Checking Oil Pressure

[David N.]

Hey all,

I have been trying to track down a ticking noise coming from inside the engine compartment of a 2000S, so me and a friend put it on stands and opened up the top to see where it was coming from (and also to see just how it was put together). Seems like the sound is coming from the engine and both sides of it, so my friend suggested valve tap, which seems like a possibility now.

Now I know that sound is also part of the Porsche charm, and perhaps a bit of the aging process, but I've learned that valve tap could be a symptom of low oil pressure. I noted that the rev-based ticking did not seem to go away revving the engine (just got drowned out by the engine sound), and it didn't seem to diminish when the engine warmed up.

Does anyone know of a way to check oil pressure in a 2000 S without getting a seperate oil pressure gauge? I read the service manual and it seems like there is an oil pressure sensor, but there isn't a code to read it in the console test mode thing.

Failing that, has anyone dealt with low oil pressure? I didn't see any collapsing tubes or whatnot in the engine when revving, and the RMS looked fine. I wasn't sure exactly where the air-oil seperator was but I don't get any smoke on startup so didn't seem like the symptons fit. Suggestions?

-David
2000 Ocean Blue S