No Oil Pressure, Check Engline light on w/ No Codes

[AFG-DSM2g]

So i was driving Back home from my basketball practise school today and randomly my check engine light turned on. I saw my oil pressure was low so i was expecting an oil leak since i replace my oil pan about 2 weeks ago. When i checked, i first thought i was low on oil, but then i noticed it was full, but as it got higher it kept getting more extremely light colored. Almost like water but had a faint tint. I was less than a mile away from home so drove back real quick and everything else seemed fine, but my oil pressure still would barely go past the first mark.
BTW- im using Rotella T6 Synthetic 5w40 motor oil.

I have a Snap on- Diagnosis Computer and i hooked the OBD2 up to try and get a code to find whats going on but it didnt give me anything nd told me Theres no failures.
Im guessing its my oil pump randomly dieing, but dosent explain the light color. Im going to check my oil again tomarrow and see if its still the same.

Help me out, i could be gravely wrong.

 

[Brandon1ggsx]

Did you use a gasket or gasket maker during the pan swap. If you used gasket maker to generously then some could have flowed inside the pan came loose and finally made it's way to the oil pickup causing blockage, in turn causing low oil pressure. As far as the oil on the dipstick if it's fresh it sometimes can be hard to see exspecially synthetic try pinching the dipstick between you thumb and index finger just above the full make and slide it down toward the full make, oil should build up against your fingers. Make sure your hands are clean!

 

[NHerron]

That would have to be alot of RTV to cause that kinda blockage I would think judging by the screen size, and if any was sucked through it would get filtered out anyway.

But yeah new synthetic is kinda hard to see sometimes. How was the oil pressure before you did the pan? Check your sender wire you might have bumped it off doing the oil pan replacement. If no, maybe pull the drain plug for a second to see if any abnormal amount of metal pieces drop.

How many miles on the engine and is the oil pan replacement the only recent work done?

 

[Zach H]

Check the crank, Crank walk can cause low oil pressure, especially on a 7 bolt.

 

[Calan]

...but then i noticed it was full, but as it got higher it kept getting more extremely light colored. Almost like water but had a faint tint.

I don't understand this statement. What got higher? Are you saying the oil level increased over time, above full?

 

[99gst_racer]

You really need to get a real oil pressure gauge on there to see what's really going on. The stock one is often inaccurate and pretty much useless for anything.

Furthermore, if the CEL comes on and stays on, then there is a code to be read. Try reading it again or trying using a different code reader.

 

[NHerron]

I don't understand this statement. What got higher? Are you saying the oil level increased over time, above full?

I almost asked that too. I think he means the bottom of dipstick is a dark color, then as you look further up the dipstick toward the full mark it gets to be a lighter color.

 

[Calan]

I think he means the bottom of dipstick is a dark color, then as you look further up the dipstick toward the full mark it gets to be a lighter color.

That makes no sense, unless his dipstick is discolored or oil hadn't been circulating for some time (long enough to separate if it was bad)...in which case he probably would have noticed some serious issues long before now.

 

[gofer]

It makes perfect sense, actually, if you think about it.

He lifted the dipstick and gravity worked its magic on the oil, causing it to build at the tip. Lighter on top than it was on the bottom because there was less oil the higher up the stick, gravity caused it to run.

 

[Calan]

It makes perfect sense, actually, if you think about it.

He lifted the dipstick and gravity worked its magic on the oil, causing it to build at the tip. Lighter on top than it was on the bottom because there was less oil the higher up the stick, gravity caused it to run.

Ok... I'll give you that one.

 

[AFG-DSM2g]

Alright i just checked my dipstick again (in daylight) and the oil level and color is perfect. There is no sound or anything abnormal with the car. I did try and drive it up a hill last night when i was going home and it did show a loss in power, but not that bad. At this point im thinking brandon might be right. I didnt put on an extremely lot of gasket maker but some did flow out the edges of the oil pan. And my engine has about 10k miles on it, 68k original (un-rebuilt bottom, all oem rebuilt head) the car has barely been driven. I dont think crankwalk can happen that fast...can it?

 

[99gst_racer]

step 1: Verify what the CEL is for.
step 2: Verify how much oil pressure you actually have.

