low oil pressure and lumpy acceleration

[GTIRdan]

hi guys, recently i have noticed on long journeys my oil pressure is dropping to about 2-3 on the gauge and if i put my toe in it seems to rum lumpy through the gears, the oil pressure does increase sometimes and the car rus fime but was wondering if anyone else has had this, any info is welcome
cheers Dan

 

[PobodY]

When the car is warm and not reving especially hard, the pressure will be low; that's normal.
You should see it go up if you start giving it more throttle (or if the engine is cold obviously). - What oil do you have in it; maybe the grade isn't suitable... or maybe there's a bigger problem and I haven't understood.

 

[GTIRdan]

i have 10w 30 in it i think which was recomended oil to use by tech at nissan i did notice the pressure change once i started using this oil but thought it was normal, the car still seems to run fine sometimes but intermittently it does not pull smoothly( only nowand then though i think it would benifit a full service and some iridium plugs but i will keep you updated as to the situation ad if it gets worse, thanks for the info mate much appreciated, Dan

 

[PobodY]

I would have thought that 10W30 was a bit thin for and engine that is almost 20 years old; I would suggest 10W40 or 10W50 - have a look at Oilman's (guy at Opie Oils) thread for recommendations. I wouldn't go as low as 5W oils in the UK, it just doesn't get cold enough...
Also, if you don't want to fork the extra money out; consider normal plugs rather than iridium. - The iridium tip does have advantages, but it is very fine so it fouls easily and needs to be cleaned carefully (if you take them out, but don't replace them). Something like an NGK BCR8ES would probably do just as well, and you can buy a box of 10 for the same cost as 4 iridium ones.

I should add a disclaimer that I'm no expert; don't take my word as the absolute truth. There are people on here who can tell you exactly what plug to use (and what grade of oil is most suitable)... I just try to remember what I've read in other threads.

 

[fubar andy]

I would have thought that 10W30 was a bit thin for and engine that is almost 20 years old; I would suggest 10W40 or 10W50

10w30 :shock:

You should have at least 10w40 in there to protect the engine when you give it some stick.

 

[pulsarmoley]

I use 10w40 @ 275hp. As said already speak to the opie man, i believe he recommends 0w50/10w50. 10w30 is too thin which is why your pressure is low. I use that viscosity of oil in lawnmowers :lol:

 

[PobodY]

I don't think that 0w50 is recommended; I think 5w40 is about as low as you'd want to go.

 

[pulsarmoley]

I don't think that 0w50 is recommended; I think 5w40 is about as low as you'd want to go.

Sorry i stand corrected

 

[nickr]

Pobody is giving bad information here.

A 0w50 will probably be thicker than 5w40.. you have to look at the cst values at 40 deg C and 100 deg C. A 0w50 is still a 50 sae viscosity oil, and a 5w40 is a 40 sae viscosity oil. The first number reflects cold temp flow. http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/index.html

For example
mobil 0w40 vs 10w40 vs eneos 0w50
40deg C cst 80 vs 86 vs 104
100deg C cst 14.3 vs 13.8 vs 18

The eneos here is thicker than all of the sae viscosity 40 oil. And the 0w40 is actually thicker than the 10w40 mobil1 oils.

 

[nickr]

sorry correction i should say the 0w40 is thinner at cold starts, and thicker at operating temperatures than the 10w40.
the eneos 0w50 is both thicker at cold and hot temps. when i say thicker, i mean higher viscosity

 

[PobodY]

I know it's an old thread, but:

Well I stand corrected, But all the same my engine ran fine for 3 years with 10w60and had very good oil pressure for an old hard used 65k engine, Another point was when it did let go in the end it was still in a very good condition for rebuilding with very little bore ware, So I don't think any of these oil will be wrong to use apart from the 0w50 which I hope we all agree on ;-) .

I think 5w40 is a bit thin myself and wont be using it.

Rob

10w50 for an older engine or 5w40 for a tighter one.

 

[nickr]

not all 10w50 and not all 5w40 oils are the same, you have to look at the cst values. the 0w50 can possibly have better cst values than your "10w50"

 

[PobodY]

I thought it was more that a 0w50 would leak through the seals on the turbo because it was too thin for the ambient temperature in the UK.

You obviously know more about this than me, I'm just repeating what gets said every time this topic comes up.

 

[nickr]

A 0w50 may break down sooner, requiring changes more frequently, but the UK is far from a hot country, i'm sorry. I like in Vancouver Canada. We get as low as -10 in winter, and as hot as +40 in the summer. I actually run a 0w40 all year.

 

[R R' us]

i had the same problem and i serviced it fully and it ran sound 4 about a week and eventiually done a fault code check and it was the det sensor which im getting at the end of the month from bob and ill let you know if that sorts it out mate.