Radnsmash Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 My 99 Z34 w/ a 3.8 122K, recently got the new APN plenum+gaskets, felpro permadryr LIMGs, and felpro valve cover gaskets put on it. Today i start it up notice the oil light come on. i had to get to work so i already know i scored my bearings good. drove it to work with the oil light on...my dad came to work, drove the car around and said it drove fine...then when i get outta work..start it up, lights on, but it would spontaneously flash...even when it was just sitting in park. had to drive it home again, of course when i get in my driveway, oil light goes away, engine quiets down.. I noticed something was leaking from it (its raining, sure looked like oil however) and the dipstick was checked, full of GTX hi-mileage.....what the hells going on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 The oil light indicates low oil pressure. This can happen when it is low on oil or if the oil pump is going out, an oil leak, etc. That being said, the oil pressure switch on Ws is known to go bad or give erratic reading if you have an oil pressure gauge in your cluster. First, I would replace the oil pressure switch (located next to the oil filter) and see where that gets you. The best bet would be to get a mechanical oil pressure gauge and see what says. However, most people don't have access to one. Was the engine making very loud ticking noises while this was going on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnsmash Posted March 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 Was the engine making very loud ticking noises while this was going on? yep. so its not the sensor since it was doing its job...and there was oil on the ground. but honestly im to fucking tired and pissed off to go outside in the dark and pouring rain to see where its coming from...keep in mind the valve cover gaskets were changed..however i didnt see any seepage. the oil pan gasket was replaced sometime last month after the pump got dirty+stuck open... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 Was the engine making very loud ticking noises while this was going on? yep. so its not the sensor since it was doing its job...and there was oil on the ground. but honestly im to fucking tired and pissed off to go outside in the dark and pouring rain to see where its coming from...keep in mind the valve cover gaskets were changed..however i didnt see any seepage. the oil pan gasket was replaced sometime last month after the pump got dirty+stuck open... Well, that sucks. How long (time) did you drive it like this? A little bit of low oil pressure driving won't totally destroy it. Find the leak. If it was a valve cover gasket it would probably leak onto the exhaust manifolds and cause smoke. If you didn't see any smoke then it's probably the oil pan gasket or lower intake gasket. It could be an oil cooler line (not sure if a 3800 has a factory oil cooler or not). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnsmash Posted March 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 probably like 20 mins..2 10 min trips...and thats gonna be a real nice touch if the already new gaskets that are on there fucking blew out. yesterday when i was driving home i got an SES light...no oil lights then..but i did notice something was unplugged from the alternator..so i plugged it back in..and last night the oil light flashed for like a millisecond. so i have still yet to get the damn code because i dont wanna drive it knowing im just digging it further into the grave. a friend of mine has a scan tool for OBD2 i think.. ill have to call him up. but as far as im concerned i bought one hell of a bad 3800. has had so many fucking oil related problems that i'm just getting rid of it if and when i fix this little issue. and of course ill get chump change for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 If the alternator was unplugged that was probably your SES code. The good thing is external oil leaks are pretty easy track down and find the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnsmash Posted March 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 yeah thats probably it...the code hasnt gone away if that means anything?(even after unplugging the batt several times) I'll have to get out there when its dry out...right now its dark and pouring and is sitting in some mud, so ill look into it later. Anyone want to buy my monte? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnsmash Posted March 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Checked it today...obviously didnt drive it. dipstick says the engines full of oil...start it up...oil light and loud top end noise. Even though its raining i cant spot any noticeably large puddles of oil, or see any leaks visually..has the oil pump given up the ghost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Could have. You mentioned earlier the oil pan was dropped for something involving the oil pump. What exactly was the issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnsmash Posted March 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 The oil pump pressure relief valve was stuck and built up so much pressure it shot oil out through the oil filter gasket and created a geyser under my hood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnsmash Posted March 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 bump...any insight people? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRONDOG442 Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Here some in sight no matter how bad you have to get to work that day don't drive a car that has a low oil pressure warning. When your intake did fail did you drive it to the point of getting oil in your crank case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 The only way to know for sure is to hook up a mechanical oil pressure gauge. Or take off the oil pan and inspect the pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnsmash Posted March 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Here some in sight no matter how bad you have to get to work that day don't drive a car that has a low oil pressure warning. When your intake did fail did you drive it to the point of getting oil in your crank case? the intake didnt fail but it it was on its way. and did you mean antifreeze getting into the crankcase? The only way to know for sure is to hook up a mechanical oil pressure gauge. Or take off the oil pan and inspect the pump. ill probably get the pump inspected...the guy that did it before has a garage not 5 mins down the road from me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRONDOG442 Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Yeah I wonder if your oil pump is fucked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnsmash Posted March 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Yeah I wonder if your oil pump is fucked! Good feeling it is...wouldn't be the first time its given me problems, i'm just as curious to see if its finally had it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnsmash Posted March 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Oh, apparently my oil pan was never dropped...so maybe that gasket needs to be changed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 Oh, apparently my oil pan was never dropped...so maybe that gasket needs to be changed That wouldn't necessarily explain the low oil pressure though. If that gasket was leaking your oil level would be low and you'd see signs of it leaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnsmash Posted March 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 i have a feeling the oil pump got gunked up by coolant again....thats what had happened to it last month..the remedy was just letting the pan fully drain out...the oil came out "like mud"..so coolant was probably getting into it..now that the LIMG and everything up top is fixed i shouldnt have to worry about that, hopefully the weather clears up soon so i can take a closer look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jman093 Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 I've never done lower intake gaskets on a 3800, just a ton of upper intakes, so sorry if this is irrelevant, but is there much RTV sealant to scrape off when changing the LIMG? I've seen times where people who try to do their own 3100/3400 LIMG and they end up knocking a couple pieces of the RTV into the valley of the engine and it eventually gets picked up by the sump and clogs up the screen of the sump, starving the engine for oil. Lifters start making noise, oil light sometimes comes on, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 From the factory there is only RTV in the "valley" between the heads where the LIM meets the block (I'm pretty sure this is the case). It's very possible for this to happen though, if you don't watch yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnsmash Posted March 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 Changed the oil today...same problem...drove it to the garage down the road(less than 5 min drive, couldnt have hurt the motor that bad, and it wasnt ticking that loud) Will know this week whats wrong with it; the guy has a mechanical oil pressure gauge, and if the pumps toast, ill be selling a parts Z34 very soon. if its a cheap fix, ill get it done and probably drive it till i graduate(less than 3 months) and see what I can get for it around summertime. I wont need it anywho, cant have a car on campus the 1st year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radnsmash Posted March 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 Well folks..bad news. The noise was diagnosed as a low-end knock...and we all know what that means..she's toast. Gonna start looking for a new car, hopefully something that can take my tires(less than 5K miles on them). Not sure if I'm gonna go the W-body route again...if I do, I'll be sure to find one in better shape than what my Z was...too little to late. Thanks to everyone on here, for the first time I have actually found a forum that's helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euro Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 Damn. That sucks man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitaloutsider Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 L36's are cheap! Find another one! (god, what am I saying?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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