Oil pressure light? :(

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Tim_Attard

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Hello, was driving my car last night drove about 3-4miles with the light on as at first thought it was just oil level, i parked at the gym 2hrs later drove home no light when started the car but 2/3 mins later it came back and drove another 3miles near the end very close to my house it started to make noises kinda like a tractor.

my guess is the pick up is blocked and theres no oil going to the engine i got it picked up and taken to the garage today i just wanted a best/worst case senario on price really ima ssuming best case is £200 cleaning the sump and replacing the pick up, but whats the worst case?.

Im sitting down hit me.
 
I've always been told not to drive if any Oil Warning lights come on.
Just hope you haven't starved the engine of Oil.
 
If it is the oil pickup. Don't spend £200, go to Audi, get the parts
Oil Pickup = £5.00 inc VAT
Sump Sealant = £17.00 inc VAT
Oil Filter = £5.00 inc VAT
Do the job your self. There is a great guide that I used at the weekend to do and it's simple.
I had the same problem as you, oil pressure warning light. Luckily I didn't have far to drive and car didn't start to make any noises. As long as you can get it done quick, fingers crosses you'll be OK.

Worse case scenario? Budget for a new engine. If you're a bit lucky, budget for a new turbo, and if you're very lucky, price of the stuff I just said plus some nice oil as an apology to your engine (10w/40)

EDIT: Here is the manaul I speak of.. S3 sump removal and refit courtesy of Danger S3 :thumbsup:
 
I think the 'tractor noises' are the giveaway here. Engine is goosed. Even if you do manage to clean it all out, fill it full of oil and it runs OK, the chances are it wont be OK for long. Get a new engine.
 
ah mate. you poor *******. This is happening all too often to people now.

Iif it's sounding like a tractor, then basically you've ****** it.

We need a sticky on this, ASAP.

If you're oil light comes on, you stop, STRAIGHT AWAY, even if you're doing 100mph in the fast lane on the M25, if that light comes on, you kill the engine instantly, clutch in, hazzards on, and coast to the side of the road.

Regardless of the situation, you just have to stop.

From the above, it sounds like you've driven 6-8 miles with the oil light on, so we can safely assume that's 10-15 minutes of driving with zero oil pressure. Especially as it started to sound like a tractor towards the end.

I'd honestly expect it to be ruined now mate. Very bad news indeed.

Dropping and cleaning the sump, and replacing the oil pickup is easily done on your own driveway and costs £10 plus the price of an oil change. It's not as if you can drive the car to a garage to have it done now anyway :(

I'd start by doing that, and turn the key whilst crossing every finger and toe you have, but be prepared for the worst case, which is a new engine.
 
pretty much as soon as it made a bad noise i coasted all the way home, but cheers guys its at the garage now as i know them and they wont charge me much more than if i was to do it myself, saying that how much am i looking for new engine, do i need it rebuilt or a new one put in? would i just be cheaper to get a new car?
 
What model/engine is it you've got? I was looking at AGU's, and you're looking at around £250- £500, and then double that for labour to have it installed..

Agreed with Prawn on Low Oil Level sticky. People need to know the protocol before the engine is ******. I was one of the few lucky ones..! Lot's seem to have happened over past few weeks/months.

Keep us updated with what the garage is saying.. and good luck, champ :salute:
 
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ok well im gonna assume it needs a new engine :/ i know how much they charge me per hr so my main question is how many hrs work is it to replace the engine with the same one? obviously i know this will be rough estimate but i literally have no idea
 
So, you could either go AGU, assuming you have something like mine, (A3 1.8t), which you can pick one up for about £250 - £350.. It won't be the best engine but it'll be better than your ****** one. Or you could fit a BAM in, which would be a better engine, a little more expensive and a little more labour, but IMO, a better choice if changing the engine.

One of my mates was quoted off someone he knows who has a garage around £400 to install. If you don't know the garage or they're rip off's you can double that figure.

