jeff_is_sexy

I've been having an oil pressure problem for a while with my newly rebuilt A4 LT1. It was fine for a few weeks, then one day it started dropping really low at stoplights. For example, if I have my foot on the brake while in gear it gets down to around 6-700RPM. When it gets this low while hot, the oil pressure will drop down to about 7 pounds. I've checked it with a mech gauge and the electric one is right, give or take a few pounds (when the el. gauge reads 7 pounds the mech one reads about 10-12). When the engine speed goes up at operating temp, I get up to about 40 pounds. At idle when cold, the pressure is 40 pounds, and reaches 60 when the engine speed goes up.

Here's the weird part. Today I changed the oil because I thought maybe it was just too thin. I went from like 5w-30 to 10w-30. The oil pressure was about the same, but now when I brake hard the oil pressure will drop to 0 then raise back up pretty quick after I get stopped. It never did this before, but I think it's because the oil was about a half quart over full. I'm thinking the problem is the oil pickup tube that hangs from the pump. I read about it in this thread: http://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...&highlight=oil

Does anyone know anything else? How can I test to see if that pickup is loose?

jeff_is_sexy

The pump is a Mellings high volume, by the way.

irishz28

sounds like your pick up has fallen out. i would definatly check it out, i just had the same thing happend to me. check this out, i was just out beating on the car, (just got the motor broken in), i noticed that at high rpm the oil pressure was droping pretty drasticly, i dident think much of it, ive heard the storys of the melling hv pumps sucking the pan dry at high rpms. so i bring it home and check the oil, and about 4in of my dipstick was niped off, ( i looked into it, and it is not completly uncommen with stroker motors). i drained the oil and got a magnet in there to see if i could fish out the piece, but instead i pulled out a big chunk of metal that was definatly not the dip stick. i pulled the pan, and there it is, my pick up, looking like someone mashed it with a sledge. and the pick up was pressed in and welded, (crappy weld done by a moron at a welding shop). i pulled off my pump and pieces of metal fell out of my oil gally. the engine is not toast, but im definally gunna be pulling it apart and having the block cleaned. im not trying to scare you with this story, but it could definatly be a possibility. i never heard a thing, and the thing was still getting 60 cold and 40 warm. check into it man. i really hope u dont have my luck.

jeff_is_sexy

That sucks.

I wonder if I drain the oil and stick a magnet to the bottom of the pan, if I will be able to hear it scrape along the bottom? Do they always come completely loose or what?

Well I'm guessing this is what it is. If I remember correctly, the pickup didn't give much trouble going in and I'm guessing it would give the same amount of trouble coming back out.

One thing worth mentioning... I remember that when all of this started, I was suspicious because that day the oil pressure was about 2 pounds below the normal 20. Then, as I came off the highway and into a stoplight, it had dropped pretty drastically and from then on the pressure was pretty low when warm. Just now when I changed my oil have I noticed that it will drop to 0 on hard braking.

SS RRR

just jack the car up (PLEASE USE JACKSTANDS) and bang on the bottom of the pan w/ your fist. if it's at the bottom of the pan you should hear it rattle.

johnny3986

Hey, I started that thread you read and have since fixed the problem on mine and my buddies car.

It is a PITA to do, but its nice NOT to see the oil pressure drop to 0 psi on a hard corner or a hard stop.

I had my pickup welded on and my buddy did not want to take the pump off and weld it, so he JB Welded it. Not smart I am sure, but it has held through some tough driving (he beats on it the ENTIRE drive) and he has 3800 miles on it.

You will definetly be able to hear it on the bottom of the pan.

shoebox

Does sound like a pickup problem, but you should not be running an HV pump with a stock pan (nothing tells me you are or are not).

jeff_is_sexy

The oil pan is stock, but the pressure was fine until one day it just crapped. Do you think I should go ahead and change the pump if I end up dropping the pan? I sure hate to, as it's a brand new pump. It only has 1,500 on it...