oil pressure problem, oil light keeps coming on Options

[mrbubblehead]

im having a problem with my 914. the oil light for my 1.8, keeps coming on. never when the engine is cool. but after it is good and hot. it will come on when get off the freeway and sit at a stop sign. it comes on when im hard cornering. it even came on once after i was getting on the freeway at wide open throttle then immediately decelerate. i am running 20-50 wt oil. and 800 rpm idle. and oil level to the top line. but the problem gets worse as the oil level drops. im not real familiar with the type 4 engine. but know the type 1 very well.

i have a couple ideas for where the problem may lie.

1. oil pump is wore out

2. windage tray, or lack of.

its not a defective oil pressure switch, i replaced it with a new one with the same result. in fact, i now have oil light and an oil pressure gauge.

im pretty sure this is not normal for a type 4. but i want to ask anyways, so i can rule it out. any ideas?

[-JR-]

I know this thread is old, but thought I would add my 2c as I have a similar situation.

I'm running Mobile 1 synth 20-50 and have found the exact symptoms as described in this thread on my motor since it was new and rebuild new again.

I've found that the Mobile 1, while I don't have any charts on it's response, seems to thin out very quick after my oil temp clears 190F. At least that's what my oil pressure is telling me.

After oil temps pass 200F I get idiot light under 800RPM and oil pressure is reporting just under 1/2 BAR, which is the idiot light trip I believe. My engine is fairly well balanced and tuned, so it will like to idle as low as 600 RPM.

Once my oil temps pass 210F I find I can not maintain 1 bar per 1000RPM, which makes me nervous. I've added additional oil cooling with a forced air fan to try and regulate my oil temps below 210F. Works well unless I hit really hot days over 80F and traffic.

I'm running 2.2L on my engine, so I don't have a good "bead"on the concept of stock cooling managing the extra power. Personally, I want to see my oil temps under 200F.

When I said earlier that I've seen this on my new and rebuilt new again motor... I had some unrelated mechanical failures, in my top end, so it gave me a chance to look at the internals a couple times. After measuring bearing clearances I found no issues that would account for the low pressures, so don't write off your motor prematurely.

The first reply to the thread really nails it though. The oil is probably the biggest factor as long as the motor is in good shape. Running an oil that doesn't drop below 30W maybe 40W probably would help the low pressure issues at high temp. I've always run Mobile 1 synth 20-50, but after the last couple hot summers I have with the car on the road I think I'll look for something a little heavier. But I will add that the Mobile 1 Synth still has some of the highest zinc levels for our solid lifter cars on the market for an "off the shelf" oil. Most of the places around here don't carry Brad P.'s oil so the M1 is a good choice for me.

Happy motoring.