oil light ?

I don't think there's any remaining doubt (not that there ever was IMO) that synthetic oils are better than non synthetic ones in pretty much all respects. One small downside is the possibility of oil leaks if you switch to them on a very high mileage vehicle where tar and gum build ups are actually helping worn oil seals and gaskets to seal. However on a low mileage vehicle this isn't an issue and the choice is really a no brainer. When Mobil 1 came out many years ago I had a friend who worked in an independent oil testing laboratory and they saw zero wear on it in the standard tests for the first time ever. It represented a quantum leap forward over any oil that had previously existed.

However, all modern oils of a high quality, synthetic or not, are so good nowadays that any well maintained engine should last as long as anyone could reasonably require. High mileage engines weren't a problem (truck diesels for example with 500k plus miles) with good maintenance 30 years ago before synthetics ever came along and all oil technology and additives have improved vastly since then.

The main criteria are the same as they ever were. The best possible filtration to remove debris particles and regular oil changes to maintain the oil quality. Note that most debris gets into an engine through the air filter and has nothing directly to do with the oil system at all. It's just that having got past the piston rings it's the job of the oil system to try and filter this out.

So best quality oil and ESPECIALLY air filters changed at specified intervals or even more frequently, OE manufacturer ones can't usually be beaten, and high quality oil, preferably synthetic but frankly as long as it meets the manufacturer's specs that the least important of the three things. Air filtration is by far the most important.

-- Dave Baker

If the OP is lucky, all he needs is an oil pressure sender and to stop pouring anything other than engine oil into his crankcase.

Exactly.

Oy, a netcop who thinks his posting preferences are the correct ones.

Be aware of the extremely high levels of Chlorine in Prolong...and of the extremely deleterious effect Chlorine has on metals in bearings and other wear-critical parts of an engine. Sure, it's slippery -- go pour some bleach on your hands and they'll be slippery, too. As far as Slick-50 goes, Teflon in oil additives is known *by the one and only maker of Teflon* to precipitate out and clog oil passages. I would say this engine has been abused by the introduction into the crankcase of foreign substances.

If you're lucky, all you need is a new oil pressure sender, and to STOP pouring crap other than engine oil into the crankcase.

DS

They are, of course.

If you do a gogle search you will see that this is a common problem for this engine. Sluge build up in this engine is a problem. There is a chance all you need to do is replace the sensor, but most likely tjere is more to it.

My recommendation in order of cost:

2) Get engine flushed out, Best method is called a Bilstien. More shops are offering this now. It chemically flushes out the oiling system in the engine. I can assure you this system works well.

4) Worst case senario engine replacement

Thanks Dave...I'm switching to Mobil 1 for my next oil change. My air filter was just recently replaced under a Safety Recall Bulletin; this one has a reduced chance of catching fire from occasional occurrences in the intake, as the mfg puts it. I check it quite often ( it's easy to do, just pop 2 clips and out she comes ), and I clean the MAF at the same time as it is right there staring me in the face. I hit it with a jet of throttle plate cleaner. It is just apparently a wire as far as I can tell, at least the sensor part of it appears to be just a little wire.

I've been changing out my oil at 3 month intervals, because my mileage from month to month varies wildly from almost nothing, to a few long trips during the holidays. Now I will put in Mobil 1 and instead of changing it every 3 months, I'll most likely go to changing it every 4 months.

I'm still undecided on how often to change the OEM oil filter though. If I go by mileage alone, 4 months should be OK also.

Lg trying not to be penny wise and dollar foolish

Just be sure to fill the crankcase up twice a week, and change your gasoline every 3,000 miles.

--scott

Most likely just a bad sending unit, but it may have some plugged passages from the Slick-50 spooge, too. I'd never put that in an engine under any circumstances, personally.

Take a long walk off a short pier.

Larry Behold Beware Believe

| > Oy, a netcop who thinks his posting preferences are the correct ones. | | They are, of course. | -- | Joseph J. Pfeiffer, Jr., Ph.D. Phone -- (505) 646-1605 | Department of Computer Science FAX -- (505) 646-1002 | New Mexico State University

OOOOOOOOOOO!! burned!!

LOL!!

Bottom posting was good enough for the founders of usenet and it is good enough for me. :-)

Only IE weenies top post.

Matt

I tried the Slick 50 at one time, never had any problems, got nearly 200,000 out of the engine before I sold the car, and it still didnt burn oil between changes.

I have heard stories about it clogging engines but never saw it happen personally.

It isn't needed, in any case.

Some engines had the tendency over time for the oil pickup to loosen, and you could get varying degrees of pressure loss, up to and including total failure. Dont know if his engine would be susceptible to this, but underlines the need to find out if he really has pressure problems.

Posted from Mozilla, Mac OS :-p

Matt Whit> Joe Pfeiffer wrote:

I'm an omni-poster. I post wherever the heck I feel like posting at the moment :-)

I don't know enough to say about that. But I would also check that the thermostat isn't stuck open.

You and Bob probably know more than I, but that doesn't sound right to me. My simple view follows:

The engine creates the same resistance to oil flow at high rpm as at low rpm. The oil flows through the bearings faster at high rpm because the pump is pushing oil faster and the pressure is greater. At high rpm, the engine needs the higher oil flow rate to cool and lube the faster-moving parts. But the bearings are as tight at high rpm as at low so that pressure depends on pump output only. So if you were to drive the pump by an external drive shaft at speeds that didn't depend on engine speed, you would see that the pressure would depend on the pump speed, not on the engine speed.

Unless each bearing takes a little gulp of oil for each revolution of the crank?