There's no sense guessing and wondering about random ailments without knowing this info.

 

[Calan]

step 1: Verify what the CEL is for.
step 2: Verify how much oil pressure you actually have.

3. Check the crank end play if you're really worried about crankwalk.

 

[Brandon1ggsx]

+1 on code determination before exploration

You said it has 10k on motor was a new oil pump apart of that rebuild?

 

[AFG-DSM2g]

Update:
So i checked my diagnostics scanner again and it still wouldnt show me anything. I use obdII generic, and i also entered the vin number for car specific. So i decided to clear it. Afte i cleared the light, i let it run at idle for a while and checked if the check engine light would turn on again. It didnt. But what i noticed was that the car would keep its oil pressure about halfway at cold start, then once it warms up the pressure drops almost all the way. Id give it a little gas (3k rpm max) and the pressure guage would slightly go up. I honestly cant remember if this is normal or not. Im still using an oem guage.

Then what i did was decided to check if anything was in my oil pan. I used a tight mesh filter and drained my oil, passing through the filter i held up, hoping to catch pieces of loose rtv swingin out, but i got nothing. Then i put the oil back in and gave her another start up, and let it sit at idle. It looked good for a while; pressure was hold. Then i took it for a drive around my neighborhood. The performance was fine. No loss in power. But by the time i got home the pressure guage was very low again, but i still didnt feel anything mechanically wrong.

 

[slayer450]

I've been having the same problem, a soon as the car starts to warm up the low oil pressure light comes on at idle but oil is still circulating. I've done a bit of searching and come up with these cars have shitty oil sensors and sending units. Change those and your problem might go away.

 

[AFG-DSM2g]

Where is the sensor loacted?

 

[Calan]

On the oil filter housing

 

[gofer]

2g Oil Pressure Gauge Unit

 

[slayer450]

So you get it fixed? What was it?

 

[AFG-DSM2g]

Im about to order a new oil pressure sensor unit.

Okay so i was told i am going to need 3G lifters to get rid of a ticking noise i thought was normal...
Could this possibly fix the oil pressure issue too?
And which brand 3G Lifters do you guys reccomend?

 

[NHerron]

The 3rd revision lifters may help ticking a little bit but if the head has poor pressure in the first place then it won't do much. And no the 3G lifters will no way bring your pressure up. Personally, I would not go to the trouble of replacing them unless you already will have the head off and cams out. They make a tool to do it on the car that makes it easier though. I don't know which lifter brands to recommend, but I know they are expensive as hell from the dealer so don't go that route.

On the OFH, you should have the oil pressure switch (idiot light) and the oil pressure sender, which controls the gauge. If your dummy light is hooked up, you turn on the key and the oil pressure light should be on. Once the car is fired up, the light should go away. If working properly, the oil pressure is enough according to OEM specs and out of the danger zone. You can turn off the light yourself by unhooking the wire from oil pressure switch, with key on. Like most said on here, you should just test the oil pressure with a good gauge. Here's a link showing which is which: 1G Oil Pressure Sensors

 

[slayer450]

I think I remember hearing people using mitsu or k&n oil filters to help with the lifter tick. Something about a valve in the filter to keep oil in the head our something like that, i'm sure someone knows more that me about that

 

[Cmax907]

Alright i just checked my dipstick again (in daylight) and the oil level and color is perfect. There is no sound or anything abnormal with the car. I did try and drive it up a hill last night when i was going home and it did show a loss in power, but not that bad. At this point im thinking brandon might be right. I didnt put on an extremely lot of gasket maker but some did flow out the edges of the oil pan. And my engine has about 10k miles on it, 68k original (un-rebuilt bottom, all oem rebuilt head) the car has barely been driven. I dont think crankwalk can happen that fast...can it?

It sure as hell can... I had 500 miles on a 6 bolt and my oil got over fueled and ate my rod bearings away who knows whats wrong with my crank and rods.. Thats the fun part about these cars.

 

[Sphinx]

this thred has been completely helpful! .. i had similar problem with zero oil pressure on my new 6 bolt swap in my 98 tsi.. after checking my oil filter housing i discovered the sensor was completely sheered in half