So I have a 3-piece valve in my 84. I climbed under the car and used the 8mm allen key to remove it, but only the screw part and the spring came out.. the rest of the valve is stuck in the oil cooler. So I have two questions..

A. Is this why I have low oil pressure?

B. Is their any way to get this out

TIA

 

You mean you can't even slide the piston section out with a tool like in 'realy stuck'? It should just slip out using a wooden pencil pressed against the inside as you pull it back.

 

Yeah its like really stuck in there. Ill go give the pencil a shot just for the hell of it, but I thought it would just slip out with the rest of the valve?

 

Its getting stuck when it gets to the threads, nothing i have tried can get it past those threads. Any Ideas?

 

It sounds like the oil cooler housing definitely isn't aligned correctly with the OPRV. You can loosen up the oil-cooler cover bolts a bit, move it around slightly, and try to get the piston past the threads. Do you have the alignment tool or can borrow one for the 3-piece OPRV? You will have to use the tool unless you go with the the 1-piece style conversion OPRV for the early cars. In that case you just use the OPRV as the guide tool when realigning your oil-cooler cover. If you loosen the cover too far you might have to completely reseal it if the rubber seal(s) shifts out of the groove. If the OPRV has been misaligned for long the piston will be scored as well as the liner, inspect these parts very closely before reusing them. Good Luck, I hope it works out for you.

 

Thanks for the tips Steve. I figured thats what I would have to do. I suppose I will just buy the alignment tool and give it a shot. I hope this is my low oil pressure problem ive been trying to hunt down.

 

My 951 did the same thing. Low or no oil pressure at start-up, fine after it would free up. There was debris at the base of my piston, looked like coked up oil chunks that would hang up the piston. Mine had substantial wear marks so I switched to the 1-piece conversion valve and have had no issues since. Again check that piston for wear, if you see one side with long smooth abrasions I would not use it again.

 

Intresting. See my oil pressure is fine at startup, its once the oil warms up that it is low. I hope I don't need a new valve, its hard to drop a weeks pay check on a new valve.

 

The symtoms can really vary from what I've read here. If your housing was misaligned it could be that the end of the piston is worn on 'one side only' resulting in oil bypassing the OPRV when the oil thins out. If it's caused by anything mechanical in the system ( rod bearings, oil pump) you will be happy to pay for just an OPRV. Try the alignment tool or maybe someone has a 1-piece conversion type they can loan you to test first before you make the plunge and buy one. Somebody in your area might have an early engine out at the moment with a 1-piece.

 

I had a shop install a new Oil cooler and OPRV. After 500 miles, no oil pressure. I bought a OPRV alignment tool (14.95), adlusted the oil cooler so the tool would slide in and out freely, replaced the new style OPRV and presto....good oil pressure.

 

If you are interested, I have an extra 3 pc oprv. Shoot me a pm

 

Ive got no need for another 3-piece valve, thanks though.

As an update.. I loosened the bolts on the oil cooler so the valve would slide out, then I tightened them up, put the OPRV back in, and my oil pressure still sucks. I dont really know what to do...

 

Jim,
Did the old piston on the 3-piece valve look worn at all? I guess no one has asked if any recent belt work, PS pulley, or water pump was done; anything that would effect the crank bolt?
It might not hurt to try and re-torque it just to eliminate the oil pump as a source. It wouldn't be the first time a loose bolt or misaligned PS pulley has caused problems. I hope you find your problem.

 

Steve,

The valve does not look worn at all. My oil pressure problem happened right after I changed my belts. I replaced the P/S pulley after I changed my belts thinking that I caught the edge of it, bending it, causing the low oil pressure. That didnt work, I have retorqued the bolt numerous times, and no change. The only thing I can think of is some old gasket (I also replaced the valve cover gasket the same time i did the belts) is stuck in the OPRV??

I think I can rule out the OPRV.. Heres the one thing that really throws me off. When the car is cold, the oil pressure is perfect. 5 bar at start up.. once it warms up a little, im at about 2-3 bar at idle and 5 bar under acceleration. Its once the car is fully heated up for a few minutes that my oil pressure goes down. So I assume this is due to the oil heating up and thinning out. I have castrol 20w50GTX in it right now. Maybe the oil is getting too hott? But what could cause that, faulty oil cooler? And why would it happen when I did my belt job?

I think you can see my confusion. Any ideas? Thanks for following my thread, its appreciated.

-Jeff

 

Behind the crank pulley, there is a concave washer. If that washer is installed backwards, there will not be enough friction between the crank pulley and the oil pump, which is what drives the oil pump. I would think that, if that was the case, you would have oil pressure problems at all times.

How much more does the oil pressure drop? After warm up, 2-3 bar at idle is normal, with 5 at any kind of engine speed being a good number.