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Fri Jul 22, 2005 12:31 pm

a few weeks ago i started experiencing the 'oil pressure problems' it seems is all too common of vw's of the day (mine is an 87 westy). at that point it was intermitent stuff, stop lights, freeway exits, etc. etc. each time the idiot light/buzzer went off, all was good. today, different story...not more than 100 yards from the driveway the idiot light/buzzer goes off but this time doesn't switch off unless i turn the engine off and back on. i have the van scheduled for a look over next monday but am now a bit concerned about actually getting it to the shop. any thoughts?

-frustrated!!

Fri Jul 22, 2005 4:11 pm

:D I solved my problem with a new filter.. use the right Mann filter. some of the fram and others have too much restriction, and have problems with internal bypass stuff. when they start to get a little old, they hold back or bypass pressure to the sending unit. They work fine for fords and chevys, but the VW pressure warning system is just too picky.. Go and find a good german filter somewhere, slap it on and see if it does anything... :twisted: :twisted:

Fri Jul 22, 2005 5:47 pm

Don't forget to use good 20-50 oil. I like the Castrol. They also make some high mileage oil that could help.

Also, I just ordered a 42 Desgn oil pressure sender adaptor for $24. I had the same oil buzzer / light issue. We found that I had 25psi warm pressure and over 50 psi running. The oil pressure is a good thing to check before you bring it in.

Also, the dynamic oil pressure set up is notorious for false alarms because of various things including bad senders. There are write ups about that stuff. "Use the SEARCH, Luke" and I am sure you will find articles about it.

Fri Jul 22, 2005 6:42 pm

thx for replies. appreciate your time and mindspace. thankfully i think i figured things out. after reading through some of the articles on this subject, it became pretty clear that i needed to narrow things down to either of the two oil pressure switches. in checking the switch down by the pushrods things looked in good order. however the connection on the other one behind the pulleys was almost non-existant. i'd done some alternator work earlier this morning and in pulling the belt off, must have knocked the connector either loose from the switch. that seems to explain why the switch would trip above 2000 rpm. after tightning the connector up, putting it back on, and sinching it tighter things seem to be back to normal. time will tell but i guess the lesson here is to make sure your actually getting a solid connection before getting all freaked out. who knows, maybe things will all go to pot tomorrow but i'm remaining optimistic at this stage.

cheers!