OK, the past couple of weeks the car has been starting hard. A few months back it didn't start up at all and I found a corrosion-covered coil. I cleaned the contacts and everything was fine after that. The coil is an Accel and hasn't given me any problems before. I just had headers installed and at the same time I did plugs/wires. So I really don't think it's the plugs/wires. I am already resigning myself to getting another coil (possibly MSD, opinions wanted).

Now, here's my latest problem. Today, I noticed my oil pressure was dangerously low. At idle it was down near 0. At even high RPM's, it didn't go much above the 1/4 mark. Also, it's been bogging on the low-end in 1st and 2nd gear and it seems like it's getting harder and harder to launch. If it weren't for my oil pressure gauge, I would think it was just the coil and start there. However, I do drive it daily, so a seized engine is not an option. I really need to hear what might the symptoms of my oil pump dying.

I also need to hear if anyone thinks that these problems could be caused by the coil alone. By the way, the opti is about 2 years old, so I really don't think that's the problem. That, and my opti acted very differently when it was dying (high-RPM miss). This is all happening at low-RPM's.

 

coil has nothing to do with oil pressure. and oil pumps themselves dont usually die.

Something with the oiling system other than the pump is wrong most likely. The pickup fallen off, pickup is clogged, bearings are toast, etc.

 

Hmm... OK, is there any good way of diagnosing this without actually dropping the oil pan?

 

well i guess:

oil pickup fallen off: drail the pan and hit on the bottom, if you hear something clunking around, it fell off

Bearings: Check the oil and filter for metal shavings maybe even coolant as well

Pickup plugged: Cant check it really.

I would stop running the car until the problem is figured out. Its not an ignition problem, something internal. Oiling (pressure) is really dependant on a few things: weight of oil, cleanliness/clearances of the system and engine rpm

 

Check the oil and filter for sure. If you find any copper the bearings are gone.
Also Some engine builders like the block the oil bypass and when the filter starts to plug you lose oil presure.
Put in an extra quart of oil and see if the oil presure gets better.
it is not uncommon for the pick up tube to crack and suck air.

 

I'm planning on changing the oil today, although I will note that this is the cleanest my oil has ever looked after 2+ months. I am also planning on running engine flush through it at that time. Does anyone have any recommendations on a good engine flush to use?

I looked at the coil this morning and everything looked fine, I'm still going to replace it because the car has been starting hard for the past few weeks, along with the bogging on launch.

Also, a little background, I had to have the heads removed at the beginning of June to get a snapped header bolt taken out. So gaskets are fresh from the heads up. Is there anthing that could've happened during the R/R of the heads that might cause this?

 

Also, you might want to check the actual Oil Pressure Sensor ... If you regularly chagne the oil, and havent noticed metal shavings in it then its also a good possibility that its the guage and/or the oil pressure sensor. The oil Pressure sensor is right behind the intake manifold. It jsut screws in place. Id say remove it and check the resistance though it, I m not sure what it should be though ? Im sure someone on here will know. Also check the voltage ( Which im not sure what it should be either ) going to the sensor. OR you could swap the sensor with somoneelse you know with a 94-95 F-Body that gets normal pressure jsut to test that ... (93's have a different oil pressure sensor and I dont know if an OBDII car's will work ) Then I think if i was you the next thing I'd do would be to pull the pan if its not that ... I know its alot of work, but better to do alot of work ( A few hours ) then to blow it up and have to rebuild ( A few weeks ) ....

 

I don't think it would be the sensor, but obviously still a possibility. When the pressure dropped yesterday, the car got very sluggish and it took a lot more gas to get going in 1st gear.

So, I guess I'll stick with my plan to change the oil tonight and check for any shavings in the oil and/or filter. I'm going to run some engine flush to possibly loosen anything that's gotten clogged (not holding breath though).

Any other suggestions are welcome.

Thanks guys!

 

Yea , I meant to try that like after you drain the oil and have checked that stuff, that was the only thing no one suggested yet so I figured it was worth saying. I personally think that either the pickup is clogged, or one of the oil port things are clogged ...