vicdeng Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Please help me with that. Tonight when i get to my parking lot, i have to go through some parking lot bumps and it seems every time it hit a bump, the oil pressure warning lamp light turns on, and OFF. It also does it at a slow sharp turn, and sudden decel. I wonder if the oil level is low. I am waiting the engine to cool to check the oil. Because it seems that it depends on how the car is in motion and affect the oil activity in the pan. However, the car was just driven 700 miles since the head gasket job. The HG job was done properly, the head are sent to machine shop to surface flat, and new timing belt, water pump, thermo stat. I am suppose to do an oil change 1000 miles after the HG job. But i saw this tonight, and i heard ppl saying that once you see that light, the car is almost DONE for its life time. I am alil worried now, and please give me some advice.. I will check the oil level maybe in an hour. I will keep it posted. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subikid90 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Check your oil now and make sure you at least have some on your dipstick. Anytime I pull heads or do internal work I change the oil after 500 miles just to make sure there isnt any metal shavings or stuff like that in there, but that doesnt pertain to an oil loss. -Subikid90 1997 Legacy GT 5spd & EJ251 w/EJ25D heads ~10.5CR 1998 Legacy GT Limited waiting for EJ22T hybrid swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicdeng Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 I just checked the oil when the engine is cool down. OMG, the oil is gong. The dipstick is dry. I am pretty sure, it's not leaking oil. I just checked today, there is no oil sign on the ground on my parking slot, as well as the parking lot at my work. Where did the oil go? i assume the mechanic worked on my car put enough oil after he replace the HG. My ticking sound was pretty loud this two days, i think because the oil level is low. Now, i just add 3.5 qt in and it's at full. And the tick sound is back to normal, it still ticks like normal Subaru engine does, but not as crazy as the past two days. Man... Will it damage the engine? this is what i am concerning. Thanks. I am going to check my oil level after a few days and see how much is left over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subikid90 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Sounds like you are burning oil. Did you get to see the motor when it was torn down? Did your mechanic say anything about bad piston rings? -Subikid90 1997 Legacy GT 5spd & EJ251 w/EJ25D heads ~10.5CR 1998 Legacy GT Limited waiting for EJ22T hybrid swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicdeng Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Sounds like you are burning oil. Did you get to see the motor when it was torn down? Did your mechanic say anything about bad piston rings? No, he said everything looks fine. he is a pretty reliable mechanic, alot of local subaru ppl had him work on their cars. So i kinda trust him on that. He said, he uses everything in the kit when he change the HG. i just put down enough oil. and i will see how much is left after 2 days. If i have a bad piston ring, what does that lead to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subikid90 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Well piston rings dont have anything to do with a headgasket kit. Most mechanics and DIY'rs tend to over look them. Not saying he is unreliable, it happens to many people. Since you say you have no oil leaks then that means you have to be burning it, and most of the time this means rings. You can do a compression test and see if you can hold pressure in each cylinder. When you pull your plugs you can see if they have been burning oil. http://www.theultralightplace.com/sparkplugs.htm When you pull them refer to this guide. I would call your mechanic and just ask him if he will look at it, most will after a major repair like that. -Subikid90 1997 Legacy GT 5spd & EJ251 w/EJ25D heads ~10.5CR 1998 Legacy GT Limited waiting for EJ22T hybrid swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicdeng Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Well piston rings dont have anything to do with a headgasket kit. Most mechanics and DIY'rs tend to over look them. Not saying he is unreliable, it happens to many people. Since you say you have no oil leaks then that means you have to be burning it, and most of the time this means rings. You can do a compression test and see if you can hold pressure in each cylinder. When you pull your plugs you can see if they have been burning oil. http://www.theultralightplace.com/sparkplugs.htm When you pull them refer to this guide. I would call your mechanic and just ask him if he will look at it, most will after a major repair like that.[/Q not to mention, the wire and plugs were changed at the same time as the HG job. However, i will ask him as well. I am using 5W-30 oil though, do u think it's alil too thin for a car with that age. it's a 96 LGT with 166K miles. would i be safer to go with 10W-40? