Need Help! Oil Issue

[MiamiMermaid]

Hey y'all. I am hoping that I can get some guidance here. A fellow nsx owner offered to change my oil Saturday. Well, I was excited to learn .. however, on Sunday, I decided to go for a drive... So I'm cruising around and I am pulling up to my home when I notice the oil light on. I look under the car and the oil is spraying out. Turns out that the bolt wasn't tightened, ended up coming off, and losing all the oil. Got a new filter, installed that, and provided more oil. The oil level is adequate and seems to be holding. However, the light is still on. I'm nervous that the oil pump may be damaged, as well as to what the next appropriate steps are to take. Please tell me my baby is ok!

Thansx* for your help in advance

~Mermi~

 

[Ski_Banker]

Re: *Need Help! Oil Issue*

Quick! Damsel in distress! :tongue: :biggrin:

Sorry about yer bum luck Dawn. Hope everythings ok.

 

[Aero]

Re: *Need Help! Oil Issue*

Sorry to hear that Dawn. Is your oil pressure ok on the gauge or did it ever drop to zero before you noticed the oil? I'd find a good NSX mechanic and see if they can come look at it regardless of the advice you get on here but I'm sure some of the techs (larryb) can help you.

Hopefully its just something wrong with the low oil level gauge and not the actual oil pump but definitely have it checked.

btw. i remember who it was that did the oil change but I'll keep it Top Secret.

 

[Briank]

Re: *Need Help! Oil Issue*

Does the oil pressure gauge indicate any pressure?

 

[MiamiMermaid]

Re: *Need Help! Oil Issue*

Does the oil pressure gauge indicate any pressure?

No everything seems to be in check. No leaking, gauge at normal level.... just that the light is not shutting off. She seems to be driving fine as well. However, I am not sure how to know if the pump would be damaged. Again, thank you for any help. I am so nervous. The greatest problem here is that I took off 6 weeks of work due to family situation, so being able to have the freedom of taking her in during the day is close to impossible (read: 6 weeks without pay and many quarts of Mobil 1 oil purchases).... but if it sounds that I must, then I will. Thansx* again

 

[Briank]

Re: *Need Help! Oil Issue*

If you have pressure showing at the gauge every thing is OK. The light is run off a presure switch by the oil filter. Is the wire pinched some how and grounded.

 

[L8apex32]

Re: *Need Help! Oil Issue*

No everything seems to be in check. No leaking, gauge at normal level.... just that the light is not shutting off. She seems to be driving fine as well. However, I am not sure how to know if the pump would be damaged. Again, thank you for any help. I am so nervous.

I think the point of the oil pressure light is to alert you to a drop in pressure. If your gauge shows pressure, trust it over the light. With the right rear wheel off, it is easy to get to the oil cooler/oil filter and the wire that connects there is the one in question.

Hope this helps.

 

[nsxotic911]

Reset the ECU and/or battery and see if the light goes away. It could just be that it stays on automatically after it is tripped..

How much oil did you lose? Losing oil on the road is indeed very worrisome......
I would have a reputable mechanic inspect it; do a compression check etc...

 

[MiamiMermaid]

Reset the ECU and/or battery and see if the light goes away. It could just be that it stays on automatically after it is tripped..

How much oil did you lose? Losing oil on the road is indeed very worrisome......
I would have a reputable mechanic inspect it; do a compression check etc...

Hey y'all. Thansx* so much for your help . . . . You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Well, she has been handling just fine. I didn't lose much oil prior to my finding her spewing it out while I returned home. It seems that the majority of the leaking occurred when I returned home (Thank God!) I have an NSX Mechanic coming tomorrow night , so I am hoping all will turn out well. She's running okay but since winter (never experienced a winter before.... or placing her in 'hibernation'...) I have a few more things that I need to do. Thansx again ** I Love you guys!! ** (and any other 'hints' or guidance, always appreciated*!!!). Thansx!!

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

Re-set of the ECU was my first thought, but I checked around today on this. Is this in your 92?
If so and I am reading into the NA1 service guide right it sounds like the flasher circuit in the integrated control unit is lighting up the oil pressure indicator light indefinitely during operation given the reading from the pressure switch. If that is the case, I wouldn't be so light-hearted about it as some. If you were in your later model and it goes away with a reset good, but in general.... the oil pressure indicator light is never to be ignored.

