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The oil light just started coming on on my way home yesterday. It knocked 3-4 times when I first started it up but went away. I just changed the oil & filter and put 10w40 in it. The light seemed better after the truck cooled down a bit. Oil pump? Spun bearing? What's your take?

Gordo

Have you a direct reading oil gauge you can hook up to find out what the pressure is actually doing?

No.

This is pretty much general. If you were coming home and the light was on was it low on oil. Buy How much? And figure how long you could have been driving like that. Those senders dont take much pressure to go out either which really means nothing.
You can get a new sender if you like but I would monitor the oil level constanly. If it starts using more I would maybe go to the local cheapest MOFO oil you can find in 30 wt or 20-50.

My Datsun L 16 ran out of oil once but caught it soon. After that oil level was a big proplem. Always going low. So I figured something was going bad. But when broke the motor down my bearings were good so figured the rings worn really bad or something else. There was no wear on the crank. As most Jap cranks are forged and very strong.

Best thing one should do is get a oil pressure gauge. Prefer a good one. Steward warner, VDO ect. But event those cheap taiwan ones are ok but use a Autometer brand line or a copper line. Those taiwan plastic lines cant handle the hot/cold and go brittle. Also sometimes those fittings in the kit dont fit the jap threads. Alot of jap oil pressure threads are the british pipe thread 1/8 fine instead of our 1/8NPTF(national) also keep the stock sender if a line breaks you can plug it up if in the middle of nowhere.

You ain't replaced the dipstick, have you?

OK heres the deal. I was at K-Mart picking up photos and I picked up a $2 bottle of STP oil treatment. I put the oil treatment in and drove the truck for a half hour or so last night to get the oil good and warm. The valves sounded a little quieter and the oil light never came on even when I eased the clutch out till the motor was just about to stall. Did I find the mirical cure? Well.... I don't know, but If it works I'm not going to worry about how or why. I can only assume at this point that the bearings are worn and the stock oil is too thin and was seeping past them. I'll keep an eye on it and let you know if anything changes.

Thanks for the input.

Just changed the oil 3 days earlier and put 5 quarts of 10W-40 and a new filter. Oil level still showed full when the light came on.

Gordo:

I've heard of cases where someone had lost their dipstick and replaced it with one that had oil level indicators on the stick at the wrong place. They ended up driving with low oil levels. Never hurts to ask the obvious. Sometimes we can't see what's as plain as the nose on our face. I know, I'm great at doing that. At my age it's called CRS.

No problem Robert. The reason I posted this was to get more than one opinion. I just happen to hit the nail on the head with my first hunch is all. Your contribution might save my a$$ in the future or help someone else.

this might be a bit off the topic but on my dads old valient the oil light flashed when the windscreen wipers were on

_________________
I said no to drugs....But they just wouldn't listen!

No matter how good she looks, some other guy is sick and tired of putting up with her crap!

The Valient's flashing oil light sounds like a intermittant short circuit in the electrical system. I had put a bottle of oil treatment in and the oil light seemed to stay out for a few days, but with the warm weather the past few days, the oil light came back on and I thought I could hear a slight rod knock. Now I think I know where the problem lies and it looks like my spare motor is going to get a fresh head gasket and the Luv is going to be the recipient of a heart transplant.

that could be a good thing, sbc

_________________
I said no to drugs....But they just wouldn't listen!

No matter how good she looks, some other guy is sick and tired of putting up with her crap!

u have a windscreen instead of a windshield over there in australia noyz?!?! wuts the wiper for then? bugs?

yes nate it is for bugs but we can use em when it rains too

_________________
I said no to drugs....But they just wouldn't listen!

No matter how good she looks, some other guy is sick and tired of putting up with her crap!