Martyn Evans

I have an 89 C2 that until the weekend had good oil pressure:

4 to 5 on cold start
2 to 3 at warm idle
4 to 5 on high revs

However, out driving on Saturday with a warm car I decided to do a quick pull away from the lights and hit 6000 revs in 1st gear. After changing to 2nd gear the oil pressure warning light came on so I slowed down. Now the oil pressure is constantly very low and obviously worrying. Now the pressures read as follows:

3 to 4 on cold start
0 to 1 at warm idle (the light comes on at all low speeds and at rest)
3 to 4 on high revs (plus 3000rpm)

Obviously something has decided to give up but can anybody help with the following:

1. Any ideas as to what might have broken - the engine is suddenly louder as if a component is damaged.
2. Is the car safe to drive at such low-level oil pressure?
3. I am thinking of booking it into Chelsea Carrera Ltd in London. Does anyone know if they are any good?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Martyn

Adrian

Dear Martyn,
I will answer question 2 first. NO!!!!. Do not drive your 964 (1990 model C2 by the way) if the oil pressure drops below 1 bar like this.
I would suggest simply from your description that you have trashed the oil pump.
I can only advise you to get the 964 to a repair facility. Seeing as you live in London, get it on the back of a flat bed. Do not attempt to drive it. Make sure the repair facility knows what they are doing. Get a quote. If you had said nothing about the engine noise being louder my answer would be different but seeing as you have reported this, I can only call it, how I see it, and based on previous experience.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

Martyn Evans

[quote]Originally posted by Adrian:
<strong>Dear Martyn,
I will answer question 2 first. NO!!!!. Do not drive your 964 (1990 model C2 by the way) if the oil pressure drops below 1 bar like this.
I would suggest simply from your description that you have trashed the oil pump.
I can only advise you to get the 964 to a repair facility. Seeing as you live in London, get it on the back of a flat bed. Do not attempt to drive it. Make sure the repair facility knows what they are doing. Get a quote. If you had said nothing about the engine noise being louder my answer would be different but seeing as you have reported this, I can only call it, how I see it, and based on previous experience.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4</strong><hr></blockquote>

Adrian

Thanks for this. I will book it in with a reputable independent garage today. Out of interest, what would your synopsis be if there was no additional noise.

Thanks again

Martyn

Christer

Martyn

Sorry to hear about your problem. I would personally recommend <a href="http://www.jzmachtech.com" target="_blank">JZ Machtech</a>as a good independent. They are based at Kings Langley which isn't that far from you. They have extensive facilities there and actually TRY to save you money when fixing problems....sounds bizarre but true! The contact is Jonas or Steve.

Let us know how you get on whoever you decide to go with.

Christer

Adrian

Dear Martyn,
Obviously oil level, how much oil is in the engine.
Is the oil cooler opening. Is the oil super hot, this will cause the pressure to drop to around 0.5 bar and reduce the top end pressure as well. However this will indicated by your engine temperature being at or above the red line.
If all above checked out okay, without the noise I would look at the oil pressure sender, oil pressure switch wiring on the engine. Maybe one of the crankcase oil pressure relief valves has opened and not closed off.
A dry sumped engined is too unforgiving when it runs out of oil pressure. Not worth the effort really. Get it looked at pronto.
The reported noise is enough for me to stick totally by my first answer,
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

Brad

I can recommend Chelsea Carerra - Lawrence is very helpful and they have a fantastic workshop. I've only used them for minor things, but they always have engines out to work on and give realistic prices and time estimates.

Roygarth

I've only used JZ Machtec, for big serice but was v. impressed by their honesty.
Piers
1990 C4 Coupe

Martyn Evans

Thanks all. I have booked it into Chelsea Carrera next week. Fingers crossed for something small.

I will let you know.

Martyn