Low Oil Pressure On Rb20det

[sky20det]

i've verified that i have an oil pressure problem. the stock gauge has never worked so i installed an electrical AND a mechanical and both say i have very low oil pressure. cold start will sit on around 20psi. when warm it idles at 5 psi, and when driving on low or high rpm it will go to about 18-20psi, but never higher than 20psi.

it looks like either its a faulty pump or i've heard stories on the backing plat of the pump becoming loose and thus dropping oil pressure?

how comon is it for rb oil pumps to die? a few ppl have told me they had a problem with low pressure and it turned out to be the screws on the backing plate have come out a bit of have come out completely.

the car drives good, revs freely and makes good power (160rwkw) but on idle u can feel the motor jerking or bumping slightly. ive owned the car for 1 year and i believe its had low oil pressure the whole time. i wont be driving it much/hard till i get this sorted as i dont want to spin a bearing or blow any rings because of this.

any feedback guys?

[Cubes]

Generally when the pumps die the break and you get no oil pressure.

IF you are in luck it will be a simple backing plate that has came loose. Thats IF. :S

What did the last oil change look like? Any metal bits in the bottom of the drain pan after you poored the oil out of it?

[Omurru]

As cubes said the backing plate could be loose or I have also heard of the relief valve getting stuck open and causing a similar problem. Either way sounds like you will need to pull the pump off and check it out....

[sky20det]

oil changes are always smooth. just dark oil.

i have noticed however on first start of they day i can hear a "click".. but only once.

i hope its just the backing plate. what needs to be removed to check if the backing plate has come loose? just the sump or do i need to remove all the timing gear?

[Cubes]

You'll need to:

Disconnect gearbox and any wires connecting to the motor (there's only a few)

Remove radiator

lift motor up

remove cam belt

remove cam belt drive gear using a small bearing puller

remove the sump

remove the oil pump and inspect

If all is well with the oil pump... You may as well continue to remove the motor and give it a freshen up or buy a second hand $600-$900 wrecker motor and drop it in.

A basic short motor rebuild is anywhere from 1.2-2k

[sky20det]

dam thats not something im ready to do myself. taking it to a workshop then.

does it make any difference im using an oil filter sandwich plate? both electrical and mechanical gauges were hooked up to the sandwich plate as i left the stock sender+switch in.