billet350

hey guys for the past 3 days my PSI number went from 60 to close to 0? so yesturday i went and got an oil change and put some mobile 1 oil but it went back up to normal pressure, when the guy drained the old oil he said there was atleast 5 quarts dumped out, so if i had good amount of oil in the car why did i have low pressure and the oil light even came on a couple of times

the car has 5000 miles now

btw i bought the car with 1500 miles

but this is my first oil change, could that be it

billet350

anyone

barthelb

Someone was saying that the oil's molecules break down overtime so they become less lubracative. Which i guess is what the viscosity is for. So if the oil was old it was essential thinner i guess. Maybe that's why.

billet350

is that normal though... so is that kinda like telling u its time to change ur oil

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

billet, that is not normal. Did the mechanic say ATLEAST 5 quarts came out? If thats true then you had either too much oil in your car or something got in with the oil. Your oil change should give you about 4.5-4.9 quarts of oil. Over 5 shouldnt happen. Also if your oil psi is dropping under 20psi engine damage is happening. The oil psi sensor is one of my fav things about the Z bc thats your cars life blood. The car needs to be at 30 psi idle and 60-100 under load for proper viscocity and engine protection. If it ever happens again stop driving and change it immediately, that is some crap oil or the wrong weight.

billet350

no the oil im using is Mobile 1 and im using whatever weight it says in the manual.

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

Has it happened since then? Also have you called your dealer/is it under warranty still?

G3po

iTrader: (8)

I'd guess that there is/was a bit of silicon sealer floating about in your assembly and it momentarily plugged your oil sender etc. Hopefully your last change flush the debri out. It has been seen that the OEM has been kinda sloppy with RTV especially in the oil paln area, so "small floaters" are possible.

hfm

iTrader: (1)

I had zero pressure once. I also had Nissan warranty a new engine once.

Get it checked.

billet350

yeah it hasnt happened to me again but sometimes it goes a tad below 30, when in traffic is that normal?

Nano

iTrader: (1)

yeah, oil pressure can go pretty low.

as long as it's above 30 and bellow 120 it's fine

if it suddenly slams bellow 30 or above 120... then worry

Z BOY

iTrader: (41)

iirc, after initial warmup,
idle: >15psi
4k rpm: >30
if you're at <15 at idle, have dealer check it.

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

it needs to be at 30psi in idle and 60-90 under load when properly warmed up. Anything less than 30 would scare the nipples of me, but im a freak about oil protection.

Superfly84zx

Hope you just have a sensor problem...thats most likely. You will hear valve train noise first if you actually have zero oil pressure... My old Z used to get down to zero all the time but it was only the guage...keep you eye on it and make sure you keep your oil clean to help flush out anything that might be plugging your oil sensor...Because it came back up to normal probably means a sensor...I mean if there was a real problem it wouldnt be healing itself...you'd have cronic low PSI with noises

billet350

well when i had it near 0 psi i got a code and it said intake value timing control something like that, and i went to nissan about the code and they didnt know what it was and i did hear a noise and they told me it was my heat shield because of my exhaust (BS) but thats what they told me

overboost

So what should the oil pressure be at idle. Z Boy said >15psi and a couple of peole say at least 30 psi. I am at a little under 30 psi, so should I get it checked?

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

diuring a 100 degree day my idle at full warm was a little under 30psi. 15 would send me running to the dealer or checking my oil level. I would say you are gravey overboost, wouldnt worry about it.

Z BOY

iTrader: (41)

what i quoted you was more or less from the nissan repair manual. the 15 psi i'm positive about, but usually when it gets that low, you're very low on oil.

jgray

This exact same thing happend to me today. I was about 3 miles from home when the oil light came on briefly. I immediately checked the oil preassure and it was going down to 0 when I came to a stop, then hovered at 10-15 when idle. I checked the oil later (after the engine cooled) and it wasn't even registering on that funky dipstick. I added a couple quarts just so I can safely get to the dealer tomorrow. It's time for an oil change anyway (about 3 months and 3200 miles), but why did the oil get so low in the first place? There's no sign of a leak anywhere and my Z isn't quite a year old.

Joel

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

was it mobil 1? People tend to have high consumption with that synthetic. Also it could be your engine as VQ's tend to have higher consumption than most in some motors (not mine).