98 SSE oil pressure issue after intake gasket repair

[DOC]

Have a 98 SSE w hich was in need of upper intake gaskets. Finally caved to have it done and went to local Pep Boys. They insisted it be done with their package which supposedly included complete coolant draining and refill and an oil change.

Well three months later I've got an oil pressure issue which started with in a couple of weeks of the the intake gasket repair.

I know this since on the highway I had a stoplight and the pressure took a dive past the red zone. I put the trans in N and revved the engine and it went away. Happened a couple more times on that two hour trip. Later did not notice as much. Now it takes the dive every time I hit the breaks to stop at a light or make a turn.

Pep boys state if I could show it was something they did they would help make it right. But they claim they don't see how it relates.

I also notice a coolant smell whenever I'm near the car.

any suggestions?

[MattStrike]

It would be difficult to prove it was their fault, unless you found that the oil had leaked out due to stripped/crossthreaded plug, or they doubled up the oil filter seal.

How many miles are on the engine? Is it knocking?

Check first if there are metal sparkles in the oil (under a very bright light, at just the right angle).

If there is no metal sparkle in the oil, then no internal damage has occurred (yet). Rule out a pressure sender failure bu using a mechanical gague to verify the oil pressure, a cheap sunpro gauge would work, and replace the oil in case they used something stupid like 0w-20 that can't make pressure at hot idle, especially after it gets some miles on it and starts to break down.

To be clear; bearings don't need pressure to maintain the oil film (but they need constant flow/supply of oil!), the pressure is required by the lifters to keep the pushrods tight to the rockers. Low pressure is only a side-effect of a failed bearing but the metal sparkles are the better way to tell. Use a magnifying glass to be certain if you have to. Because there is a certain amount of leak-by on every bearing and in the lifters, using an oil that is too thin could cause a pressure drop at hot, low idle. Long-term low pressure will cause lifter failure and camshaft damage, so it needs to be addressed right away.

So you need to know if there is any metal in the oil - again, miniscule flakes that look like sparkles under a bright light at just the right angle. If there are then the motor needs to be rebuilt or replaced. If there are no tiny flakes in the oil, try putting in fresh 10w-30 and see if it fixes the problem (remember, it needs to get hot and have some miles on it before you can know for sure).

I don't know if an oil analysis can tell you what the original oil weight was, which could possibly be used as leverage if they put the wrong weight in. The only other thing I could think of is a reciept and mileage log of every oil change, showing a correct OCI and low miles (knowing that 3800's usually get to 200k miles without issues) and you could get a machine shop to verify that the failure was due to oiling problems and not mechanical failure... I wouldn't be able to deterimine that though.

[1997SEgreenmonster]

Im having the same problem with mine when i start the car in the morning oil pressure will be over 40 around 50 i just had the gaskets replaced bout 6months ago. When i drive the car it it drops to bout 30 on the gauge while im driving but when i stop at stop lights it will drop all the way down but not into the red. If I let my car warm up in the mornings i can smell a burning smell outside my car and inside it but it will go away..... so my question is could it be a oil pressure switch going bad in it or the sending unit for the oil????????????

[PLAGUE PHANTOM]

I had this same issue 2 years ago. It ended with my motor throwing rods and it had to be rebuilt. Found out the place that did the upper intake swap forgot to put the pcv valve in and my motor was eating oil like a fat man at McDonald's. Check to see if they put a pcv valve in. If they didn't than I would check your oil level. If the dipstick is dry, you better hope your funds are dry....cause its most likely to late for the motor.

[DOC]

I did take the car back and they stated they changed the oil pressure sender unit. They first stated they checked the pressure with a mechanical gage then backed off stating the changed the sender and there is no change to the pressure still reading very low almost zero at warm idle.

when I encountered the problem and it would not go away I checked the oil and I was down just over a quart. So I added what was needed. I was also low on coolant and not just in the reserve / overflow tank. The radiator was dry as I could see the internal fins showing no coolant. I filled the radiator and then the overflow.

I went back to Pep boys the next day after they installed the new sender and they offered to change the oil to see if that might change things. It did not and now I don't have the original oil from their handiwork. So not likely to find the metal specs.

I did order a bottle of graphite oil (4oz) krex? Thinking the graphite might help fill tiny gaps to increase pressure but no such magic occurred. The engine does maintain pressure at 1500 rpm (10-15 lbs). But once it drops below 1500 so does the oil pressure.

How long before I'll likely hear knocking? Anyone know.

[1997SEgreenmonster]

Could it just be a vacum leak or just the oil send unit

[RJolly87]

What is the story on the oil filter? Through all this, I haven't seen a single mention of it. If there is a problem with it, it could account for the issue you are having. Even with fresh oil, you should notice some improvement if there is another underlying issue.

As far as what they did, if the engine did not run out of oil (1 qt low is not too bad, and not likely to account for this), and the oil did not take on coolant (chocolate milkshake, you would have seen it), I suspect this one isn't on them, unless they didn't drain the coolant contaminated oil immediately, as they should have.

Now, being out of coolant is another big issue, as well as the obvious odor of coolant. You should really find out where that is coming from, and where your coolant is going, before you get in trouble. That one very well could be on them.

[MattStrike]

Trust me, an oil change won't get much of the metal out if it's there because it gets everywhere, just like changing trans fluid does not hide the smell of burnt clutches...

How many miles on the engine?

I still say you need to get eyes on a mechanical guage and verify the reading in the dash asap. If they put a mechanical gauge on and determined the sender needed to be replaced, there's the slim possibility that somebody used their brain and realized they were getting proper pressure on the mechanical gauge to deduce that the sender needed to be replaced. Maybe it's just a bad wire that got bumped during the original repair, maybe it's a serious internal problem and it was bad luck on timing. But there is no way to know until you get the mechanical gauge and verify it!

For reference, at hot idle you should see 40 (+/-10) psi. 60+ during a WOT run.

[rharper]

i think they effed up the lower intake job and your burning coolant. just a matter of time.... your gonna be putting a motor in sorry.......

[DOC]

Anything I can look for on the engine which will help prove my case and push them to rebuild the motor?

I know someone mentioned the pvc valve. Would that prove anything?

When I went back they claimed they could not find any coolant leak or oil leak. Yet as I described previously coolant was down in the radiator before I took it back and I found coolant on my drive way just the other day and that's after I took it in. You can smell it when you walk by to open the driver's door.

I would just like to pin it closer so they can't walk away from the responsibility. Other wise I get totally screwed trying to prevent exactly what is now happening to my motor?! Further they'll likely do it again to someone else!

The engine has 122000 on it. I will check the oil looking for metal sparkles and I'll find someone with a mechanical gage to double check the pressure. I'd just like to see if anyone knows what I can look for like the PVC or something else which could help prove they put it back wrong causing this slow death.

[RJolly87]

Until you can locate something that pins them blowing the engine, you are out of luck.

Coolant leak, maybe, but so far your oil pressure issues seem to be unrelated, which is your biggest concern. 1 quart low on oil will not kill your engine.

Another option would be to take the car to another mechanic, but plan on paying for diagnostics.

[smokey13]

DOC - been five days since you posted - have you solved the problems with the oil pressure and the coolant loss?