Grim.Badger 15 Posted July 3, 2006 When I first got my GTi the oil pressure was fine but slowly started to drop off . The pressure guage now doesn't work at all, but if the engine is hot then the warning light comes on at idle. However a week ago I overfilled the engine and at high revs it spat it all out again all over the engine bay (no change to the pressure guage when it did it ). I thought at first that it was petrol contamination thining the oil due to a faulty ecu temperature sender, but I've replaced that and it still does it. Before I open up/replace the engine is there a chance that the pressure warning sender is broken, or are they fairly robust? I've checked the wiring and that all seems to be fine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pugrallye 0 Posted July 3, 2006 (edited) bit strange how both senders have failed if they have gone, but both senders can go down like any electrical item I presume you have tried earthing the sender wires to make sure gauge works (obviously oil light works), otherwise your looking at replacing oil pump Edited July 3, 2006 by pugrallye Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim.Badger 15 Posted July 3, 2006 I didn't think the pumps died Mind you I nearly run out of oil a couple of times thanks to the previous owners bodged attempt to fix the dizzy leak. Can you believe that instead of replcaing the 30p o-ring he had tried to use some sort of liquid rubber sealant? I can't imagine that running low on oil is good for the pump. I haven't tried earthing the wires yet but may try tonight. It's a 111k engine, is there a chance that it's severe engine wear? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pugrallye 0 Posted July 3, 2006 (edited) yeah pumps go, end of day its a mechanical item and as such it wears out, also pump strainers get sooted up, blocking flow if cheap oil/ overheating or skimped servicing has occured in past, if you had engine wear you would be losing oil, or blown a HG, but you would notice if you had done that! Edited July 3, 2006 by pugrallye Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim.Badger 15 Posted July 4, 2006 I'm not sure if I'm losing oil as I've only just plugged a big leak around the dizzy. The previous owner blew the head gasket, and drove for a while with it blown. They replaced it themselves and I don't think the head was skimmed. Would this indicate/cause wear? I suppose this woudn't be the issue as the pressure was fine when I bought the car. The petrol I had in the oil before seems to have cleaned the engine as the new oil is now practically colourless even after 250 miles so I don't think it's a clogged pump. This itself has probably caused problems, but hopefully not too much. Would a scrapyard pump be a good idea? I just don't want to spend too much money chasing problems as I've done that before and ended up spending a fortune and still not solving the problem. Cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim.Badger 15 Posted July 10, 2006 Replaced the sender over the weekend and the stop light has now stopped coming on randomly The guage is still dead but I can now assume it to be the sensor that has died, not the pump or engine. At last a problem easily solved Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jim21070 2 Posted July 11, 2006 One final thing to check though, especially as the head has been off recently implying the crank pulley has been disturbed. The oil pump drive sprocket I believe, is friction driven purely from pressure exerted upon it by the crank timing sprocket and the crank pulley. If the crank bolt is not properly torqued up to 88 ft/lbs the oil pump drive can slip and give low oil pressure. It's a long shot but worth a quick check. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
