[gto4evr]

just to roll back to a long ago, no longer relevant point on this (I'm catching up on the thread!)....the original oil pan drain bolt doesn't have a crush washer on it so you didn't need to change it. On the sending unit, you'll need a small pipe wrench to change it if you don't have the specially designed socket that's made for it.

Agree with all above on here....time to reign the horses in here and start from scratch. Step one, make sure your oil level is up where it's supposed to be, step two, does the light go out when running at the proper oil level, step three, clean the motor off and determine what's actually leaking. THEN you can start buying gaskets after determining what's actually leaking. Valve cover leaks will usually give you the extra indicator by you smelling oil burning as they pour all over the hot exhaust manifolds.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by Darth Menace

oh ya, one more quick question I thought of, how come the oil pressure light shows just when the keys ignition is turned on. Does it know the oil pressure is low before it is even started? or does it remember the previous start?

The oil pressure IS low when you just turn the key. The engine is not running, the pump is not pumping, therefore, NO oil pressure.
That's not what you were thinking was a problem is it?

[West Coast GTO]

When you talk about pulling an engine to replace the pan and rear oil seal, you actually mean LIFTING the engine, right?
As in, unbolting the motor mounts, trans support bracket and chain lift the engine from the top to get the necessary clearance to slide the pan out. Then remove the rear main cap, pull, slide out the old rear seal and , following the instructions, slide in the new Viton type seal and trimming per instructions. Install cap, pan with new gaskets and reverse dis-assembly.

[getmygoat]

Originally Posted by Darth Menace

oh ya, one more quick question I thought of, how come the oil pressure light shows just when the keys ignition is turned on. Does it know the oil pressure is low before it is even started? or does it remember the previous start?

When the key is on, the electrical system is active. Thus, there is 12 volts to the oil light circuit. Since the motor is not running, there is no oil pressure. Thus the light is reflecting that reality, your oil pressure is low. Normally, when you start the motor, oil pressure to the sender interrupts the electric circuit and the light goes out.

[getmygoat]

Originally Posted by West Coast GTO

When you talk about pulling an engine to replace the pan and rear oil seal, you actually mean LIFTING the engine, right?
As in, unbolting the motor mounts, trans support bracket and chain lift the engine from the top to get the necessary clearance to slide the pan out. Then remove the rear main cap, pull, slide out the old rear seal and , following the instructions, slide in the new Viton type seal and trimming per instructions. Install cap, pan with new gaskets and reverse dis-assembly.

Pulling the pan in a Pontiac with the motor in the car is very difficult, easier to pull motor. The op doesn't seem to be that experienced with all this, the last thing I would recommend is trying to change a rear seal with motor in car.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by getmygoat

Pulling the pan in a Pontiac with the motor in the car is very difficult, easier to pull motor. The op doesn't seem to be that experienced with all this, the last thing I would recommend is trying to change a rear seal with motor in car.

Yeah, pulling the engine doesn't really add that many steps to the alternative and you can do a much more efficient job IMO.
I will say again Darth- I'm a big fan of finding a problem before trying to fix a problem.
Diagnosing the source of a problem always ends up in less work than 'shot-gunning' (That is, changing a bunch of stuff hoping that one of them will fix the problem).

• Check the oil pressure or find some other reason for the light coming on (if the light is actually coming on during normal operation)
• Find the leaks
• Fix the leaks

[Darth Menace]

ok good news. The light doesn't go on after it's started. I guess I haven't started it for a while...

it is about -5C here so it ran a little rough at the beginning, but a bit of time and it ran/idled fine with no low oil pressure light.

I am still going to get an oil pressure gauge, but false alarm.

Now to clean the spots and find the leak as per the first thread

[JVM225]

Sorry, I didn't realize when I responded that you have a pressure problem. I thought you were just chasing leaks.
I agree 100 percent that you need to resolve the pressure problem before you go crazy.
Starting with a temporary mechanical gauge that will tell you what the pressure is would be a good start.
A year os so ago I would have said that it's unlikely that the sender itself is the problem, but over that time period I have had two people I know that had oil sender problems.
One was with a gauge, and the other with an idiot light.
Both times temporarily placed mechanical gauges showed sufficient pressure in the motors, and both problems were resolved by replacing the senders.
Honestly, other than leaking, I can't remember the last time I heard of a defective/bad sender before these latest two.
Make sure you use whatever sender comes with the mechanical gauge you use if you decide to do that. They are calibrated to the gauges.
One remote possibility is that someone replaced the sender along the way and the one in the car now is not calibrated completely correctly for that motor.
But that's a pretty slim and very hopefull possibility.

[Darth Menace]

Read my previous post before you posted. The oil pressure light was a mistake on my part. When I actually start the car, the light isn't on

Originally Posted by JVM225

Sorry, I didn't realize when I responded that you have a pressure problem. I thought you were just chasing leaks.
I agree 100 percent that you need to resolve the pressure problem before you go crazy.
Starting with a temporary mechanical gauge that will tell you what the pressure is would be a good start.
A year os so ago I would have said that it's unlikely that the sender itself is the problem, but over that time period I have had two people I know that had oil sender problems.
One was with a gauge, and the other with an idiot light.
Both times temporarily placed mechanical gauges showed sufficient pressure in the motors, and both problems were resolved by replacing the senders.
Honestly, other than leaking, I can't remember the last time I heard of a defective/bad sender before these latest two.
Make sure you use whatever sender comes with the mechanical gauge you use if you decide to do that. They are calibrated to the gauges.
One remote possibility is that someone replaced the sender along the way and the one in the car now is not calibrated completely correctly for that motor.
But that's a pretty slim and very hopefull possibility.

[JVM225]

Sorry about that......
If that's the case, then I stand by my other post.

[Greg Reid]

Darth, do you have any pics posted of the car yet?

EDIT- Disregard...I just looked at your photo album. It's a very nice looking car!

[Darth Menace]

thanks I do have more I want to post, but loading once at a time isn't good for my attention span.

[JVM225]

Nice car! I like the garage floor too.

[Darth Menace]

thanks, they are VCT tiles. They have stuck nicely until the fluids from the Tempest got to a few of them. They didn't hold up to some gas leaks and the oil leak. I will have to replace about a dozen come the summer, but it's easy stuff

[gtohurstjudge]

Whenever the key is on the oil light circuit is powered up. The oil light
is on with the key on and engine off because the engine has zero oil pressure when
it isn't running. Also, it is common for the oil pressure sending unit to give a false reading and turn the light on at idle with good oil pressure when the sending units go bad. If the oil sender is leaking oil they almost always turn the light on at idle. Check and see if oil is coming out of
the top of the sending unit. It is on the right side of the engine above the oil filter, and you
state that the leak is on that side.

[Darth Menace]

thanks..I will be checking all this once I am done my seatbelt installation. I need a break with the mechanical stuff...it makes me so angry. I wonder if my car just leaks as much as every other one out there...I should clean it up, take a picture and get an opinion.

Also, I just want to clarify the low oil pressure light is only on when I turn the key once, it goes off when the car starts. This was my blooper earlier on in this thread

Originally Posted by gtohurstjudge

Whenever the key is on the oil light circuit is powered up. The oil light
is on with the key on and engine off because the engine has zero oil pressure when
it isn't running. Also, it is common for the oil pressure sending unit to give a false reading and turn the light on at idle with good oil pressure when the sending units go bad. If the oil sender is leaking oil they almost always turn the light on at idle. Check and see if oil is coming out of
the top of the sending unit. It is on the right side of the engine above the oil filter, and you
state that the leak is on that side.