oil pressure low!

[packinkimber45]

Hello members, we have a 91 tsi that has a low oil pressure. When car is cold it is halfway between low and high, but as soon as warmed up driving it is just a little past low even at wot. Am I okay driving this around? The car has a new head on it, stage 2 race head mildly ported and polished with 1mm oversized manley valves in it. Head is suppose to have about 400 mi's on it. I noticed today that right by one of the bolts on the valve cover near cylinder one has a crack on it causing oil spill in the dip part of valve cover where spark plug holes are by. Could this be causing my low oil pressure? Where do I go from here to find my low pressure cause? should I not be driving the car around? The car also has an evo 3 16g in it running at stock boost. I noticed that rpms climb fast till about 4k then holds back and slow getting up to rpms, like the car is holding back. Is this due to having the bigger turbo on stock boost. Thanks.

 

[EclipseGSX012]

i would fix that crack before you drive your car around like that. If the oil is leaking that mean your loosing oil so check your oil level and the best bet is fix the crack and see if it will fix that problem.

I had evo 3 on my car running stock boost and no my car did not hold back, but later on i ran into that problem and after boost leak test was done and fixed i ran into the same problem then found out that my compression dropped so i would really do compression test on your car to be on the safe side.

 

[Dream On]

My car does the exact same thing. I bought an oil pressure gauge so I can really know what's going on.

 

[packinkimber45]

Alright, I think I might have an out of phase balance shaft. This might sound like a stupid question, but I am fairly new with dsms. Can an out of phase balance shaft affect my oil pressure? Is it bad to drive the car with the balance shaft out of phase? Thanks.

 

[packinkimber45]

Anyone?

 

[drewvr4]

since the balance shaft and oil pump run off the same pully yes it is very possible.

 

[packinkimber45]

So it is probably not a good idea to be driving it? Thanks.

 

[drewvr4]

well there isnt a real way to know for sure...but personally i would def take a look before i drove it more...it only took me about 2 hours to do a timing belt and water pump on these so its not bad to atleast pull the timing cover and check.

 

[packinkimber45]

Is there a way to check to make sure the head is not starved of oil by checking cam lobes? How can I check that head is getting proper oil without taking the motor apart? Thanks.

 

[hereitcomes]

Is there a way to check to make sure the head is not starved of oil by checking cam lobes? How can I check that head is getting proper oil without taking the motor apart? Thanks.

Are any of your lifters sticking on startup? I wouldnt be worried about your head, mainly your shortblock. My 93GSX had the same problem as you. Low pressure even at WOT. At idle the needle was on the L. I have a new motor with no balance shafts and i have perfect pressure.
This is most likely a balance shaft problem as you said your cas has hesiation as well. The oil pump is on the same line as the balance shafts, so if they are out of sync you car will bog and you will notice a change, as well as with the pressure. Good luck dude!

 

[packinkimber45]

I have not driven the car lately. Just the other day I started it up and just right after it started, lifters sounded really loud then after a couple of seconds it went away. That was the only time it did it. As far as performance hindering on the car, I was mistaken. The rpms showed climbing fast then slowly climbing, I think my gauge was bad. I actually tried to feel it and I dont think the car is holding back. However my pressure is still low at wot. I will probably just leave the car sitting until I get some cash to have a dsm guy around my area fix my out of phase balance shaft. Sucks, newly purchased car and it has to sit. Oh well. Thanks for the reply man.

 

[Dream On]

I've been driving my car and I'm assuming it's the gauge. When mine starts, I hear the lifters for about 3 seconds, then everything sounds normal. Even at WOT, my gauge only goes up a little over the L I would guess. It's at the max low point at idle (if warm) when I shut the car off, the gauge doesn't move from where it was, so I think it's not quite accurate.