High Oil Pressure and Elevation
 

Hi,
I just got back from a leisurely drive up to the ski resort and back in my '99 boxster. I had an interesting problem. I arrived and stopped for about 10 minutes and then while I was waiting in neutral to get back on the road to come back down I had a problem. I revving the engine at around 2000-3000rpm to start going and the car died. So I go to restart it and the engine won't turn over, it took about 6-7 seconds turning the key to get it to turn over and then I drove off. The Oil Gauge is normally around 180 but it was at 200. This was at an elevation of 8500 feet and I live at about 5000 feet. As I got back down the mountain the oil gauge went back to 180.

Any thoughts on what this could be? Could be the altitude?
Any way to fix it?
Also it was 85° out.

Thanks!

Vapor lock?? :confused:

Whats vapor lock?

Not sure it's vapor lock. I thought that only happened with carburetor's? But there is probably something wrong with how your cars engine computer is adjusting the fuel/air ratio at that altitude. If you're not a member of the PCA go to PCA.org and join. It's only $42/year and you get two great magazines plus access to Tech help by Boxster mechanics in their Tech Q & A section.

Are we talking oil pressure (in PSI) here or coolant temperature (in degree F)? From the numbers you're throwing around, this appears to be coolant temp, and unless you have added an oil pressure gauge (as I did by installing a 996 cluster) you dont have a readout of oil pressure.

If we're on the same page here, and we're talking about coolant temp, yes, higher elevations can cause increased engine temps due to the engine working harder because of less dense air, and the fact that water boils at a lower temp at altitude.

Patrick

I was thinking the same thing...what oil pressure gauge?... unless he's gone to a 996 cluster and the whole shebang with a sender. :confused: I'm pretty sure he is talking coolant temp.

My bad, it is coolant temp.

Rick, are you running good fuel? 93 octane? How many miles on your car?

"Whats vapor lock?"

Fuel boils, or turns to vapor, in the fuel lines due to high temps in the engine compartment.
Used to be a common problem in the summer, but not so much anymore, global warming notwithstanding.
200 deg. at altitude isn't unusual.
Try driving a 911 through the Eisenhower Tunnel at 9,500 ft with the OIL TEMP gauge creeping past 240 if you want to get the willies.

17,600 miles with premium

I would suggest new plugs (when were these replaced last?) and a good quality fuel system cleaner like the Chevron product with Techron, the big bottle.

You could have a leaky injector too.

Whats your radiator look like? It may need a good proper cleaning. Do a search here for some info on that. As mentioned earlier, 200 degrees isn't very alarming going up mountains in high altitude.

99 Box
17,600 mi
engine died, won't turn over

It could be a lot of things. Got hot, vapor lock, weak battery, bad gas, etc. This car has been driven very little and spent most of it's life in a garage. If it runs ok now and no CEL I wouldn't worry too much. It probably just got a little hot going up the hill.

It actually happened again today and took 2-3 seconds to turn over then the check engine light came on. I am taking it on Tues. maybe the machanic can shed some light on this problem. The fuel is fine, so I don't know what is up with it? I also have to rev it up to about 2000-3000 rpm from starts to keep the engine from dying all the time now.

THAT'S NUTS! There is no reason for you to have to do that,take your car to the dealership or indy mechanic A.S.A.P.,and since your car is under warranty(If I remember right) have them pay for it. :)

Keep us posted!

I'm taking it in Tues. the list of things for them to check keeps growing. Thanks for all the advice.

I took it in today, there probably gonna have it for about a week and a half. I just hope that they replace anything that is wrong and fix it.

I found out what the problem was today. The engine had a vacuum leak, there going to fix the seal, and it should be running fine. It is interesting how something so small can cause so many problems.

Got it back after almost exactly two weeks. The car runs fine, the experience was diappointing, with a few new scratches and a torn up leather e-brake boot. The're no going to hear the last of this.