Oil pressure warning light coming on! - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

kkmchan · 06-14-2008, 09:10 AM

Bought my 2000 Boxster 6 months ago with almost 90k miles on it, had a PPI done at AAA told everything good. Symptoms: After driving awhile, usually when slowing to a stop in low RPM situations, oil pressure warning light comes on. Notice some high pitch sound from the engine. Gas it up and the light goes away, also seems to go away when at idle. No leak on the floor and dipstick showed good oil level. Look from top of engine compartment no obvious leak.
I've searched and read many posts, suspect oil separator vs oil filler tube vs oil pump problem? Can you guys shed some light on this? Oil separator may be a DIY but I'm not so sure about oil pump...
Thanks a million and happy Father's Day to you all!

Paul · 06-14-2008, 06:20 PM

Not good, change your oil and filter and hopefully it will stop happening. Low oil pressure when the dipstick reads normal cannot be caused by a bad oil/air separator. High pitch noises from internal parts of the motor is very bad, hopefully yours is the alternator or something else turned by the serpentine belt.

If an oil change does not fix the light and the noise take it to a dealer.

What speed is the car idling at when the light comes on? Does increasing the rpm cause it to go out? Tell us more about the noise.

kkmchan · 06-15-2008, 08:36 AM

Thanks for the replay. The light and sound actually come on when at lower speed, usually after the car been driven for a while. And goes away when at stop while engine idling. So it's hard from me to try to listen to where the sound is from. But like you said, I wonder it could be a clogged filter, in which case changing oil and filter might help. It was just changed before I bought the car. If that doesn't fix it I probably have to take it to the shop.

Tool Pants · 06-15-2008, 08:41 AM

I would suspect a faulty oil pressure sender.

Lil bastard · 06-15-2008, 09:14 PM

I think a faulty sender or a fault in the wiring is a good call.

What I don't like is the Oil Pressure light and the high pitch sound from the engine, though I suspect these are probably just ancellary related.

Were it me, for my own peace of mind, I'd spend a couple bucks and either take it to a mechanic or buy and attach a mechanical Oil Pressure Gauge and take a reading.

You'll need a M14 x 1.5 adapter or Gauge and need to remove a M14 x 1.5 plug (6mm Allen bit) from the 1-3 Cylinder Bank, then screw in the mechanical gauge. While running at idle, look for 1.5 BAR or 21.75PSI. Increase the RPM to 5,000 @ 194°F Oil temp, and you want to see 5BAR or 72.5PSI. This way, you remove any doubt.

kkmchan · 06-17-2008, 12:23 PM

Talk to a shop 30 miles away, said it is probably the oil separator. Another shop in town told me better not to drive it, tow it in to get checked out.
Now that's making me worry. I think checking it with a gauge is a great idea. Can you give me a pointer where to get one of these? Kragen/Autozone? I'll probably go to the store and ask soon.

Lil bastard · 06-17-2008, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkmchan

Talk to a shop 30 miles away, said it is probably the oil separator. Another shop in town told me better not to drive it, tow it in to get checked out.
Now that's making me worry. I think checking it with a gauge is a great idea. Can you give me a pointer where to get one of these? Kragen/Autozone? I'll probably go to the store and ask soon.

Oil Pressure Gauge w/ adapters (KD 3343) - http://www.mytoolstore.com/kd/kdengi12.html

deliriousga · 06-18-2008, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkmchan

Talk to a shop 30 miles away, said it is probably the oil separator. Another shop in town told me better not to drive it, tow it in to get checked out.

Your separator may be causing the squealing noise like mine did, but I never had a problem with oil pressure when that happened. I do agree with that mechanic on the "don't drive it" part. Low oil pressure will kill the engine if it's a real problem and not just the sender.

Hope for the best, but park it in the mean time until you are able to fix it or send it somewhere to take care of the problem.

kkmchan · 06-18-2008, 12:47 PM

Thanks for all your posts.
The first time it happened, the light just came on suddenly and went off, I wasn't quite sure. So I drove it the next day, it didn't happen until I drove it for like 15 minutes, with the light and the sound (almost like a high pitch, constant, wheezing sound). So if the oil separator malfunctioning can cause some noise, that might be it.
Since the light/sound doesn't come on for any length of time, I think I'm gonna risk it and take it to the shop, the owner works on only porsche and bmw so I think I can trust him. He quoted me $500 for replacing oil separator. I read alot of replacing it DIY but just not sure about getting the tools and everything together. Especially if it turns out to be something else.
He won't take it in until next week though so I'll keep you all posted.

deliriousga · 06-18-2008, 01:06 PM

The only tools you need for the oil separator replacement are screwdrivers and a 10mm socket wrench. The part is around $100 at Sunset Porsche so it's worth it to DIY it and keep the $400 toward something else if it's not the separator.

kkmchan · 06-25-2008, 07:27 AM

I going to bite the bullet and replace the oil separator, see what happen. Will keep you posted.
Question: it is a job that can be done on 2 ramps, without jacking up the car? We have a slope in the driveway, and that's what I do with oil change for my other car, works out real well.

kkmchan · 07-02-2008, 09:19 PM

Well, that did it. I changed the oil separator over the weekend, and the problem is fixed! The oil pressure light no longer comes on and no hissing sound! Sweet!

As for the job itself, it is a pain, but it's not as bad as I thought. Thanks to Mike Focke's page, and getting the tool he recommended, it makes the job so much easier. Although I think if you're left-handed this will be an even easier job, since you do most of it with your left hand.

Thanks, deliriousga, for pointing it out. And sure enough I saved myself $400. But it's more of a satisfaction knowing that I fixed it myself.

So if any one else come upon a similar problem, there you have it, it's the oil separator.

Turboflyer · 12-06-2014, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkmchan

Well, that did it. I changed the oil separator over the weekend, and the problem is fixed! The oil pressure light no longer comes on and no hissing sound! Sweet!

As for the job itself, it is a pain, but it's not as bad as I thought. Thanks to Mike Focke's page, and getting the tool he recommended, it makes the job so much easier. Although I think if you're left-handed this will be an even easier job, since you do most of it with your left hand.

Thanks, deliriousga, for pointing it out. And sure enough I saved myself $400. But it's more of a satisfaction knowing that I fixed it myself.

So if any one else come upon a similar problem, there you have it, it's the oil separator.

Not to doubt your results, but I can not see how oil pressure and crank case vacuums/pressure are related. Maybe some one can enlighten me. Have a vested interested since I have an engine oil light, no smoke, and no CEL. Would seem a CEL would follow or proceed a CEL, right?

Timco · 12-07-2014, 03:33 AM

Those posts were from about 6 years ago. The search function works great! Welcome!

Not sure how you'd get the oil light solved with an AOS. Search for a threads about snakes. Thin beads of gasket material blocking the sump pick up screen. Have to drop the pan to get to that. This is assuming the sending unit and filter is in good shape and loss of pressure is verified.