This is a NO BIG DEAL thing, which has been covered extensively in the
archive, and depending on your model year, is even covered in your
owner's manual. It is perfectly normal, no cause for alarm, and part of
the enchantment that is VW.

If it really bugs you, get an oil pressure gauge. >$100. If it still
bugs you, add some Motor Honey (I think the bottle says you can use up
to 2 bottles in "Very Worn" engines, but use your best judgment).

The truth is, you can IDLE a VW flat four with absolutely no oil
pressure for a really long time (like 30 minutes). If your oil is fresh,
the viscosity alone can carry the bearing load of pushing and sucking
the pistons back and forth, etc. at idle. HOWEVER, if you put an oil
gauge on this thing, and it says .1 psi at idle and 10 psi at 2000 psi
look at a new pump, then a rebuild...

Bringing your ideas to life,
G. Matthew Bulley
Bulley-Hewlett
Business: www.bulley-hewlett.com
AIM = IExplain4u
Phone: +1.919.658.1278

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
Of Craig Oda's Personal email
Sent: Tuesday, October 08, 2002 2:41 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Low Oil Pressure

I have been in a love-hate battle with my 83.5 Westy for about a year.
Right now my oil pressure light is flickering red at low idle and when
I'm driving.  BTW, please respond to craig@oda-inc.net as my other
email doesn't appear to work.

I'm using 20W-50 and using black german filters that come in the yellow
and green box.  I think these are Mahles. I've replaced the oil
pressure switch and the wiring that connects it to the wiring harness.
I've cleaned out my oil pressure relief valve.  I've noticed that there
is some rough edges if I stick my fingers in there and also, only a
trickle of oil came out when I removed the plunger.  However, it
appears to slide in and out easily.  I've got some oil leaking under
the van, but not so much that I have to put new oil in all the time.

I haven't put an oil pressure gauge on it, so I don't know what the
actual pressure is.  The problem only occurs when the engine is hot.

Should I be thinking of an overhaul, or is there some other things I
should be thinking about?  I just replaced the transmission at a shop
and did the cylinder heads myself.  So, I don't particularly want to do
an engine overhaul.  I just want to drive the beast.

thanks for any advice.

Craig

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