2.4 TD, oil pressure advice please. |
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Cool Box
Groupie Joined: 23 Jul 10 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 73 |
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Posted: 03 Feb 13 at 10:28 |
I'm after a bit of advice regarding the increasing regularity that my oil pressure warning light is coming on. A bit of background to the problem. We bought the van around 3 years ago and never had an issue with the warning light until we decided to get it serviced and have the oil changed and new filter. Even since then the light has been coming on, it happened quite rarely to begin with, you could tun the engine off and on and the lamp would go off an stay off for quite a long time. Now, the warning light generally comes on and stays on shortly after starting the engine. Another thing I noticed when the light wasn't on all the time was that it would be activated by the van going downhill or when slowing down. I posted about this a while back but the problem is a lot worse now, someone suggested it may be that a non original oil filter had been fitted, but I've been unable to locate the filter to check. Can anyone tell me where this is? Any other ideas as to what the problem may be would be much appreciated. Thanks for looking. Edited by Cool Box - 03 Feb 13 at 10:31 |
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1991 Florida.
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mrhutch
Moderator Group the ginger princess Joined: 21 Aug 07 Location: Herefordshire Status: Offline Points: 5147 |
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what grade oil was used ?
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T3 1981 Westy Vanagon - thinks lubricant is a fuel
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Cool Box
Groupie Joined: 23 Jul 10 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 73 |
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I'll have see if I can find the receipt, I checked with the garage and he reckoned he'd used the right stuff. Thanks for the reply. |
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1991 Florida.
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Cool Box
Groupie Joined: 23 Jul 10 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 73 |
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Just looked, it doesn't mention the type of oil.
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1991 Florida.
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BeJay
Vanorak Joined: 03 Jun 09 Location: Leicester Status: Offline Points: 1325 |
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first job check the level on the dipstick, it may be low on oil, if it seems overfull see if you can tell if there is any water or diesel contamination in the oil, either of which will thin the oil down so it'll show as low pressure, if there is contamination you could have either a headgasket or overfueling problem, if the oil seems OK just drain the sump (warm engine) then fit a new filter (and drain plug washer) it's not a difficult job just messy, and refill with what you know to be a good multigrade diesel engine oil (S.A.E 15/40 or 20/50) to eliminate the possibility of the wrong oil being used and see how it goes from there.
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NIL ILLIGITIMUS CARBORUNDUM
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mat_the_cat
Vanorak Joined: 06 May 09 Location: North Wales Status: Offline Points: 1862 |
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Has the oil been changed since the problem first occurred? Although I suppose even if it has, IF the wrong oil was used (seems coincidental to start after a service) then the low oil pressure from too thin an oil could cause bearing wear which would then mean even the correct oil wouldn't hold good oil pressure. I doubt that a non OE oil filter would be the sole cause of the problem - some cheaper ones may not have the anti drain back valve so would need to fill with oil whenever the engine is first started. This could potentially lead to greater engine wear over time, but not straight away. The filter is towards the bottom of the engine, on the (UK) driver's side, at the front. Should look something like this, apologies if I'm being patronising! Edited by mat_the_cat - 03 Feb 13 at 21:29 |
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Mid engined, 6 cylinder, turbocharged 2 seater - it can only be a VW LT!
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Cool Box
Groupie Joined: 23 Jul 10 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 73 |
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Cheers for the replies BeJay and Mat. The oil itself doesn't seem to be contaminated, I've not changed the oil since the problem started. I think an oil change is the way forward. I've been toping it up with synthetic oil, the stuff in the picture above is mineral isn't it? Does this make a difference? If the current oil is too thin would it be possible to top it up with a thicker oil to cure the problem? |
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1991 Florida.
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mrhutch
Moderator Group the ginger princess Joined: 21 Aug 07 Location: Herefordshire Status: Offline Points: 5147 |
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no, drop the oil and fill it again with proper stuff. and don't overfill it!
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T3 1981 Westy Vanagon - thinks lubricant is a fuel
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BeJay
Vanorak Joined: 03 Jun 09 Location: Leicester Status: Offline Points: 1325 |
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WHS^^^ and don't forget to use a new filter (almost fill the filter before fitting it and just smear a film of oil on the sealing ring before fitting, then spin up finger tight, then another 1/4 turn by hand only)
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NIL ILLIGITIMUS CARBORUNDUM
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mat_the_cat
Vanorak Joined: 06 May 09 Location: North Wales Status: Offline Points: 1862 |
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You can get mineral and synthetic oils in a range of grades, but the easily available synthetics tend to be thinner. I'm more of the opinion that for a similar cost I'd prefer to change a cheaper (mineral) oil more regularly than leave a synthetic one in for longer. I've never had oil analysis done to give any hard facts as to what's best though. Most people just do what makes them feel happiest!
