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Saab 9k 2.3 oil pressure

A year or so ago I posted that I'd lost all oil pressure (whilst the car was parked- was fine on previous trip and no pressure next time I started it). I changed the oil pump rotor and primed with vaseline that time and it got oil pressure stright away and ran fine.

I recently lent the car to a friend for a few months and after several weeks driving she phoned to say that it needed oil and what oil to use, followed by another call to say that the oil pressure light was staying on.

I got the car back home and now I'm at square one again. No oil pressure, with no visible signs of disastrous engine damage etc. It starts fine, but with no oil pressure. I assume that the oil strainer is getting blocked. Is there any way of clearing it without lifting the engine to drop the sump? I have access to an air line - would it be possible to blow air down either the feed to the pump, or one of the pipes to the oil filter to clear the blockage, followed by emptying and flushing the sump oil?

Reply to
danny
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"danny" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@gazzia-espresso.com...

Danny,

Ask yourselfe why there is no damage to the engine when there is no oil pressure

Maybe its the reading thats incorrect. No weird sound when the pressure is zero? In my opinion its the sensor that uh .... ofline.

So first start with chekking the oilpressure sensor.

Second part te look at is the oilfilter. On older cars (whats in an name) it sometimes gets blocked and there is no pasby the filter.

Erik

Reply to
Erik de Fotograaf

There is definitely no oil pressure. The first thing that happens with lack of oil is the tappets start rattling (being hydraulic). There are plenty of weird sounds. Sounds of an engine running with no oil. For a short time this won't seize the engine. When it happened last time I drove it for 4 miles with no oil pressure, convinced I had blown the engine, but after replacing the oil pump rotor and priming with vaseline (does the 2.3 need priming?) it started fine and ran quietly after a few minutes. The car then ran for a few months before losing pressure again with the same symptoms.

The filter and oil have always been changed at 3k mile intervals.

Reply to
danny

"danny" skrev i en meddelelse news: snipped-for-privacy@gazzia-espresso.com...

What type of oil do you use?

Cheers!

Reply to
Henrik B.

Brother Eric has it right - your engine should have long ago started smoking *severely* if you were down to grease and a prayer or had completely filled the block with extra. Check your system for a loose wire, bad sender or bad gauge. Get a shop to dump any overage in the block before it blows your seals.

It may still be that it is not making *enough* pressure of course - but do the sensor/dump extra drill first - then get a shop to hook up a remote gauge to confirm real pressure with the new sensor in.

Reply to
Dexter J

Apologies, but Brother Eric is incorrect. There is no oil pressure. I had the car trailered home to avoid further engine damage. Actually, when I spoke to the local Saab main agent last time they told me that driving a 9000 for a few miles at low speeds with no oil pressure wouldn't blow the engine up. It would certainly shorten the lifespan of the engine though.

This time, as soon as the symptoms were noticed the driver stopped and switched the engine off.

Reply to
danny

Semi synthetic (either 10w40 or 15w40), used in all regular (3000m) oil changes over the last 4 years.

Reply to
danny

"danny" skrev i en meddelelse news: snipped-for-privacy@gazzia-espresso.com...

Start using a fully synth instead - preferrably a 5W-40. A fully synth oil (aka Mobil1) has some cleaning additives added, which helps to free the inside of the engine of dirt.

It sounds like your olipump might pump air - valve-rattle. I'd suggest that you remove the sump-pan (correct word?) and clean this good....

Cheers!

Reply to
Henrik B.

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