83 rabbit low oil pressure problem

It is rather difficult to tell in a car with that much mileage. You could try a new oil pump. Find out how much it would cost, but keep in mind that it may be worn main bearings etc. and not the pump. It may well be both.

If heavier oil (what are you using now) may increase the pressure enough to buy you a good amount of time before you need do anything else. Assuming you don't over do it, there will be no damage and may protect the car and provide a long life.

You might have a bad wire or connection at the oil pressure sending unit.

have you checked your oil level? Does the light come on when you turn hard left or right?

The pump is just a gear and a shaft. It is not what one would think like a typical pump like a fuel pump etc. They almost never fail. You need to drop the pan and use feeler gauges to check the play between the pump gears. The bently shows this.

I have an 1984 with 360, 000 miles and my pressure is fine, I doubt it is your oil pump.

My car would make all kinds of noise with 10wX oil but 15wX oil would keep that pesky sensor quiet. I had plastiguaged an 84 that had

129,000 miles and the mains and rods read within new tolerances. That car did not look well maintained as I did new drive axles and other things.

Yes I check the oil regularly and it has been within normal range. No it does not come on with a hard right or left turn. It seems to come on when the engine has warmed up and only seems to flicker a bit when I hit certain speeds- if I take my foot off the gas it stops- but continues when I return to that speed. Strange. The mechanic said it sounded like a bad sensor. But the oil pressure was below normal range when tested. I live in wisconsin- so depending on the season it is eithe 10w 30 or 5w30. The mechanic suggested something like

20w50?? Any ideas what I should be using for summer/winter? Thanks

Personally I run Mobil 1 where the thicker Mobil 1 oil will flow better than a thinner dino oil. Thicker oil is the standard policy to follow on a Rabbit engine. It also holds true for some Vanagon engines. I run the same oil summer and winter when running synthetics. There is one sensor to make sure the oil pressure is good at iddle. There is another sensor that expects a certain value somewhere about

2,000 rpms.

Try the owners manual, or the Bentley manual. Both have charts.

I run 20w50 all year in my 5 speed gas 1986 Jetta. This is consistent with the charts in the manuals, which spec 20w50 down to -10C, about the worst Vancouver ever gets.

The oil light often goes out while the engine is still cranking (312,000 km, BTW), but I have a couple of lifters that make nasty noises until they pump back up if the engine has been off for more than a few hours.

If you have any doubt, you should measure the oil pressure yourself and confirm that it's OK.

Laura Halliday VE7LDH "Que les nuages soient notre Grid: CN89mg pied a terre..." ICBM: 49 16.05 N 122 56.92 W - Hospital/Shafte

I would be suspicious of the oil sender (pressure sensor switch). Also, if you want to keep this car for a while longer why not install an oil pressure gauge? It used to be very easy to get VDO gauges and senders that fit right in with the car's dashboard/interior, either electrical or mechanical (I had a mechanical gauge in an 83 GTI).

Frank