My experience on the Honda's is that the indicator should light when the ignition switch is ON (number 2 position), and go out after the engine starts. If it starts flashing, it indicates that the oil pressure dropped very low for a moment, then recovered. If the indicator stays on with the engine running either stand-alone or just after flashing- it shows that the engine has lost oil pressure and serious engine damage is very well possible. In either case, you should take immediate action. Personally, my key would have been out of the ignition in about two seconds and I would have called a flat bed having already learned my oil light lesson. :wink:

My take here given the info I have is to assume the worst and hope for the best. Best case, as the oil drained out it likely cavitated and sucked in air at the pick-up firing the light and you caught it and quickly shut it down around idle speeds still with a good coating on the mains just as you were pulling in. Much will likely depend on just how quickly you caught it as it only takes about 10 seconds to fully empty the pan with the bolt gone. It it went much beyond that in your estimation given the lingering pool in your driveway or you were ratting on it at the time before pulling in ... not as encouraging for the internals...

Only good diagnosis will reveal. A fuse, wiring, or a sudden faulty switch is probably unlikely given the circumstances. The fact that with a fill it runs is a very good sign but honestly tells little. I know that the tendency seems to be to fill-up and hope for the best and think it is either good or not... but there are a lot of grey areas in between those two points.

Given the circumstances, if it were me at the bare minimum I would recommend having the engine oil pressure checked manually to ensure it is to spec before it is driven further. A competent technician may also further follow-up with a comp/leak down and cutting the filter open depending on the out-come there.

 

[MiamiMermaid]

Wow... thansx* John. It's on the '95.... but this helps a lot. Looking into it.!! The light is staying on after ignition for full duration. I do believe that I was lucky that the majority (read: hopefully 3/4 of what was drained) occurred in the driveway. However, I had my co-worker pick me up for work this morning.

I checked around today on this. Is this in your 92? If so and I am reading into this right it sounds like the flasher circuit in the integrated control unit is lighting up the oil pressure indicator light indefinitely during operation given the reading from the pressure switch. If that is the case, I wouldn't be so light-hearted about it as some. The oil pressure indicator light is never to be ignored.

The indicator should light when the ignition switch is ON (number 2 position), and go out after the engine starts. If it starts flashing, it indicates that the oil pressure dropped very low for a moment, then recovered. If the indicator stays on with the engine running either stand-alone or just after flashing- it shows that the engine has lost oil pressure and serious engine damage is very well possible. In either case, you should take immediate action. Personally, my key would have been out of the ignition in about two seconds and I would have called a flat bed having already learned my oil light lesson. :wink:

My take here given the info I have is to assume the worst and hope for the best. Best case, as the oil drained out it likely cavitated and sucked in air firing the light and you caught it and quickly shut it down around idle speeds just as you were pulling in. Much will likely depend on just how quickly you caught it as it only takes about 10 seconds to fully empty the pan with the bolt gone. It it went much beyond that in your estimation given the lingering pool in your driveway or you were ratting on it at the time before pulling in ... I don't know...

Only good diagnosis will reveal. A fuse, wiring, or a sudden faulty switch is probably unlikely given the circumstances. The fact that with a fill it runs is a good sign but honestly tells little. I know that the tendency seems to be to fill-up and hope for the best and think it is either good or not... but there are a lot of grey areas in between those two points.

Given the circumstances, if it were me at the bare minimum I would recommend having the engine oil pressure checked manually to ensure it is to spec before it is driven further. A competent technician may also further follow-up with a comp/leak down and cutting the filter open depending on the out-come there.

 

[Alan C.]

Something else you might consider is getting an oil analysis done. If you have bearing damage it should up in the analysis.

How many quarts did you have to add before it was full again?

 

[MiamiMermaid]

Something else you might consider is getting an oil analysis done. If you have bearing damage it should up in the analysis.

How many quarts did you have to add before it was full again?

had a bad night tonight. she's revvin'ing high. at idle, her rpm is .75... I'm completely in tears...

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

had a bad night tonight. she's revvin'ing high. at idle, her rpm is .75... I'm completely in tears...

Not the direction I was hoping for. So what exactly happened? The tech looked at it in your garage and gave it a once over tonight like you were planning earlier?