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnegg Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 subaru has designed the dip stick for checking the oil level when both cold or soon after you have turned it off like when you fill it with gas. the dip stick has the normal hi and low lines on it . they are the marks used to read the oil level when you have recently turned the car off. i do not think that the difference between the H and L is equal to a QT. i think it is less than that. (the dip stick enters the oil pan at a very shallow angle, not straight up and down.) in addition to those two lines there is a notch higher up. this is the level the oil should have after sitting over night. this is in the owner's manual. my son's 95 legacy is leaking oil pretty bad, but since he is always away at school we just put oil in it until i can fix the leak. but when his starts to click, adding a full qt usually brings it back to full. be sure to check your oil daily until you are sure the level is correct. too full can be as bad as too low. the crank shaft and rods can make it a foamy air filled mess which does not lubricate as it should. what year, model and engine do you have?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicdeng Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 96 LGT, 2.5 twin cam. Today, when i start the car up, it was fine, after 35 miles to work, i got off the ramp and stop completely at the stop sign, and the car just died. All the dashboard is on, i have to turn the key twice to get it to start. and it was a very weak start as well. Then when i pulled in the parking lot, i have to change to reverse gear to park it. When it was in reverse, the car died again, and this time, i can't get it to start. After i run into the office, 3 mins later, i came out and was able to start the car, (poor and weak start as well) i can see the engine is shaking in a bigger frequency than normal. Battery reads 12.64 volts, i can hear the fuel pump when key is on. i think i am going to do a compression test. what do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baddog Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Is the car low on oil right now? That can cause it not to start as easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subikid90 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Is that the battery reading at idle? It should be high 13 or low 14. Maybe a separate problem with the alternator has occurred. Defiantly do a compression check to see if you lost a ring. There are a few other test you can do if the compression test comes back bad. With bad rings you may still have pressure, but make sure it holds. You can rent a compression tester from autozone, you put $38 down and when you return it you get it back. -Subikid90 1997 Legacy GT 5spd & EJ251 w/EJ25D heads ~10.5CR 1998 Legacy GT Limited waiting for EJ22T hybrid swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicdeng Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Is the car low on oil right now? That can cause it not to start as easy. i just put 3.5 qt of oil in it last night, i will check when i get off work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicdeng Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Is that the battery reading at idle? It should be high 13 or low 14. Maybe a separate problem with the alternator has occurred. Defiantly do a compression check to see if you lost a ring. There are a few other test you can do if the compression test comes back bad. With bad rings you may still have pressure, but make sure it holds. You can rent a compression tester from autozone, you put $38 down and when you return it you get it back. do you have a manual on how to do a compression test? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baddog Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Compression test is pretty simple. Take the battery off while you do all of this. Unplug Spark Plug Wires Take Out Spark Plugs Unplug Coil Pack (should be a connector to the left side of it might be tucked away) Take out the Fuel Pump Fuse When you have done all of that. Plug the battery back in. Insert the compression tester fitting just like you would a spark plug. Make sure it goes in straight. Have someone turn the engine over and after 3-5 pumps see what your compression is at on that cylinder. And do that for the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subikid90 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Compression test is easy, pull the plug, screw the compression tester in, pull the fuel pump relay, or hold your gas petal to the floor and crank the motor till the compression gauge not longer increases. Make sure the pressure holds for like 5-10 sec. It requires 2 people to do this. Do it for each cylinder and if you get a low reading, should be 130-140, then try it again just to be sure. Also make sure to pull the wire or make sure it isnt close to the plug. -Subikid90 1997 Legacy GT 5spd & EJ251 w/EJ25D heads ~10.5CR 1998 Legacy GT Limited waiting for EJ22T hybrid swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subikid90 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Damn you beat me lol -Subikid90 1997 Legacy GT 5spd & EJ251 w/EJ25D heads ~10.5CR 1998 Legacy GT Limited waiting for EJ22T hybrid swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zues Marine Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 i dont know where the fuel pump fuse is ... i just disconnected the whole pump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camroncamera Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I thought it seemed odd that the Haynes manual describes disconnecting the fuel pump, whereas the Bentley for watercooled VW's tells one to simply remove the fuel pump relay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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