Basically, your cheapest choice would run a total of around £650 all in.
A good choice you're looking at around or over £1,000.

This is based on figures from personal experience and I'd just use it as a ballpark figure. I'm sure someone will chime in with actual knowledge.
 
tbh i was thinking about a bam engine as they are so much better but im not sure about insurance as im only 22 and the standard aum/agu is already about 1k a year :/ but thanks for the info
 
You maybe ok - i had this a few weeks back - didnt sounds right either. Took it to the garage, sump cleaned, new pickup and a good inspection and it seems i was very lucky.

Fingers crossed for you.

As for your insurance - Do they need to know its got a BAM engine in? I doubt they would know one engine cover from the other. (However I'm no insurance export so its your call)

Im 22 with an S3 with mods declared and i paid £700 this year. Dont know how many years no claim you have but my insurance only increased because of the mods not the new car. (Previous A3 1.8t)
 
really thats good, i have 1ync atm thats probs why as i was a named driver before. i really do hope im lucky ha i just spend about 300 on various bits and the cars interior is in bit as im halfway through painting them
 
why would sticking a BAM in be a good idea? its not the engine code that makes the power, its the turbo. BAM/AMK/APY/AUM in fact pretty much all 1.8t are the same apart from agu which runs a higher comp ratio hence why we all change from bam etc to agu...peoples perpection is sticking a bam engine in gives you more power lol, thats why they cost more money
 
Sorry, bad day in the kitchen. I meant to say bad luck mate and i hope cleaning the pick up does it for you.
 
slowcoach3 said:
why would sticking a BAM in be a good idea? its not the engine code that makes the power, its the turbo. BAM/AMK/APY/AUM in fact pretty much all 1.8t are the same apart from agu which runs a higher comp ratio hence why we all change from bam etc to agu...peoples perpection is sticking a bam engine in gives you more power lol, thats why they cost more money
Click to expand...

AUM and AUQ also run 9.5:1 CR, but have 19mm rods instead of 20mm like the BAM/APY/AMK/AGU.

Technically, a bam block with the cars original ancillaries, would actually be a downgrade.
 
slowcoach3 said:
why would sticking a BAM in be a good idea? its not the engine code that makes the power, its the turbo. BAM/AMK/APY/AUM in fact pretty much all 1.8t are the same apart from agu which runs a higher comp ratio hence why we all change from bam etc to agu...peoples perpection is sticking a bam engine in gives you more power lol, thats why they cost more money
Click to expand...

AUM is same comp ratio as other K03 turbo's engine... its only the 210/225's that have the lower comp ratio... AUM uses the 19mm pinned crack rods with tangless bearings... as the OP's car is a 2003 A3 then this is the engine he has already...

As said though don't think that because the engine is from a 210/225 its faster as its not... they also seem to command a premium... look around for engines from other cars in the VAG range... SEAT, VW and Skoda all use the same engines... you will also need to put in a little bit of extra work depending on which lump you end up with you will need swap some parts over...

<tuffty/>
 
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Can i ask what is the oil pressure symbol look like?
 
Yep. But comes up with three bleeps. And once driving. I think I read Audi do a pressure test at around 2000 rpm
 
Little update, got a phone call this morning, they have taken it apart and it was blocked solid and i mean solid, however they say it seems ok now they have cleaned it out etc and dropping round to me in a few hours, ive been told to drive it gentley for a few weeks too see what damage has been down, so no 130mph down the a21 but obviously dont do that as the speed limit is 70.... :D

Thanks Guys will let u know if anything comes up
 
Good luck mate!

The tractor noise will most likely have been tappet related as they ran dry, but you never know, if there has been some remaining oil feed to the bearings then you may well have gotten away with it!

If so, then very happy for you, lesson learnt!

Good luck mate. Fingers crossed.
 
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Good luck buddy! I hope that the damage is minimal!

Are people working on making this problem a sticky? :whip:
 
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