Low oil pressure questions, 91 talon tsi

[maynard]

I just recently purchased a 91 talon tsi with 166,000 miles on it. This car seems to have been maintained quite regularly. I have a ton of receipts and service records up to about 130,000 miles I noticed that the oil pressure was a little on the low side according to the stock gauge so I had it changed. I put in Valvoline high mileage 10w 30. The oil pressure was still low according to the gauge. I went to the trusty Haynes manual and found out how you can check it. I removed the sending unit, screwed in a pressure gauge and it only reads about 9 to 10 psi at warm idle. Is this an oil pump problem, worn crank bearings, or something else ? How common is it for the oil pump to crap out ?

 

[Quasimondo]

According to Chilton's, oil pressure at idle on a warmed up engine is 11.4 psi, so your oil pressure is good.

I don't hear much about oil pumps failing on these engines, and the few oil pressure problems I hear about are from balance shaft removal jobs gone wrong.

 

[maynard]

According to the Haynes book I have the oil pressure should be 11 psi minimum at idle. That's why I asked the question. I dunno, I'm just paranoid about blowing it up especially since I just bought it. You mentioned balance shaft removal gone wrong. What's that all about ?

 

[Quasimondo]

The engine has two counter-rotating balance shafts that are designed to reduce engine vibrations. One shaft is driven by the oil pump assembly, the other is belt driven off of the crankshaft. By removing them, you reduce the parasitic losses on your engine and allow it to rev more freely. The other advantage is that by removing them, you reduce your chances of engine failure because if the balance shaft belt breaks, a piece of it can get jammed in the timing belt, which in an inteference engine such as the 4G63 can spell disaster if that belt goes.

VFAQ has step by step instructions on how to remove the balance shafts.

 

[maynard]

Thanks for your replies and all your help.

 

[DSM MAN]

This is pretty much off topic, but here I go anyway. I have oil all over my oil filter housing and sending unit and gauge. How do i tell if its the sending unit? I was told by a pretty shady mechanic thats what it was....but im not sure if I trust him. (Never taking it to someone to get fixed again). Thanks.

 

[maynard]

The best advice I can give you is wipe everything off real good. Start the engine and let it run and watch for leaks. Watch around the threads on the sending units.