Hi,

I just did the timing belt/water pump thing on my 30K mile 85.5 944 about a week ago. I changed all the front seals and the cooler seals. I aligned the OPRV using the piston from it attached to a wooden dowel and it seems to be aligned properly. The chrome on the piston was slightly worn but it was not scored at all. I polished it with 2000 grit emery paper just to make sure that all was ok. The job went as usual and I everything seemed fine all week. I also refoiled the dash reflecters the week before the belt job but the car was working fine.

Yesterday, I had the right front of the car jacked up and I started the car to check something and it took a few seconds for pressure to build. I am asuming it was because it was on an angle.

This morning, I started the car up and was reading no oil pressure. The oil pressure guage read zero, the oil pressure lamp was on, the exclamation lamp was not lit however.

The weird thing is that the brake fluid and pad lights were lit and those are completly unrelated and should not be lit.

The engine did not act like it had no pressure and seemed fine but who knows for sure. After shutting it down and restarting it a couple minutes later the problem was gone and all is back to normal.

Now I am scratching my head trying to figure out where to go from here.

I need some help in trying to narrow down the possibilities..

Could an air pocket gotten into the system when I ran it jacked up like that? Possibly bad sending unit/connections? Sticking OPRV? I read on rennlist once about a crank pully alignment problem with these cars causing problems.

Are the brake lights supposed to come on when there is no oil pressure? If not, that might red flag instruments being the cause right there.

The car never had oil pressure issues before and I am trying to pinpoint the problem before I pop for a close to 300.00 one piece OPRV.

Sorry for the long post but I need some help with this one.

Thanks

 

Oil pressure sending unit maybe? That's a cheap fix comparatively speaking. I would guess that before I'd guess OPRV. Maybe because it happened to me a few years back.

Good luck.

 

I agree with you Matt. You had the exact problem??

The first thing I am going to check is the wires on the sender. But does anyone know if the brake lights supposed to come on with the oil light. And why didnt the ! light come on as well?

I have seen 944's that had the ! and oil lamp flicker at idle on a really hot day, but the brake fluid and sensor lights didnt come on.

 

Oil Pressure sensors fail to full pressure indicated at the gauge. The oil pressure sensor also provides ground for the idiot light check (brake pad sensors and fluid) when the key is in the 1 position and the engine is not running. Then when oil pressure removes the ground the idiot lights go out. From what you say I think you did not have oil pressure during that first start up.