| Author | Message | ||
     Narinder Pal (Narinder) Member Username: Narinder Post Number: 54 Registered: 03-2003 |
Does your Oil Pressure Light flicker every once and a while especially after being on the highway for a while? I have had an on going issue with my oil pressure light on my 97 disco. I tried everything ... new switch, dropped pan, cleaned oil screen, checked bearings and finally replace oil pump... what a nightmare. After all that, I'm driving on the highway and my oil light pops on once again... I was stumped because I usually wouldn't get any lifter noise but the light indicated I had low oil pressure. Well, after getting screwed by a mechanic I decided I had to devote the time to figure this out myself as I was going nuts not being able to drive my truck. I figured if the the problem wasn't in the pan, not the pump... itmust be in the top end. Here is what I found...I pulled the valve covers off and the sludge and crud in there was unbelievable. I suspect what was happening is that the pump was pumping the top end full of oil but this oil was very slow to make it back to the pan due to the sludge.. at higher speeds it was only a matter of time before the oil pump didn't have enough oil in the pan to pump... I didn't get significant lifter noise because the top end of the motor was always full of oil. During city driving the light didn't come on since I wasn't driving it long enough and hard enough to drain the pan. One would suspect that the bearings should have been cooked but I just bought the truck a year ago and I suspect that the bearings were just replaced by the dealer before I purchased it... that's why they are still in good shape and little sludge in the pan when I opened it up. I am now disassembling the motor myself and getting the valves etc... professionally cleaned. I will now only use synthetic oil and hope that there are no problems from here on in. Unfortunately, it seems that this truck was abused by the previous owner but atleast it's in good hands now. If you have the intermittent oil light I suggest you pull your valve covers and take a close look at the top end. | ||
| eric johnson (Eric2) Member Username: Eric2 Post Number: 150 Registered: 05-2003 |
Well, just damn! Good catch. | ||
| Kai Dussling (Kai) Member Username: Kai Post Number: 95 Registered: 06-2002 |
See thread: "Dirty lil motor" | ||
| Narinder Pal (Narinder) Member Username: Narinder Post Number: 55 Registered: 03-2003 |
The pics in the thread look very familiar. It looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me. I wonder if it is worth it or should I be looking for another motor? It suprises me that a motor can generate so much sludge... some posters say that they changed their oil religiously only find similar sludge build up... what is it about this motor anyway? |
