My oil warning light is coming on intermittently but not losing any oil. Is it likely the motor will sieze?

Question

My oil warning light is coming on intermittently but not losing any oil. Is it likely the motor will sieze without other warning signs such as increased temp. When it initially came on I added 600ml oil, possibly too much it is now over the level. However the light came back on 30 kms down the road. If you stop and turn the car off, for as short as one minute it turns off for another 30- 60 kms. Yesterday I did 500kms with it like this(had no choice) and there were no other ill effects. Althought there is an intermittent tapping noise. I did get very good fuel consumption, and the light came on less at night. I am going to get the oil pressure tested today, its just I'm on the road and just want to get home (2000kms). The car is a subaro leone 89, its not a major catasrophe if it siezes it was only cheap, and I'm only using while my other car gets fixed, I don't want to throw lots of money at it

this question has been asked on behalf of a friend...thanks to all replies. 1 hour since question asked and she is on the road.. thanks again

Answer 1

I would guess that the problem is an intermittent short in the oil pressure sensor. 2000 km is a long way to go with poor oil pressure. It is actually worse to have too much oil rather than being a little low.
If you get the oil pressure checked and it is low, then get the oil changed and put in a thicker grade such as 20W40 or 30W50. An occasional tapping noise is probably a valve lifter losing its pressure, which could be a symptom of low oil pressure.
Sounds like the car has a LOT of miles on it.
When the gears of the oil pump wear and the bearings of the engine wear, they won't hold back as much oil, so the oil pressure drops, especially when the car is hot. By using a thicker oil, you won't have as much internal leakage and your pressure will stay up better.

Answer 2

The intermittent oil light is usually a bad oil pump or bearing wear, That tapping sound may be a rod bearing. If you have engine bearing wear that cuts the pressure in the oiling system and the off and on would be the oil thinning when hot which is aggravated by too much bearing clearance Mechanic, long time

Answer 3

it could just be a sending unit going bad on it,that will make it come on sometimes like this,the only other thing that might cause it is the oil pump may be going bad on it,and that will cause low oil pressure,and will also explain the light coming on,it would be a good idea to get it checked though,its possible right now to maybe save the engine in it,good luck on it.

Answer 4

you mean after you take it to the recycle center? recycled into a lighter weight of oil. in an engine, some goes as "blow by" and gets burnt up in the cylinder. or if the seals, gaskets and sealed bearings are failing, then some can migrate into the coolant system, and also just leak out onto the ground, or when an oil change is done by someone who doesn't care about the environment, the oil ends up eventually either in the ground>ground water supply, or lakes and streams, and from there into the food chain, so eventually, in the little organisms that are eaten by the bigger ones, and so on to the little fish that are eaten by the bigger fish, and somewhere along the line put on our table at dinner. pretty much used oil, ends up back inside of us one way or another... controlling us much like that "oil" on the "X-files" gee wonder if that was a metaphor...

Answer 5

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There are many practical uses for used motor oil. A primary use is to rerefine it into a base stock for lubricating oil. This process is very similar to the refining of crude oil. The result is that the rerefined oil is of as high a quality as a virgin oil product. In fact, rerefining used oil takes from 50 to 85 percent less energy than refining crude oil. A secondary use of the used oil is to burn it for energy. Large industrial boilers can efficiently burn the used oil with minimum pollution. As a result some used oil is sent to power plants or cement kilns to be burned as fuel. On a smaller scale small quantities of used oil are burned in specially designed heaters to provide space heating for small businesses.

Answer 6

Sounds like it might be a problem with your oil filter. Sometimes a clogged filter can look like a faulty sensor or oil pump.

An oil and filter change would be your best bet. If it's anything else it's not worth fixing on a car that old.

Answer 7

hate to break it to you but if the oil light is coming on and your oil is not low, then you are going to need a new oil pump. The only other thing it would be is the sensor. I would start with that first.

Answer 8

Sometimes the oil pressure sending unit goes bad.

Answer 9

it could be a few things the pump or an electrical problem go to a garage and have it looked at