Pscycotic oil pressure gague

[db@944s.co.uk]

Hi,

During the Monsoon season here last week I have had a faint squeal that cleared on revving on my S2. I suspect fan belt or worst case the water pump.

However maybe a coincidence, driving home tonight it became almost unbereable and I noticed that the oil pressure gague was flickering wildly between 3-5 bar and the red light at the bottom of the gague was lit faintly.

Anyone experienced anything similar or think they know the cause?

Thanks in advance,


Derek

 

[sawood12]

I had a squeal last year and it turned out to be the power steering belt so was a quick, easy and cheap fix. Has your oil pressure gauge just started to 'flicker'? They can flicker about a bit anyway when idling but are usually stable when you are driving.

 

[Indi9xx]

Stop driving the car right away!

Have you had your belts (cam, balance etc) changed recently?

The oil pump on the 944 engines is driven by the belt pulleys on the front of the camshaft, by the clamping force forcing a toothed sleeve around the outside of the crank into the oil pump... if the front crank pulley bolt isnt tight, or if the pulleys are not correctly mounted, there will not be enough clamping force on the sleeve and the oil pump will not be driven correctly.... which will often cause a fluctuating oil pressure and a squeeling noise.

It may just turn out to be a slipping belt... a power steering fluid or pump issue, or even something else that would not be the end of the world... but if its the oil pump drive sleeve not being driven correctly, then it could ruin your engine.

Dont want to scare you, but this could be serious.

 

[db@944s.co.uk]

Thanks for the reply's.

I have taken the car off the road as a precaution. I spoke to Brian Miller in Edinburgh yesterday who looks after my cars and he'll look at it in the new year. His suspicion is the fan belt and the pressure sender which I beleive is located under the drivers front arch. He seems pretty confident it is due to the recent rain and huge puddles but to be safe I'll just go back to my Lux for a week or two.

The flickering was present when the car was idling at about 2.5 bar but when the light came on it shot up to 5 and stayed there only to flicker erratically when next started. I must admit I sh*t it when I saw that.

On the subject of the oil pump does anyone know if the 2.5 Lux pump is the same as the S2 one?

Hope you all have a great christmas and a trouble-free new year!

 

[Indi9xx]

It may indeed be just the fan belt and an iffy pressure sender... But your doing the right thing through not driving it until you know for sure.

If its showing too high an oil pressure, its less likely to be a slipping pulley on the drive sleeve.. its more likely to be the sender or a stuck oil pressure relief valve... A stuck oil pressure relief valve will also cause the oil pump drive sleeve to slip.

I doubt it needs a new oil pump, if its a slipping drive sleeve it will probably just need the crank bolt tightening, it needs to be VERY tight.

Off the top of my head, I believe the S2 and Lux oil pump is the same, but Simon at SPS Engines will be able to confirm as he knows these parts intimately beyond any level of knowledge which is healthy []... Are you there Simon?