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A dead oil pump would lead to the engine running like a sack of turds and running damn hot, you'd lose more and more RPM and then the motor would stop dead, and trying to crank it over would do next to nothing. It sounds more like an oil pressure sensor fault, and the ECU thinking its going to hell in a hand cart has gone into self-preservation mode. I've never heard of an instance of any factory-spec UZ engine spitting its oil pump (seen a couple of boosted 1UZ ones go but they were really pushing the boundaries of what shouldn't be done), but hey, I'll happily eat my words if yours has in fact gone bad.
I'm hoping it's just the pressure switch. I already bought a new one and an oil pressure test kit. I read through the entire service manual and there is no mention of the "low oil pressure" warning anywhere. I've also packed my scanner so I can pull whatever codes it stored. I got an extra oil filter in case the one on there had some sort of internal failure. I don't remember if the battery light came on if it is just an electrical issue. The battery is only a few months old. I'll pick the car up on Monday and take it somewhere I can work on it.
I'm kind of surprised that it's not mentioned in the service manual. It is in the Owner's manual (2004, pg 93). It says:
Low Oil Pressure When the engine oil pressure becomes too low, the
master warning light comes on, a warning tone sounds
and the above message appears.
If this message appears while you are driving, pull off the road
to a safe place and stop the engine immediately. Call a Lexus
dealer or qualified repair shop for assistance.
The message may appear when the oil level is extremely low.
It is not designed to indicate low oil level, and the oil level must
be checked using the oil level dipstick.
On the same page is this warning:
Low ENG Oil Level When the engine oil level is too low, the master warning
light flashes, a warning tone sounds, and the above
message appears.
Add oil as soon as possible. (For instructions, see “Checking
the engine oil level” on page 461.)
While driving on steep inclines or rough roads which causes
the vehicle to substantially sway or on curves, this message
may appear due to the movement of engine oil in the engine.
In normal conditions, due to engine oil consumption, this
message may appear earlier than the specified service interval
of the scheduled maintenance. This is because the engine oil
is consumed to the low level within the scheduled maintenance
interval and does not indicate a problem. (For detailed
information, see “Facts about engine oil consumption” on page
459.)
I never even thought to check the owner's manual. I'm back in CO staying 15 miles from the car. I'm going to rent a flat bed trailer in the morning and I'll move the car to somewhere I can work on it. The car definitely has me spoiled as I just drove my GMC 2500 630 miles today and the ride isn't quite the same.
Thanks rkw for the help. I brought some Teflon tape to put on the threads. I did notice that the threads on the new switch are tapered like pipe threads.
I should have thought of this myself. I once had a 1986 Caddy towed home because the engine just quit mid stride. It was the wire to the pressure sensor just came loose. Bad design in my opinion. Should be some type of indicator to show the problem without just shutting down the engine and leaving you stranded.
The code was a p1349 which is an oil control valve issue. I'm guessing that's a symptom of the low oil pressure. The buzzing noise I was hearing in the mornings is not the power steering. It's coming from the area of the oil pump. I'll have to investigate further but I'm pretty sure it's not the oil pressure switch. Upon inspection I found this:
I'm hoping it's just normal condensation that didn't burn off due to the short run time and the cold temps here.
The code was a p1349 which is an oil control valve issue. I'm guessing that's a symptom of the low oil pressure. The buzzing noise I was hearing in the mornings is not the power steering. It's coming from the area of the oil pump. I'll have to investigate further but I'm pretty sure it's not the oil pressure switch.
I guess the project just got a whole lot more messy (or greasy)... To confirm if the oil pump is operating properly, you will have to remove the oil pressure switch and hook up your pressure gauge to see if you get 4.3 PSI at idle, and 43-85 PSI at 3,000 RPM. This will be a 2-man job, with one person in the car to rev the engine to 3,000 RPM, and the other person under the car to read the pressure gauge.
03-10-18, 10:01 PM
