So after it overheated while driving and the belt broke, I just had my radiator, hoses, water pump belt and thermostat replaced. Driving it home from the shop, I noticed the oil light started to come on sitting at idle (but needle rose up again when revving engine). The temperature gauge also started to read a little hot but not all the way in the red. Could this have something to do with a bad repair, or is the oil pump going bad? I know the sender could likely be the culprit, but the engine is getting hotter than normal so there really could be an oil problem. Oil dipstick reads full with 5W30. It never did this before the belt broke/causing the overheating the first time. Going to call the mechanic about it tomorrow and see about bringing it in again. Any advice is appreciated!
I should add that I changed the oil just before the repair also… not certain what weight was in it before as this is the first oil change that I did while I've had the car, but it's full and golden.
5W30 is a little thin I think, and you may have some air trapped in the cooling system that is causing the high temp. With thin oil and high temp you may get what you are seeing. The light and the pressure are sent by different parts of the sensor, to I would say that the reading are likely correct. Low pressure light flickering at idle is not really that bad as long is it comes up with RPM. I think I would try some 20W30 or 20W50 since it is near summer. I think they are totally seperate problems if you can call them that. Larry
[This message has been edited by trotterlg (edited 04-09-2014).]
That is what I'd hoped.I was thinking the oil pressure would be related to the oil change, and hoping that it wasn't the oil pump or bearings going... not sure how extensive of a repair that would be, but pretty sure it's an expensive one that I wouldn't be able to tackle myself.
Also, I've heard of many different types of oil being used in these cars, what is the factory recommended viscosity? Haven't been able to find this info anywhere for some reason.
[This message has been edited by FieroCat (edited 04-09-2014).]
That is what I'd hoped.I was thinking the oil pressure would be related to the oil change, and hoping that it wasn't the oil pump or bearings going... not sure how extensive of a repair that would be, but pretty sure it's an expensive one that I wouldn't be able to tackle myself.
Also, I've heard of many different types of oil being used in these cars, what is the factory recommended viscosity? Haven't been able to find this info anywhere for some reason.
5w-30 is recommended from GM.
Get a confirmation of oil pressure with a mechanical guage. If the oil pressure is still low, you may have too much clearance at the bearings or the oil pump is blocked... or... ??? Anyway, you have a problem that should be dealt with if you plan on keeping the car.
Get a confirmation of oil pressure with a mechanical guage. If the oil pressure is still low, you may have too much clearance at the bearings or the oil pump is blocked... or... ??? Anyway, you have a problem that should be dealt with if you plan on keeping the car.
Ayup with everything he said, as well it could be a clogged oil screen for the low oil pressure. you don't know what the original owner had in it and he may have had a thicker weight in there to mask a problem it already had. A common trick I have used to increase oil pressure when I had bad oil rings.
if I remember right the oil recommended is on the dip stick, I could be wrong.
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.
[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 04-09-2014).]
It may depend on how hot it got for how long etc..when it overheated, and the condition of the old oil since you said you changed the oil for the first time since you had the car after this overheat. Hopefully the oil wasnt inefficient to lube the bearings.
[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 04-09-2014).]
Hmm, hopefully it didn't overheat for long enough to do that… it was a matter of 2 minutes between the belt snapping and shutting off the car when I realized what was happening. It wasn't enough to blow the head gasket, fortunately.
Just be careful about associating the two events. Change the oil and put in 20W40 or at least 10W30. See what you get, it is cheap and will tell you a lot. Neither will kill your engine. If the oil pressure is back up then work the temperature problem. I would seriously doubt a clogged oil screen, that did not happen due to over heating or changing your oil. Take care to not over worry a problem. Having the oil light flicker at idle is not a big issue as long as the pressure comes up at speed. A clogged pump pickup will show most when the pump is trying pump lots of oil at high RPM, not when it is sucking very little at idle. Larry
[This message has been edited by trotterlg (edited 04-09-2014).]