Urr...That's kind of the thing with these types of incidents. More often that not once the damage is done it is a done deal and further operation doesn't make it go away. I've personally gotten up to several miles on a spun bearing before the pressure switch clicked in my civic... probably due to fragments finally clogging the pick-up screen.

Like I was eluding to prior... the other diagnostic issue is that by topping off the oil after the fact, it is not uncommon to still be able to start it up or limp around... usually with some valve train noise or other audible artifacts. Even if it is at idle the oil pump will still churn along and quite often still show pressure at the gauge sender but that doesn't mean everything is fine. The 4-5-6psi light means off unless you are a hundred percent certain it's faulty.

Now sure how far along you got tonight... however, since more likely than not unlike my D16Y7 you'll probably be needing the block and rest of the internals off that C30A; I'd again suggest laying off the engine for the time being until at the minimum the pan is dropped and basic inspection/diagnosis is properly completed. Otherwise you are shooting in the dark, and with the symptoms you posted none of that sounds very good. That's frankly the best I can say online without being there for a tear-down.

Fingers crossed!!

Who does the community use for service/engine builds/race prep down your way? Let us know if their is anything further we can do to help.

 

[enesexdreamer]

had a bad night tonight. she's revvin'ing high. at idle, her rpm is .75... I'm completely in tears...

Aww..don't cry, It'll be fine. hope these pics help:
This is when my radiator/coolant hose popped and I overheated bad.(first incident of two in one month)




It's all good now. And your car should be all good soon enough. Its just a pain having to deal with it, especially when its material things that we're passionate about.:smile:

 

[MiamiMermaid]

Aww..don't cry, It'll be fine. hope these pics help:
This is when my radiator/coolant hose popped and I overheated bad.(first incident of two in one month)

It's all good now. And your car should be all good soon enough. Its just a pain having to deal with it, especially when its material things that we're passionate about.:smile:

lol... She's more than 'material' to me, though.... gosh, I think my our cars do more for us than we recognize. . . . . at least for myself (and yea, all y'all, because we're NSX fanatics ) :biggrin: . . . . .

Well, the biggest update is that I just (thank you! NSX Prime) had a former NSX owner (and mechanic) come out to my home, which was extremely kind..... But, bad news...... looks like there was some internal damage to the bearings. So, I am taking another day off of work, and flatbedding her to the Acura Dealership here. The tech sounds knowledgeable and I am just praying for the best.

Just stinx that I just didn't take her to a 'knowledgeable' source from the get-go. Live n' learn, I guess....

*If my engine is fried, I think I'm going to lose it
I've Never! had an issue with her before this

 

[Ski_Banker]

Wow Mermi, I'm really sorry to hear your bad luck. I was being sarcastic in my earlier post, but since it really does sound serious...my condolences. :frown:

 

[nsxotic911]

had a bad night tonight. she's revvin'ing high. at idle, her rpm is .75... I'm completely in tears...

What do you mean by '.75' - 750 RPM? That's normal.. 7500 RPM

 

[nsxotic911]

...I've personally gotten up to several miles on a spun bearing before the pressure switch clicked in my civic... probably due to fragments finally clogging the pick-up screen..

John - the reason the spun bearing, low oil pressure, 1+ qt / fillup of burning oil, low compression, pinging cylinders (3 of the 4 that were still working), high valvetrain noise, high idle...and EVENTUAL blow of a 200K+ motor with the last 5K of "John ABUSE" happened on your Civic is because you hit redlinein every gear and drive 24/7 as if you were trying to get maximum time at every on ramp, through every turn and in all passing situations - the difference being that the 'track 'was 405 and the gear & performance limited car had a top speed of 88 MPH!!!

 

[GOTTSPD]

Perhaps the person who did the oil change should step up and contribute to the cost, if not bear the entirety of the same.

 

[MiamiMermaid]

John - the reason the spun bearing, low oil pressure, 1+ qt / fillup of burning oil, low compression, pinging cylinders (3 of the 4 that were still working), high valvetrain noise, high idle...and EVENTUAL blow of a 200K+ motor with the last 5K of "John ABUSE" happened on your Civic is because you hit redlinein every gear and drive 24/7 as if you were trying to get maximum time at every on ramp, through every turn and in all passing situations - the difference being that the 'track 'was 405 and the gear & performance limited car had a top speed of 88 MPH!!!

