92 300E oil pressure ?

I just came back from a Nissan dealer who has a beautiful black 92 300E with a near perfect body with a new black paint job and the interior is way above average. Priced at $5000.00 I thought it was worth taking for a drive. The oil pressure came up and I took off, turned on the AC, it worked, so did the cruise and radio and then I looked at the oil pressure it was down below 1 bar, and later zero. The salesman was with me and didn't seem to care, said it was probably the sender. The temp didn't go up and oil level was at spec. Do the oil pressure sending units tend to fail? The car rode fine except it was real sensitive to any movement of the steering wheel, like it was amplified. I've never experienced that before, any ideas? Oh the car has 170,000 mi.

Reply to
Henry Kolesnik
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I definitely would be worried about the oil pressure... need to check it out.

As for steering... It is probably the wheel alignment that needs to be done.

Reply to
Tiger

Hank,

This car is a false bargain.

Steering is overly sensitive because the alignment isn't set correctly - Why?

Car was just repainted - Why?

Because the car was wrecked, fixed and repainted.

The oil pressure is probably the least of its problems.

Tom

Reply to
T.G. Lambach

In my younger days I customized a couple of cars and did lots of body work with lead and very little bondo. I could find none evidence of any crash repairs nor one door ding or any sign of any being removed. Where is the oil sender located on the engine?

Reply to
Henry Kolesnik

OK, you're satisfied that the car wasn't wrecked. Then what accounts for the steering? Overinflated tires?

With respect to the oil pressure, if it were a diesel I'd look at the base of the oil filter. Gas is probably similar.

Reply to
T.G. Lambach

The fact that it did come up when the car is cold is worrying...

Makes me wonder if the car might really have poor oil pressure... Did the engine sound OK when it was HOT?

Steering is probably an alignment issue. Look carefully for any body panel replacement. You could also try getting them to align it...

Marty

Reply to
Martin Joseph

I have a similar issue with a 92 190E 2.6. Oil pressure reads 0 occasionally at idle and slighlty under 1 bar under similar conditions. The Owner's manual for the 190E states that oil pressure at idle may drop to 4.4 psi (0.3 bar) if the engine is at operating temperature. Pressure must rise immediately upon acceleration. I purchased a new sender but have not had time to install it. I have also been told it could be a defective gauge. I really don't know how accurate the senders/gauges are at their low pressure readings. Apparently it is not a problem. The car now has 135k miles, Good Luck in negotiating

Peter

Reply to
Peter W Peternouschek

Just because it's not a problem for you doesn't mean his potential car is all right!

Be careful! Low oil pressure is an indication of serious internal engine problems (like warn main bearings).

Reply to
Martin Joseph

Did the pressure drop at idle, (standing still) or while moving? Standing still normal ......while moving, not normal!

Reply to
r parris

FYI, thanks for all the help and diversions. So here are the facts. This morning I went to see the car again. It was about 50F and the car started OK with about 1.5 bar oil pressure. After I drove about 3 miles it dropped to zero and stayed there. I had a release from the dealer against any liability and drove about 25 miles on freeways at 70, oil press stayed at zero and the temp never touched 100F with the AC, by this time it was

65F but very warm inside, black paint eh. I took it to my indy who drove it, looked and couldn't find anything obvious, so I took it to my front end shop. It needs struts and a steering stabilizer, $600 to $800. Later I went back to the indy and for $50.00 he took the sensor out and connected an oil pressure gauge. (Take the air cleaner off, remove the oil filter and use a 17mm IIRC wrench to remove the sensor) It had about 6o psi at 2000 rpm and 15 at idle so it has a bad sensor or gauge. Also there's an oil leak at the timing chain cover that he estimates will cost $400.00 to repair. I went back to the deeler and were negotiating. Car drives, great, quite, smooth ride, good acceleration, but a little jerky on the shift sometime. Indy says this is age and slipping. Today was cloudy and I could see a few painted over door dings that I didn't spot in the bright sunshine of the other day. For me I can see defects in black paint better on cloudy days than sunny.
Reply to
Henry Kolesnik

it took that long to have it inspected?

owning an MB is like having a cold its a bitch o get rid of once you have one.

i my self would look for another and get a CAR FAX report

they will make more.

the case, minus a few cans!

Reply to
pool man

The obvious answer really is that the filter is crap. there is a bypass that is spring loaded. the filter could be really really old... but that probably indicates a problem also.

cheers, guenter

Reply to
Guenter Scholz

The filter was brand new as the car just had an oil change and the oil was just getting dirty. but as I said in a previous post it was the sending unit.

Reply to
Henry Kolesnik

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