The Motoquip MQP is mineral, but it meets the VW specs required for the engine which is the important thing. Mine's coming up to 240k miles now, with a maximum of 5k miles between oil changes with correct grade mineral or semi synthetic oil used each time. |
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Mid engined, 6 cylinder, turbocharged 2 seater - it can only be a VW LT!
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Tardis
Groupie Joined: 02 Oct 11 Location: Teesside Status: Offline Points: 41 |
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Another vote for dropping the oil here.
Our older engines really don't like modern synthetic and semi-synthetic oils that seem to be the norm these days, if the person who serviced it for you doesn't have much experience with older vehicles the chances are they will have used a 10/40 semi oil. To give you an idea of the difference I bought a non runner Porsche 924 which uses the same audi derived petrol engine as my LT, when I got it running I noticed that when the engine god warm the oil pressure was quite low on tickover (almost alarmingly low), after dropping the oil, which was like water, I changed the filter and refilled with 20/50 motorquip mineral oil and hey presto double the oil pressure on tickover :-) |
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If it ain't broken don't try an fix it. If it is broken it's probably an early LT.
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Cool Box
Groupie Joined: 23 Jul 10 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 73 |
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Cheers for all the advice everybody. I'll get some oil and a filter and let you know how it goes. I got an eye full of warm engine oil last time I tried anything like this so wish me luck. |
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1991 Florida.
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volition82
Yardie Joined: 06 Jan 10 Location: somerset Status: Offline Points: 972 |
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As Tardis said the garage could have used their standard mixed fleet oil which isn't suitable for your engine.
If it's not the oil/filter it could be the pressure sender switch. Something like that i'd by a genuine VW one.
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1989 LT35 - 2.4 Lpg/Petrol - Converted To Camper
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mbtrac
Not Quite Newbie Joined: 16 Feb 13 Location: Cork, Ireland Status: Offline Points: 35 |
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Hi guys, I bought a 1993 lt 31 2.4 turbo diesel last summer but lately as i accelerate the engine, the oil pressure warning light and and buzzer switches on. After reading your posts I changed the oil and filter today but when I road tested her, the buzzer and oil pressure warning light switched on again. I used a MAN filter and a 15W/40 oil to VW 505.00 spec. Do you think that the oil pressure switches are faulty? Are they know for giving trouble? The vehicle was idle for at least 3 years before I bought it but I driven it very little since I got it,apart from getting it tested which it passed. Should I check the gearbox and axle oil levels just in case? Thanks guys |
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mbtrac
Not Quite Newbie Joined: 16 Feb 13 Location: Cork, Ireland Status: Offline Points: 35 |
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Hi Folks,
Found the problem, the wire to the top oil pressure switch was plugged out so when I plugged it back in, it sorted the problem.
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mat_the_cat
Vanorak Joined: 06 May 09 Location: North Wales Status: Offline Points: 1862 |
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Excellent, a nice easy fix!
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Mid engined, 6 cylinder, turbocharged 2 seater - it can only be a VW LT!
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mrhutch
Moderator Group the ginger princess Joined: 21 Aug 07 Location: Herefordshire Status: Offline Points: 5147 |
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T3 1981 Westy Vanagon - thinks lubricant is a fuel
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mbtrac
Not Quite Newbie Joined: 16 Feb 13 Location: Cork, Ireland Status: Offline Points: 35 |
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Thanks guys for your support.
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Cool Box
Groupie Joined: 23 Jul 10 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 73 |
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That's odd, I found exactly the same thing to be the problem with mine this morning. Not before I changed the oil a couple of weeks ago. How come the oil pressure light comes on even though the oil pressure switch is disconnected? Now I've refitted the cable there's a red oil light in the display that flashes before you turn the engine on. Is this normal? |
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1991 Florida.
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mrhutch
Moderator Group the ginger princess Joined: 21 Aug 07 Location: Herefordshire Status: Offline Points: 5147 |
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yes.. it's so you know the LED works |
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T3 1981 Westy Vanagon - thinks lubricant is a fuel
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