hey guys need some help/advice:
a few weeks ago i noticed my oil light was flickering (not blinking) on n off when i would brake hard or netime the car jolted from side to side like on hard turns n etc...

i didnt mind it much because i figured it wasnt that bad since it didnt stay on or since it wasnt blinking... and neway, yah, a few days after the oil light started to flicker, it started to actually blink this time over and over again. So while i was at my friends house, i checked the dipstick and the oil mark was at the very tip of the stick. So my friend drove me to get some oil and it took about 3 quarts to get the oil line back to where it should be... for about 5 or 6 days after this, everything was fine, checked the dip stick occasionally and everything was gravy. Yesterday when i was backing outta the garage, there was fresh oil stains on the floor and i popped the hood and saw there was oil splattered all over the hood around the area above where the oil cap is and there was oil on the valve cover as well...

someone please help me out here... some of my friends said it could be a bad gasket $$$ or some seals sprung a leak... thanx alot guys

 

not to sound like a smatass, but was your oil cap tight? and or your dipstick in all the way?

 

ouch, dummy oil light on= less than 5 psi.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Adam F &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">not to sound like a smatass, but was your oil cap tight? and or your dipstick in all the way?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yah the oil cap was on as tight as can be by hand... yah dipstick in all the way

 

you have got to have a leak somewhere. I am sure you know that due to the fact that it had no oil, and that the oil you put in was all over everywhere. I really don't know what to tell you. First place i would look drain plug, oil filter, is this factory or turbo or built or......?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Adam F &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you have got to have a leak somewhere. I am sure you know that due to the fact that it had no oil, and that the oil you put in was all over everywhere. I really don't know what to tell you. First place i would look drain plug, oil filter, is this factory or turbo or built or......?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i only noticed the oil splattered on the hood after i had filled up the 3 quarts... and yes everything is factory cept an SR intake.

... when i first noticed the oil lamp blinking (this was b4 i added the 3 quarts), i figured all that oil was lost b/c i had been pushing the car fairly hard n burning quite a bit of oil ever since my last oil change, and stupidly, i didnt check the dipstick occassionally.

thanx again guys for taking the time to give me your input

 

Do you run a breather filter or run the line from the valve cover to your intake?

You may also want to check your altenator plug to make sure it is in tact. If it is not, your car will flash the oil light and want to die out. If it is in tact, I recommend putting your car up on jacks and inspecting the motor from all angles to see if you have any visible leaks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PrecisionH23a &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do you run a breather filter or run the line from the valve cover to your intake?

You may also want to check your altenator plug to make sure it is in tact. If it is not, your car will flash the oil light and want to die out. If it is in tact, I recommend putting your car up on jacks and inspecting the motor from all angles to see if you have any visible leaks. </TD></TR></TABLE>

thanx for the input... yah i run a line from the valve cover to the intake... i goto UC De Anza and i commute from south san jose (about a good 15-20 miles), and i dont have any other means of gettin to class... is this something that should be worth cuttin classes over and looked at right away... or does it sound ok till the following weekend from the 411 i've provided... thanx again!

 

I was wondering if you were shooting oil out through that location of the vavle cover, that is not the problem in this case. If you were, that lets you know you have a high crank case pressure ventilation and it could be piston ring related. But again, this is not your problem.

Check your altenator plug. It may have came loose.

If you continue driving with low oil pressure you run the risk of ruining your motor by seizing it up. I would have it towed to a shop if you are not comfortable working on your car and do not know too much when it comes to motors and fixing them. On the back of the block there is an oil pressure sending unit underneath your oil filter, I would also check that wire to make sure it is in tact and nothing is wrong with it.

Are you getting any check engine lights? I don't have time to trouble shoot right now, but do an archived search for 'oil light' and you might find someone with a similar problem such as yours and might even find an answer or 2.

 

Precisionh23a: thanx alot man... yah aint too handy with the hands on or DIY's on cars unless its pretty basic basic stuff like intake installation... so you wouldnt reccomend driving it tomorrow at all?

yah aside from that, if i do have to get it looked at, what and where would you reccomend... i dont wanna take it to a dealership unless its the last resort cuz thats really some bank ... and that altenator plug, is that something i can look at right now just starin down into the engine bay? wheres that located at? thanx

 

You didn't start the car with the oil cap off did you? Try cleaning up the mess real good and see if it reappears. How much oil are you losing and how often?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shaundrake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You didn't start the car with the oil cap off did you? Try cleaning up the mess real good and see if it reappears. How much oil are you losing and how often?</TD></TR></TABLE>

nope the oil cap was on when i started the car.... yah ive tried cleaning the mess on the hood... and sure enough, even when i took up to maybe 4 rpms max, still got a lil oil sprayed on the hood... i figured this was only happenin when i took the car pretty hard, but i guess not... and hmmm, id say im losing... well lets just say after like 4 or 5 days, then i can notice a lil difference in the mark on the dipstick... thanx guys... and if i cant isolate or locate the problem, wheres a good cheap place to get this looked at? really runnin on E for money... cant afford having a dealership charging me just to have it looked at let alone get it fixed ... could a gas station look at this? i'll try to put up some pics of what im talking about to give oyu guys some more slack... sorry for the lack of 411...

thanx guys