Not sure what all that meant..... But... yea, for my girl, she usually sits idle quietly and at 0. What I noticed last night was how off-skew the shifting was. Sorry, not a genius here at the internals, but most assuredly know that something just isn't right. She's boosting into all gears at a range that just isn't characteristic of the past. I hope to hear news tomorrow. For whatever reason, the mechanic seems to believe some problem now to the bearings. Dunno, my heart is in my stomach right now ... :frown:

 

[RON98]

hoses should not be poping off.

when your car over heats, you run the risk of warping heads and blowing your headgasket. 2x in 1 month is excessive and requires your attention.

I would recommned trying to bleed all the air out of the system after filling it with coolant/distilled water mix. If it still overheats again after a proper bleed, you have a problem. Have you been loosing coolant?

Also having very low coolant can affect your idle. So make sure to top it off.

As for the oil light, did it come on in the drive way? or while driving?

This is criticle as if it came on while driving and you made it home, you would have most likely done damage already to your bearings. If you leaked the oil out on your drive way and it was giving you the low oil light when you started it up, you should be ok.

oh just read the previous post. guess your have bearing damage.

oil changes are pretty easy, its a good time to learn to do it yourself.

if its just the crank, they can drop it down from the pan, put in new bearings and resurface the crankshaft and put it togeather from down there.

good luck & keep us posted.

as for the person doing the oil change. im sure they feel pretty bad. its a tough situation for the owner and the helper.

this is one reason why im not a big fan of other people drive my car or workin on my car as a favor. If something does happen, we both feel silly.

hard call either way.

 

[enesexdreamer]

lol... She's more than 'material' to me, though.... gosh, I think my our cars do more for us than we recognize. . . . . at least for myself (and yea, all y'all, because we're NSX fanatics ) :biggrin: . . . . .

Well, the biggest update is that I just (thank you! NSX Prime) had a former NSX owner (and mechanic) come out to my home, which was extremely kind..... But, bad news...... looks like there was some internal damage to the bearings. So, I am taking another day off of work, and flatbedding her to the Acura Dealership here. The tech sounds knowledgeable and I am just praying for the best.

Just stinx that I just didn't take her to a 'knowledgeable' source from the get-go. Live n' learn, I guess....

*If my engine is fried, I think I'm going to lose it
I've Never! had an issue with her before this

Heres a live and learn experience: "don't trust the dealers"!! yeah they sound knowledgeable and all that good sh!t, throwing sophisticated technical words at you when all that care about is making the most money that they can. Especially when they know that you have love and sentimental value for your car.

First off, I got raped for replacing the blown hose $560 parts, labor and a block test. For that much money I could of replaced all my hoses at a reputable independent shop. But I had no choice at the time. Then they drop a spiel saying that the heads could be ''comprimised'' due to some exhaust gases in the cooling system. So they suggested dropping the engine to inspect heads and machine if necessary. All for a whopping $5k!!

I thought, (F- that!) took it to my NSX mechanic, dropped some aluminum gasket seal, did another block test(the dealer made the block test sound like a really hard process), and everything checked out a ok. The dealer knew or didn't know that the leak was minor, But the first thing they sugested was the most expensive route.

The next hose that popped, I did myself. Just paid for the part, did a little research on Prime, get some advice/tips from my mechanic, and a little elbow grease saved me a whole gang of $$$.

I don't know if that helped at all:redface: :tongue: Have a nice day Mermi:biggrin:

 

[Tomrev]

I'm sorry to hear about your Baby's troubles. I too know the sick feeling after spun bearings. If in fact there is damage, my experence has been that as much as we hope for minimal problems, its best to suck it up, and do a proper tear down, as the metal flakes from the bearings will be strewn about all through the internals in about 1 sec., and ignoring them now will let you do another rebuild in the near future. It may be less expensive to find a good used motor, and swap than to rebuild yours. I know it sucks, ( I'm a carpenter, not fabulously loaded), and can be tough to pull the cash out of thin air. Best of luck with her!

 

[Alan C.]

Dropping the pan will get you to the main bearings. I can't see getting the rod bearings out that way unless the NSX is different than other cars I have worked on in the past. As noted the metal will migrate through the internals. I've been down this road in the past. The engine and lines should be properly cleaned if you find bearing damage. Unfortunately that means a tear down.

Hopefully luck will be with you. If you need to, and you can, wait until you can do a proper rebuild should it be needed.