Worrying Problem!

[3hZ]

I have an oil pressure/Pump problem?

Hi. I own an Audi A3 1.8T sport quattro, the oil pressure lamp comes on everytime I rev the engine but at idle it's ok. It started last night just after coming of the m/way I don't live too far from the m/way so I managed to get home ok, I've also noticed the tappets seem to be louder than usual. I've checked the oil level and have topped it up, but after reading some threads not 100% sure where to start? do I do an engine flush hoping it's just a blocked filter in the pump or could it be the oil pump has died?

Although saying that, the console on the dash tells me OK.

Any ideas?

 

[Andrew@A.L.D]

Take the sump off and have a look at the pick up pipe, if its clear it will be the oil pump, to be safe just fit a new oil pump and pick up pipe.

The tappets are loud due to the lack of oil pressure not been able to pump oil to the top of the head

 

[3hZ]

Thanks Andrew. I'll take a look. Are the oil pumps expensive?

 

[hades-]

there not that much but if you carry on driveing its gona get expensive

 

[SiGainey]

Thanks Andrew. I'll take a look. Are the oil pumps expensive?

In comparison to an engine rebuild, no, they are real cheap

 

[3hZ]

Yeah. Don't really fancy driving it.

 

[alijames]

Pump should be ~£100 and pickup ~£10 plus fitting at an hour or so.

Cheers,

 

[danger S3]

there is a thread in the Stickies about S3 Sump Removal and Refit (with pics) that might help a bit

 

[Andrew@A.L.D]

when you do remove the sump and fit the pump dont just stick it back together

Take time to look around and have a look for bits of metal in the sump i'e aluminum and steel, look at the big ends of the conrods and see if they have heated up from lack of oil.

 

[aragorn]

Be warned, the oil pressure light is IGNORED by the dash unless the RPM's are over 2500.

Its quite likely the light is on constantly, and if you continue driving the car you WILL weld the bottom end together.

 

[Andrew@A.L.D]

Taking the sump off to have a look will only cost you time.

 

[3hZ]

That is a v helpful thread mate. I'll refer to that to get the job done. Also. Thought about giving it an engine flush before hand though, what would you say?

 

[danger S3]

I plan todo it all again in the summer and also replace the oil pump when I do it again just to make sure everything is all hunky dory

i wanna make sure crap hasn't worked its way round form other places in the engine and blocked it again and the pump has done 100k miles so its due a change anyway

really don't want the block to die from oil starvation

 

[superkarl]

this exact thing happened to me! a number of times, even on a lap of the ring, uh oh.

but dont worry, just dont use it! i wish i had documented everythin i did but worry took over.

i did 2 engine flushes first, fresh oil and filter changes each time, which helped, it took more thrashing than before to trigger the light or get noisy.

then i ordered a new sump, and flushed again and dropped the old sump, absolutely caked with hard oil, you'l probably have the same. the pick up pipe was even worse, i couldnt imagine how it would pick anything up. oh when i dropped the oil aswell, i dropped it into a white container so i could see any contaminents, there were loads of rock hard fragments in it, no doubt blocking the oil channels in the engine.
after cleaning the pick up pipe, fitting a new sump, and a further 2 oil changes (i must have used about 25 litres in a week, not cheap) it seemed smoother than ever, i've given it a good thrash i can tell you and nothing, it just takes so long to get every possible blockage out, especially if the car hasn't had much of a thrashed life, and had audis STUPID longlife services.

i would suggest you flush a couple of times, examining each drop for bits, clean pickup and sump, and do a further 2, and then if your ok, oil changes every 5k.

it may be expensive in oil, but its wayyyy cheaper than an engine.

 

[3hZ]

I can't say I thrash it to be honest.lol Have a clean licence now, I'd like to keep it that way! Never been round a circuit either!

The thing is how effective are the flushes? Do I drop oil/replace oil then flush first off? or Do I drop oil, take sump off, clean pickup pipe then fill with oil and then flush?

 

[superkarl]

You add the flush with the car on tick over for 10-15 minutes. Don't rev it, just idle. Then drop the oil. You should find bits in the oil, proof the flush works, and your engine and pick up is blocked. I thought it worked, with every flush and oil drop i was finding hard contaminants.

So, in the order I did,
Flush
Drop oil
Sump off
Pick up off
Refit
Flush
Drop oil (hopefully no bits in oil now)
New oil
Hopefully it's ok

 

[finesse]

flush first but on the other hand if you flush more crap will block the pickup before you get a chance to clean the sump i.e catastrophic failure

 

[Welly]

My question is why risk it? Why not just fit a new pump now and be done with it. They are a historic problem on these engines, meaning they all become an issue at some point or other.

By the time you've flushed the engine once, then filled with 4.5 litres of oil to flush again, you've already spent £50+ on oil and flush...

Why not just spend the £110 on a pump and pickup pipe, either fit them, or get them fitted, and then drive around safe in the knowledge that the oil pump is OK, and that there is oil getting around the engine. No nasty things will happen and the world is smiley once more...

I'm all for flushing it once. If that doesn't work upon testing, drain the oil out and reuse the new oil you have put in.

Why bodge something that can be fixed for not a huge amount more? My 2 cents, and I am the king of bodge.

 

[superkarl]

its just what worked for me, and it was evident it needed it when i first dropped the oil to find hard deposits in there, flushing it the first time again proved it was full of it. for me it then neeeded doing until the system and oil was coming out clean, just so happens after i did all that, mine ran fine so i didnt really need to fit a pump.

if he does find hard bits in the oil when he drops it, its best to flush and flush again, even if he does fit a new pump or not, it will be best to get rid of all the crap to prevent any problems.

longlife service causes so much sh1t

 

[danger S3]

if the car has done 100k miles and never been flushed before can it not cause more problems by flushing it? cause it will not only get rid of all the bad stuff but some of the good stuff aswell??

 

[3hZ]

What can I say? So much advice. lol

Does seem feasible to buy a new pump, also been told that the castrol edge oil is not all what it's made up to be, been told that Comma is a better deal. Any takers on this?

Also would you use a cheaper oil to flush out your engine? Before putting decent oil in??

 

[paul20v]

if the car has done 100k miles and never been flushed before can it not cause more problems by flushing it? cause it will not only get rid of all the bad stuff but some of the good stuff aswell??

An engine flush of a dirty engine can cause more trouble than the worth of it ,
yes it cleans but this happens to quickly and can block other oil ways in the engines
ive seen engine flushes block oil ways on dirty engines and seize cams for instance
me personally would just pull the sump sort the pump and filter then give the car frequent oil changes for a good while (3k)
this will remove debris slowly not in one lump and can save you a lot of hasle in the end .

 

[Welly]

What can I say? So much advice. lol

Does seem feasible to buy a new pump, also been told that the castrol edge oil is not all what it's made up to be, been told that Comma is a better deal. Any takers on this?

Also would you use a cheaper oil to flush out your engine? Before putting decent oil in??

I'd change the pump as I said.

Nothing wrong with Castrol Edge oil IMO.