XU9 8v oil pressure lost

[MrAndy 10]

Hi,

 

I've owned one of my "patients" for 2 years now. 1989 205GTI1.9 122hp with motronic and catalysator. The last time it has been driven is about 4 years ago (the previous owner) and it has some things to be done before I can try to MOT it.

 

I thought it was better to run the engine once in a while and set my self a schedule to run the engine warm once in a month. 3-4first times it was totally OK and everything seemed to work nice. Then suddenly the oil pressure gauge dropped down and stopped reading the normal values (4-6bar). The red oil pressure warning light works still like it should. Anyway, I shut the engine down and did not start it again anymore.

 

Welll, then decided to start fixing the thing and the first thing to do was to replace the sensor... which was not so easy after all... so I decided to remove the inlet manifold... without emptying the coolant liquid first... which led into situation where all the cylinders were full of coolant liquid... aaargh!!!!

 

OK, then I knew there is bigger things to do and so far done:

- All the liquids emptied

- Cylinders succed empty and refilled fith oil and rotated the engine manually carefully without spark plugs to lubricate everything and protect the engine from rusting. (done many times, also the valves both from the inlet air tunnels and on top of the head) (in total I think the damage is preventedwith these actions)

- Then decided to replace all the hoses with Baker products

- Also Cambelt, tensioner and water pump changed

- And the pressure sensor

- All the fluids

- Lot of wiring cleaned, checked and replaced...

 

My dream is to drive the car next summer and try to fix everything before that.

 

My guestion is (after the long prologue) that Is there things to be checked / prepared before starting the engine again?

- I'm still not sure is there enough oil pressure or not

- The engine has sat still for long now, is there any good way to oil-prime the low end bearings before starting

- I belive the cylinders and cam etc, I can lubricate by just adding oil from on top and then rotating the engine.

- How to check that the oil pump is OK?

 

-A-

  

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Don't over think it

 

Spark plugs out

 

Drop of oil down each cylinder will not hurt anything

 

I would not personally mess with the cam etc

 

Fresh oil and filter for the engine

 

Spin the engine on the starter motor until the pressure light is extinguished when you release the key and hopefully the mended gauge registers some pressure

 

Replace plugs and start it up, let it tick over for a few minutes to allow oil to get everywhere it needs to.

 

The end

[MrAndy 10]

Thanks!!

 

Other thing that came into my mind (oil related also)

 

The car had a water/oil heat exhanger (with remote oil filter), which had a broken leg and did not look reliable otherwise also.

 

So I decided to delete it and mount the oil filter directly to engine block. The installation is much cleaner that way, but will it work OK?

 

The car will be on light summer use only and no track use or other hard driving etc.

 

-A-

    

[Roeland_Vester 5]

It will work okay without extra oil cooler, but it will run a bit hotter. Also, replacing the oil pump is not too difficult. Can be done from under the car. 

[dcc 855]

Make sure crank pulley bolt is tight

[DamirGTI 342]

As said , disable the ignition/fueling and spin the engine via starter motor to prime it with the oil .. also you'll be able to distinguish if there's something wrong by hearing how does the engine actually sound while cranking on the starter motor .

Best thing to do that , to disable both ignition and fueling is to disconnect the CAS sensor plug .

 

Oil press. gauge seems to be kinda unreliable anyways , especially if the car was left standing for a long period - try to tap with an finger on the gauge cluster and see if it will "wake up" ! .. worked on one of mines , guess the gauge mechanism becomes sticky after years of standing still . Also double check the wiring to the oil press sensor , unplug it and earth it on the engine or the chassis and then have a look on the gauge - if the wiring is good , it'll read maxi i.e. the needle will jump to the maxi mark .

 

If still in doubt , get the mechanical press gauge check the pressure while cranking .

 

As for the oil cooler , no problem driving without one .. especially as you're from Finland (colder climate i guess ?) .

 

D

[MrAndy 10]

Thanks for all the answers and help!! I will report the next actions once I get there

 

-A-