my oil light comes on after restarting car replaced camshaft and lifters .car runs fine when driving light is off . but when i stop for gas and turn car off ,then restart light is on .what could this be.any help would be greatful.thanks.

 

Question 1 would be: Is the oil pressure idiot light sender functioning properly, ie: is it triggering at a normal pressure or at a low pressure, like it's supposed to?
The way to answer that question would be to connect an oil gauge and check the actual pressure, which is what I would recommend, so that you can see where you really stand.

Question 2 would be: If it was fine before the change, and the light comes on now, after the change, what have you changed that might affect oil pressure?
The first thing that comes to mind is the lifters themselves - it is possible to install non-Olds lifters, which pass too much oil, and can result in low oil pressure. I would investigate this possibility. Do you have the boxes from the lifters, to double check the part numbers?

Either way, I wouldn't drive it or run it until you get this sorted out.

- Eric

 

well the light came on before installing cam/lifters .motor has about 1500 miles on it when cam lobe wore down .thats the reason for the change.lifters came from olds parts supplier.and are correct, will check oil pressure and go from there.as long as the car stays running the light does not come on just when restarting the light comes on .

 

So the light does not come on at idle? If the only time the light comes on is when first cranking, this is normal as the oil system has to build pressure. I still would hook up an aftermarket oil pressure gauge to see what its actually running at.

 

It's very possible some of the metal shavings from the wore-out cam lobe have gotten into your sending unit, causing problems!
Did you do anything to remove the metal shavings from the motor??
Usually, you'd want to dissassemble the complete motor, as those 'shavings' embed into ALL the bearings and act worse than sandpaper on the matching components!!!You've a grenade, at the worse!!
Will burn oil, at the least!

 

the problem is when I first start the engine it is fine and light does not come on. I can drive the car for an hour without turning it off light is fine. but if soon as I turn engine off and restart it the light comes on and stays on .the next day i can start the car i drive it, light is off. but as soon as I turn off and restart it comes on again.this is where I am with this .sorry if it sounds confusing.

 

I agree that the sender may be to blame here.
When started from cold it works fine, and is okay when it warms up, but when pressure drops to zero hot, it clicks and won't click back until it cools down.

Last sender I bought was about $1.50 new, brand name, on eBay.

I'd still try a mechanical gauge on it, though, just to be sure.

And, as Rickman says, if that motor wasn't taken apart and cleaned, do it! You'll be glad you did.

- Eric

 

x2 on getting an aftermarket oil pressure gauge, you could hook it up temporarily in no time and really see what's going on.
The first thing when I get a car without gauges is install an oil pressure gauge at the least. I prefer the type with the pressure line to the gauge, seen too many of the electric sender and gauge type that weren't even close to being correct and I don't trust them personally.
If you install one permanently get the copper line kit for it, they sell them at Advanced and Auto Zone. The nylon lines that come with them tend to break over time and it's amazing how fast a huge volume of oil can come out of that tiny little line in about ten seconds, I know.

 

Going back to teh original problem, will a worn cam lobe cause low oil pressure by itself?

 

YES, it can!
Get some hand lotion and put some salt in it - try to rub it in your hands!!
FEEL THE GRIT??
That's what you've done to the motor, with the cast iron 'shavings' from the cam lobe!!
It imbeds in the soft bearings, and wears EVERYTHING!

 

Thanks a bunch I will check the pressure and try new sending unit .

 

Same here on the nylon

 

will do thanks

 

That's what I was thinking too

 

no the light does not come on at idle .it does not even come on while driving .it only comes on if I drive the car for a while and turn the car off and restart it .the light comes on .but the next day I start it up light is off I can drive it the light stays off but if I turn car off again and restart it the light comes on and stays on .

 

Outside of the possibilities of metal contamination inside your motor??? The problem may or may not be an issue other than a bad oil pressure switch, as stated above!

I would still get a mechanical oil presure gauge and see exactly what its doing. Its cheap and a 5 min install! Let us know what the pressure is cold and warmed up.

 

Hi guys I checked the oil pressure. at cold its 50psi at hot its at 20psi I let the car run for 30 mins and no light .turned car off and restarted the light came on. this is without the oil sending unit installed.should the light even work without the sending unit hooked up?

 

So...

You unscrewed and removed the idiot light sender, reconnected the wire to it, screwed a fitting into the block and connected a mechanical oil pressure gauge, found the pressures you mentioned, and, with the sender lying on top of the engine, grounded, the light does not come on when you first start the car, but DOES come on if you turn the car off, then back on after it is warm?

Did I get that right? Or is the sender NOT connected to the wire, and only the wire is sitting on top of the engine while this is happening?

In the former case, I'd reckon that sender's maybe not quite working right.

In the latter case, I'd say you've got some sort of weird wiring problem, and recommend following that wire from the sender all the way back to the light to see what's going on.

Also, 20psi won't kill you, but in my opinion it's a hair low for a 1,500 mile rebuilt engine, unless you set your bearing clearances / side clearance wide. What viscosity are you running, and how hot is your engine getting? I remain concerned about damage to bearings and oil pump from circulating metal particles.

- Eric

 

Yes that is correct the sending unit is unpluged the wire is laying on motor still have the mechanical gauge connected. I am using ROTELLA 15W-40 I think I will drop the oil pan just to check things out.

 

Ok, good, now we are on to something. Was the wire touching ground after it was disconnected? If not your oil pressure light is finding a ground somewhere to light intermittantly. With it disconnected the light should not operate.

I would not pull the pan yet!

 

From what you describe, the problem happens with the sender disconnected, so it can't be the sender.

As I said, you need to check the wiring from the sender to the light.

As for dropping the pan - I'd hold off for now. You don't know what your pressure was before you wiped the cam... Do you?

- Eric