Oil Pressure Light on E30 S52

[MaxBell]

Hey everyone;

I've got an OBD1 S52 going into my E30, to replace the aged M50 in there now.

It was started up last week (with Rotella T6 in it) and it has two problems:

1. Oil pressure light is on.
2. Valves are ticking a lot.

The engine was completely rebuilt before it went into the car. New everything, including oil pump.

My initial thoughts are:

1. We reused the M50 harness on the S52, so it's OBD1. Are there any things that need to be done with the oil pressure in the harness or sensors to accommodate?

2. Could the oil non return valve cause problems like this?

3. Would the oil pressure sensor cause problems like this?

Any assistance would be appreciated.

[haaken675]

do you have an aftermarket pressure gauge you could try? I would want to know exactly what my oil pressure was to help verify if it is just a bad sensor or if it really isn't getting oil for some reason.

[Shftr8]

if the valves are ticking that a pretty good indication you have low oil pressure. I believe the sensors are different between 1 and 2 (could be wrong) but that still wont have any effect of the ticking unless the lifters are just dry and have not built up pressure yet. If you only ran it for a second then shut it off get a oil pressure gauge and read what the actual pressure is. If you ran it for awhile and it didn't go away you probably have an issue with pressure

[f4tj0n]

I had my engine rebuilt before my swap and def made sure I ran an oil pressure gauge from the beginning just to know if something was put together wrong.

[328ijunkie]

Sensors are same and wiring is same. Sounds like its doing its job

[e30rapidic]

were the oil squirters removed but not replaced?

[exhaust]

Did you check and secure the oil pump nut?

[MaxBell]

do you have an aftermarket pressure gauge you could try? I would want to know exactly what my oil pressure was to help verify if it is just a bad sensor or if it really isn't getting oil for some reason.

I'll go pick one up and check the actual pressure, then will report back.

if the valves are ticking that a pretty good indication you have low oil pressure. I believe the sensors are different between 1 and 2 (could be wrong) but that still wont have any effect of the ticking unless the lifters are just dry and have not built up pressure yet. If you only ran it for a second then shut it off get a oil pressure gauge and read what the actual pressure is. If you ran it for awhile and it didn't go away you probably have an issue with pressure

The car was driven around for a few minutes. How long do you think it would take to build oil pressure on a brand new rebuild?

Sensors are same and wiring is same. Sounds like its doing its job

Ok, awesome.

were the oil squirters removed but not replaced?

The oil squirters are under the crank bearings right? I had a race shop do the bottom end, so that should be fine.

Did you check and secure the oil pump nut?

Yep, that's lock-tite'ed on.

[nrubenstein]

I'll go pick one up and check the actual pressure, then will report back.



The car was driven around for a few minutes. How long do you think it would take to build oil pressure on a brand new rebuild?



Ok, awesome.



The oil squirters are under the crank bearings right? I had a race shop do the bottom end, so that should be fine.



Yep, that's lock-tite'ed on.

It does not take a few minutes to build oil pressure.

[Northern]

Should build enough pressure from cranking, If I pull the fuel pump relay and turn the engine over, it takes maybe 5s for the light to go out after the car has been sitting all winter.

[cbouchez]

My fresh S50 swap is doing the same thing.

Check Engine Oil light comes On - I thought it was normal with the swaps but I'm glad you mentions something
Valves ticking. - I thought it was the injectors apparently nope. It's the valves.


I'm going with thicker oil here soon. - appointment on Monday maybe 10-30 Liqui MOly unless anybody have any other suggestion on the weight?

[nrubenstein]

Well, there are two oil lights. There's the oil pressure on the cluster, and oil level on the check panel.

If your cluster light is on, that's a problem. That needs to be fixed.

If the check panel light is on, it has nothing to do with the weight. That means that the sensor isn't working correctly.

[cbouchez]

The one that is on at the moment is the "Check Panel"

regarding the oil weight any opinions?

[nrubenstein]

The one that is on at the moment is the "Check Panel"

regarding the oil weight any opinions?

I usually run a 0w40 or 5w40.

[Northern]

I'm going with thicker oil here soon. - appointment on Monday maybe 10-30 Liqui MOly unless anybody have any other suggestion on the weight?

10w30 thicker? Does that mean you're running 0w20 now?

Shouldn't be running anything thinner than a *w40 on a 24v