Low oil pressure problems
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 59
Likes: 0
Low oil pressure problems I just got dont putting the comp cam 306 in my 97 Firebird formula lt1 with the 6 speed manual transmission, I have everything in my engine that this cam requires to run right but I haven’t got it tuned yet(saving money for it)
the problem is I had to replace my clutch and rear main seal (I had a shop do this) when they did it my oil pressure gauge was telling me I had no oil and check gauges light would come on but once I got on the gas again the oil pressure would come up it would only go down at a stop light or stop sign, so come to find out they broke the oil pressure sensor and I replaced it with a new one, well I drove it a few days a go for maybe 5 miles if that and everything seemed to b ok except right when I got home and stopped with the car running my oil pressure dropped to 0 again and check gauges light came on again but once I got on the gas the oil pressure went up
so could this problem be a tuning problem or what? I know I’m not leaking any oil I already checked and I know I had oil in my car when running it, also I had a multiple misfire code pop up on my dash but it was never misfiring at it the car ran good, could this be a tuning problem as well or..??
the problem is I had to replace my clutch and rear main seal (I had a shop do this) when they did it my oil pressure gauge was telling me I had no oil and check gauges light would come on but once I got on the gas again the oil pressure would come up it would only go down at a stop light or stop sign, so come to find out they broke the oil pressure sensor and I replaced it with a new one, well I drove it a few days a go for maybe 5 miles if that and everything seemed to b ok except right when I got home and stopped with the car running my oil pressure dropped to 0 again and check gauges light came on again but once I got on the gas the oil pressure went up
so could this problem be a tuning problem or what? I know I’m not leaking any oil I already checked and I know I had oil in my car when running it, also I had a multiple misfire code pop up on my dash but it was never misfiring at it the car ran good, could this be a tuning problem as well or..??
Get a mechanical gauge to confirm oil pressure reading. Oil always reads higher when cold.
There is a port just above the oil filter you can use to install a line for a mechanical gauge.
http://shbox.com/1/aux_oil_port.jpg
There is the very real possibility you have also spun a cam bearing. This has happened many times to those who've done cam installs.
There is a port just above the oil filter you can use to install a line for a mechanical gauge.
http://shbox.com/1/aux_oil_port.jpg
There is the very real possibility you have also spun a cam bearing. This has happened many times to those who've done cam installs.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 59
Likes: 0
I don’t think I spun a bearing because wouldn’t if tht happen there would be some knocking within the engine?? There’s no knocking, and I took off my valve covers to see if I was getting oil in the top end of the engine and I was I had oil on my rockers and push rods and on the head so
Not necessarily. Especially with a cam bearing. You need to confirm the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge. If the mech. gauge states your pressure is low then the odds are high a bearing is spun.
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Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Mar 2019
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I’ve already replaced the sending unit and still getting the same problem but I know I have oil pressure because the car isn’t making no knocking noise and I took the valve covers off and I still have oil in that area so I’m not really sure
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TECH Veteran
Joined: Apr 2008
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OP
You would join a fairly long list of people who did a cam swap on a motor with some mileage on it and get a spun cam bearing, thus low oil pressure
Tune has nothing to do with oil pressure
You should hook up a known mechanical OP gauge to see if it mirrors your dash gauge & light....if it does you need to pull the mtor and install new cam bearings and depending on the cam may need to replace that also. At that point the motor should be completely rebuilt if you are in to it that far
Just check with a known real gauge, maybe the sender and or wiring to it are FU. The shop that did the RMS may have F ed it up lowering the trans/motor and hit the sender/connector/wiring against the firewall
You would join a fairly long list of people who did a cam swap on a motor with some mileage on it and get a spun cam bearing, thus low oil pressure
Tune has nothing to do with oil pressure
You should hook up a known mechanical OP gauge to see if it mirrors your dash gauge & light....if it does you need to pull the mtor and install new cam bearings and depending on the cam may need to replace that also. At that point the motor should be completely rebuilt if you are in to it that far
Just check with a known real gauge, maybe the sender and or wiring to it are FU. The shop that did the RMS may have F ed it up lowering the trans/motor and hit the sender/connector/wiring against the firewall
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 59
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Yea maybe they messed up the wiring because before I took it into the shop it was reading good oil pressure and ever sense I got it back on the same day taking it home that’s when the oil pressure started dropping, found out the broke the sensor the only thing tht was holding it together was the wires, once I replaced the sensor it started reading normal oil pressure and now it’s back to doing the same thing again but I’m not hearing no knocking or anything as if I was low on oil or no oil pressure
Could be a lot of things.
You can band aid with thicker oil and ignore it, but I would suggest cutting open a few filters and seeing what shiny gems await you. This option also endangers the new cam and the rest of the bearings/crank/rods.
You can band aid with thicker oil and ignore it, but I would suggest cutting open a few filters and seeing what shiny gems await you. This option also endangers the new cam and the rest of the bearings/crank/rods.
Did you put a mechanical on it yet? NO!
If your pressure is low then you have a problem and I wouldn't be putting it under too much of a load until I figured out what's going on.
If your pressure is low then you have a problem and I wouldn't be putting it under too much of a load until I figured out what's going on.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 59
Likes: 0
The oil pressure seems to b good until I come to a stop I’m not sure if it could b an electrical problem or something more I’m taking it to the shop next week and hopefully it’s just a broken wire or something like tht Bc like I said I’m still getting oil in the top end of the engine and there’s no knocking within the engine either so
Staging Lane
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 75
Likes: 19
Stop driving it until you figure out what's going on. Just because it's not knocking it doesn't mean that everything is fine.
I had BBC the started dropping pressure slowly, from 40psi hot idle to 10. Pressure would be fine when I was driving, 45-50psi, but soon as I stop at the light, it would dip down. When it dropped to 10psi I pulled it out of the car and sure enough main bearings wire wiped out.
Never had a knock, tick or any kind of noise.
I had BBC the started dropping pressure slowly, from 40psi hot idle to 10. Pressure would be fine when I was driving, 45-50psi, but soon as I stop at the light, it would dip down. When it dropped to 10psi I pulled it out of the car and sure enough main bearings wire wiped out.
Never had a knock, tick or any kind of noise.
TECH Veteran
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The oil pressure seems to b good until I come to a stop I’m not sure if it could b an electrical problem or something more I’m taking it to the shop next week and hopefully it’s just a broken wire or something like tht Bc like I said I’m still getting oil in the top end of the engine and there’s no knocking within the engine either so
Cam swaps on motors with miles on them can and do get wiped cam bearings. This often does not make noise....until the boom.
Coming to a stop and OP drops...maybe your oil pickup fell off
then there is the "did you crack the oil pump drive gear hold down when you reinstalled it after cam swap" issue. That part is plastic and old & brittle. What happens is that gear now "walks up" off the cam gear so you lose oil pressure. If that's all it is its a $100 part and you just pull your intake to replace being VERY careful not to over tighten that one small bolt (read use loc tite and just make it snug with a 1/4" drive)
But again a real OP gauge would verify if your POS dash gauge is good
If your oil pump pick up came off you could remove the oil level sensor and use a coat hanger or something to fish around to see if the pick up is laying in bottom of pan. Those USB snorkel cams that plug into your iPhone come in handy for this kind of stuff
Don't F around driving the car until you verify WTF is going on. It may be simple....or very expensive