oil pressure light

[johnpaulny]

My oil light started flickering at stops today. I've had the car for about a month. It's a very babied car, 60000 miles, and two mechanics believe this to be true. Runs perfectly, no smoke. The flickering light occurred during test drive after replacing the thermostat with a 195 degree unit. The old one was probably 160 degrees based on previous low temp gauge readings. The temp gauge needle is now about 1/3 into the normal range. What is very concerning is that coinciding with the flickering oil light I hear tapping. The oil level is fine and very clean (seller recently changed it). No smoking whatsoever. I'm thinking maybe the viscosity of the oil is too thin for the increased temp and the pressure is lower now. Anyone have ideas about this? I intend to get a gauge and test it.

[simplyconnected]

Flickering oil light? Tapping lifters?
Get a mechanical oil gauge and screw it into the side of your block (or by the oil filter). You can find them for about ten bucks. Let's hear what oil pressure you are really producing.

Oil-starved lifters get noisy so don't run the engine with low oil pressure or low oil level.
Your engine came with a 180 degree thermostat. You should stick with it. 195 degree t-stats are for systems that hold 19 PSI. Your cap releases at about seven PSI. Higher pressures raise the boiling point of your coolant, which is ok if your engine is made of aluminum and it can shed heat quickly. Yours is iron, which retains heat and causes detonation and pre-ignition. A new oil pump may be in your future. - Dave

[johnpaulny]

Thanks Dave, very helpful. John