Waussie]

Originally Posted by POVRTY

have you checked your oil?. u will have to do more then undo 1 engine mount to remove the sump

Hi,

Yeah thanks POVTRY, have done all the regular checks , oil is full on the dipstick. Had a looksie inside the RHS rocker after taking the oil cap off and it does seem quite sludgy, so will try to clean out as best i can with engine flush, but may need to get into clean pickup as well if it is blocking up.

Cheers...Waussie.

[POVRTY]

if the sump has a dent in it , it may be pushed up against the pick up. riper out and re build it bud........ its a good exuese ay?.

[kopper69]

Mate this is just a suggestion. Now once upon a time when i first got my VR i thought it would be a good idea to clean the engine. So in I got with my degreaser and hose and spray everywhere and it looked great. But water got into my oil pressure sensor and made the oil light come on (on and off at times). The engine ran nice and smooth and there was plenty of oil in it so I knew there wasnt a problem and new that it was just the switch playing up. I cleaned the water out with a blow of compressed air and a bit of wd-40 and it started to work happily again. Now if you do have oil and she is running nicely i would be having a look under the connector of the oil pressure sensor and cleaning it out. Maybe even replace it (I dont think its a difficult job). The previous owner may have been cleaning the same way i did just to make the engine look neat and a bit of moisture has got in there causing the problem.

[hako]

If its a high mileage engine then flushing the engine will only loosen and circulated the sludge possibly further blocking oilways etc. Removing the sludge this way will also increase oil burning and oil seal leakage. If its worn so bad that she rattles then she is knackered and you need a replacement because a rebuild is worth more than the car. It shouldn't be a dented sump as the VS has an alloy sump which breaks not bends.

[VT_Acclm]

Originally Posted by Waussie

Hi All,

Just recently picked up a Lexcen (VS Clone) for a good price, now I think I know why.

After starting engine up, the oil goes out but then comes on again only a matter or minutes later. Doesn't matter if I rev it, it stays on. I can tell it is starving for oil as it tends to get a bit of a clatter about. Have parked it up for now.

Thought about getting another Ecotec V6 until I found out what the rebuild price is on these babies.

I got talking with a few wreckers and mechanics and it seems that the oil pickup in the sump is rather small on these engines and they are prone to blocking up quite easily and this is apparently a common problem.

Has anybody fixed this and have any ideas to pass on before I tackle this job? One suggested unbolting an engine mount, jack engine up and remove sump, clean out pickup and sump.

Any ideas appreciated.

Thanks....Waussie - WA.

Take the oil warning switch out(front of the engine near the oil filter)leave it in kero for 10-20mins. then blow it out put it back in,try it out.9 out of 10 it works,if it doesnt visit your nearest Holden spare parts or Autobarn/speedshop,not that expensive anyway.Good luck.And dont worry you can drive it as long as you got enough oil in the sump,if u do have faulty pick-up top part of the engine will let you know anyway .

[grigor]

I'd pull the oil light switch and fit a tee with a gauge so you can actually check the oil pressure. Sounds like she's buggered though. They certainly are expensive to do up, cheaper to get a reconditioned engine. I was quoted $2580 for a short engine and when I spewed they said they'd do a complete engine for the same money.
After stripping mine, I found the oil rings had lost all tension, and big ends/mains were worn out. She's been hot at sometime as most commodores have when they either do a power steer pump, waterpump, tensioner bearing or just break the belt.
Wouldn't suggest buying a wrecked one as it might be exactly the same.
Good luck.

[HDT_aero]

DO NOT flush the engine in a sludgy contition this will completely block your sump

YOU MUST remove the pickup completely and then completely clean all sludge out of the engine

IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS you will have no engine it will seize withing 10 mins of driving with a blocked pickup ive seen this happen before from people listening to people saying ah just flush it it will be fine.... WRONG the picjup is like a siv and takes sweet FA to block the pickup.

you engine has not been looked after very well has had the wrong oil used and hasnt been changed very often.

best of luck with it

[Harvs82]

Would it be worth dumping the old oil and filter, and throwing in some fresh 20w-50 oil and a new oil filter?

[hako]

The problem with that may be that fresh oil means fresh detergent (that what breaks up the sludge) and you run the risk of further clogging things up. Only real solution is to drop the sump and clean the pickup filter and the inside of the sump - then bolt her all up and see what happens. My bet is that it will still be clattery and the oil light will still stay on because it has run for so long now with low or no oil pressure that permanent damage has been done. But before you start ripping things off you should screw the plugs out and have a look at them as they can usually tell you the condition of the engine. Then do a compression test. If the plugs look OK and compressions are not ridiculously low or varied then it should be OK to drop the sump and clean it out.
Or take the easy way and buy a 2nd hand motor privately (cheaper than wreckers) Good Luck.

[Waussie]

Hi People,

Thanks for all your replies on this. As several have recommended, I have bitten the bullet and brought a Ecotec 3.8 and 4 speed gearbox for a grand which I thought was exceptionally good as the car they came out of was written off but had only done 98000 kms .

So hopefully my probs will soon be over.

Thanks to all....Earle - Waussie.

[newo]

How much work is involved in cleaning the sludge out of the engine?