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Hello,
So I pulled the codes in the title after the CEL came on with the VSC as well and a flashing low oil pressure light. Limped the car home and checked the codes. Car ran normally the entire time. No misfires or reduced performance that I could tell. Checked the oil: clean, correct level, correct viscosity (changed it about 3000mi ago). Cleared the codes. Restarted and ran fine. No codes, no oil pressure issue.
The following day, I started the car and the idle shot up to 2000rpm and the low oil pressure light immediately came on. The car ran noticably worse so I killed it right away.
My first instinct is VVT solenoids, but why both banks at the same time? Could it be the camshaft position sensors or perhaps something pertaining to the oil pressure itself?
I'm not really sure where to start on this and I'm hoping someone out there has seen the situation before.
Might you have access to (or known someone that does) a OBDII scanner? I'd pull the codes (if any). I'm unsure if the low oil warning automatically triggers the VSC alert or not. You could just have a faulty oil level sending unit sensor. I'd check around that sensor for oily residue. They're known to leak too!
I'd pull the se sensor, install a T, add a temporary aftermarket oil pressure sender. You can go mechanical or electronic. Mechanical will be cheap and tell you what you need to know.
Interesting one ex and one intake on opposite heads. Sounds like oil pressure issue but then the lifters would rattle...
Might you have access to (or known someone that does) a OBDII scanner? I'd pull the codes (if any). I'm unsure if the low oil warning automatically triggers the VSC alert or not. You could just have a faulty oil level sending unit sensor. I'd check around that sensor for oily residue. They're known to leak too!
Thank you for the reply! So the codes I pulled were for for camshaft accelerated position bank 1 and 2 in the a and b position. From what I've seen so far, there are no leaks and the oil level is correct. I'm testing the oil pressure switch. Hopefully that's it. Praying it's not the oil pump!
The switch for the light only needs like 5 to 7psi to trip the light off. The engine needs like 35psi at idle. Hence suggesting a real analog pressure gauge. You will know the health of the engine.
Notice in this pic I'm priming a fresh engine. That speed handle is driving the oil pump and the mechanical gauge showed 60psi when turned by hand.
So my question at this point would be how do I test engine oil pressure without actually running the engine or being in an engine out situation (sincere question)? I tested the oil pressure sensor and it needed to be replaced, but I still have low oil pressure. I did run the engine for about 10 seconds and then killed when I got the low oil pressure light again. Also, I heard a clacking when I shut it down.
You can pull the injector fuse so it won't start, however the oil pump is on the crankshaft and the crank needs to spin to turn it. Doing this allows you to spin it at cranking speed and it should have oil pressure > 25psi if there are no internal leaks.
Please tell us the story behind the scenes as a pump failure is not common. What is the history here? Has it ran out of oil? Were the valve covers off for some reason as O-rings seal them to the head and a misplaced O-ring means internal leaks and no oil pressure.
So I've owned the car for about 6 months. It has about 130,000mi. AfterI purchased the vehicle, one of the first things I did was change the oil. When I took the old oil filter out it was twisted badly. I replaced it with a new filter, put 5w 30 full synthetic oil in and that's pretty much the end of the story as far as the oil system is concerned. I haven't changed any of the seals or gone beyond a simple oil change. The car has run and driven excellent until now. The engine has always been smooth and quiet. I wish I had more information to give.
After I tested the pressure sensor and replaced it, I ran the car and then shut it down. After I shut the engine off I opened the oil filler cap and it didn't look as if oil had reached the valves.
All help is much appreciated
So I've owned the car for about 6 months. It has about 130,000mi. AfterI purchased the vehicle, one of the first things I did was change the oil. When I took the old oil filter out it was twisted badly. I replaced it with a new filter, put 5w 30 full synthetic oil in and that's pretty much the end of the story as far as the oil system is concerned. I haven't changed any of the seals or gone beyond a simple oil change. The car has run and driven excellent until now. The engine has always been smooth and quiet. I wish I had more information to give.
After I tested the pressure sensor and replaced it, I ran the car and then shut it down. After I shut the engine off I opened the oil filler cap and it didn't look as if oil had reached the valves.
All help is much appreciated
Can you confirm all parts of old filter were found and removed?
By this $20 and an adapter with the same thread as the sender you removed. Install at the same location as current sensor. You can install "T" and keep both sensors to keep the low oil pressure light off. Either way, install per instructions. It comes with a plastic line long enough to route the gauge to you for visibility.
You can either pull the fuse or start it. There should be plenty of utube videos on this... if pressure is less than 15 there might be something stuck in the oil pickup. Which if true, it's now a roll of the dice if it damaged the oil pump itself.
AFTER DOING THE PRESSURE TEST, PULL THE OIL FILTER and with a good light and magnify lens, look for metal in the pleats of the filter. If anything is found, post up.
This engine has two oil pans. You can remove and one ans inspect the pickup screen. Do this after testing.
How exactly did you test the pressure switch? On the car it has two states; open or shorted. Off the car you have to apply pressure to achieve both states. That said it could be in the wrong state off the car and fail the ohm test.
I really appreciate all the replies! I will be doing a bunch of testing tomorrow to hopefully find the solution. I will definitely try some of the tests suggested in the comments. I need to get a hold of pressure tester but I'm sure that won't be hard to find.
As far as testing the pressure sensor I did just test for resistance based on a YouTube. I'm a weekend mechanic at best.
Pulled the filter out and it's twisted up pretty bad. When I pulled the strainer, I could see through the screen and it didn't seem clogged. An interesting factor: when I checked the oil from the dipstick, it was a light Amber color. When I drained it, it came out black. I wasn't able to test the pressure in the system so I did skip a step because the tool wasn't readily accessable in my area.
Fixed! Did a standard oil change. Replaced the clogged filter, cleaned the strainer, cleaned the oil pan, torqued everything back to spec and its back to running normally. I'm thinking of running the car for 500 miles and doing another oil change to make sure everything is flushed out.
Thanks to those that replied and offered up such great advice!
02-16-20 | 04:13 PM
2006 IS250 AWD Pulled codes P0014, P0021, and low oil pressure
