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Old Feb 17, 2017 | 07:55 AM
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Default Oil Pressure Low

So 3 days ago, my DIC displayed "Oil Pressure Low" at start-up. The gage was "0" for 5 seconds, then went to "80" then fell in around 40 psi. There were no other issues, other than at startup. This is happened for the last 3 days. Today, the warning came on again, but oil pressure didn't start reading for about 30 seconds, but then it was minimal. I travel 76 miles to work, and the gage read 13-15 psi most of the way. The oil temp crept to 208 just before I got to work.

Oil was last changed in Dec, still have 52% remaining on oil life. 66k miles.

I'll take it in this weekend for service, but a little concerned about the trip home this afternoon. I don't have any tools on me to swap out with a mechanical gage.

Any thoughts or concerns? Thanks, Paul

Last edited by RUMBL B; Feb 17, 2017 at 07:56 AM.
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Old Feb 17, 2017 | 08:08 AM
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My first thought would be low oil level. You should check it immediately. Next thought would be a faulty oil pressure sensor. Check pressure with a mechanical gauge before you drive it any more. If the electronic gauge is correct and you drove 76 miles with 15 psi, I expect you've already opened up your bearing clearances. Don't drive it any more without investigating. Have it towed to the shop or home. Don't drive it.
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Old Feb 17, 2017 | 09:24 AM
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Originally Posted by rabrooks
My first thought would be low oil level. You should check it immediately. Next thought would be a faulty oil pressure sensor. Check pressure with a mechanical gauge before you drive it any more. If the electronic gauge is correct and you drove 76 miles with 15 psi, I expect you've already opened up your bearing clearances. Don't drive it any more without investigating. Have it towed to the shop or home. Don't drive it.


I had the "Low Oil" DIC a couple weeks ago, fed it a quart to make restore the proper level.


Thanks for the advice.
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Old Feb 17, 2017 | 12:23 PM
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How long have you had the car? I'd say oil pressure sending unit too. Did you recently change oil brands or grade?
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Old Feb 17, 2017 | 12:29 PM
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Originally Posted by DG1976
How long have you had the car? I'd say oil pressure sending unit too. Did you recently change oil brands or grade?


I've had the car one year in March. The oil was changed by the dealership I purchased it from back in December. A couple of weeks ago, the "Check Oil" DIC illuminated. I added Mobil 1 5w-30 Synthetic. I don't know what was in there before, but I'm assuming it's the same.
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Old Feb 17, 2017 | 12:34 PM
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What is the oil level when the warning illuminates? Are you actually down a full quart?
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Old Feb 17, 2017 | 08:10 PM
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I expect you're more than a quart low when you get that warning. Probably 2-3 quarts low.
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Old Feb 20, 2017 | 01:53 PM
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So, I had her towed to a local Chevrolet dealership in Miami on Friday evening. Motor was making noise.

They called me just a few minutes ago (Monday) with 2 options: The first is $1500 to take off the top of motor and the oil pan to figure out what is going on, and that will be applied to the cost of fixing as they would have to go into the motor anyway. He doesn't have an estimate until they figure out what needs to be fixed, could be $4-$6k. The second is a replacement GM LS2 crate motor for $11,031 installed.

I'm still digesting the info, but asked him to get a quote for an LS3.

After I finished talking to him, I was looking at other motors, from Summit racing.

Any thoughts on how you would approach this?
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Old Feb 20, 2017 | 03:04 PM
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Originally Posted by RUMBL B
So, I had her towed to a local Chevrolet dealership in Miami on Friday evening. Motor was making noise.

They called me just a few minutes ago (Monday) with 2 options: The first is $1500 to take off the top of motor and the oil pan to figure out what is going on, and that will be applied to the cost of fixing as they would have to go into the motor anyway. He doesn't have an estimate until they figure out what needs to be fixed, could be $4-$6k. The second is a replacement GM LS2 crate motor for $11,031 installed.

I'm still digesting the info, but asked him to get a quote for an LS3.

After I finished talking to him, I was looking at other motors, from Summit racing.

Any thoughts on how you would approach this?
If it had low oil pressure and is now making noise, I would assume that the motor is toast and will require a major rebuild, the cost of which wouldn't make sense if it's a dealer doing it, IMV. I would consider buying one of these and putting that in it:

https://sdparts.com/i-19928376-chevr...ine-430hp.html
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Old Feb 20, 2017 | 08:24 PM
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What would I do? Buy a used motor off eBay and throw it in. The hell with paying the dealer $6K+
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Old Feb 21, 2017 | 12:09 PM
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Originally Posted by schpenxel
What would I do? Buy a used motor off eBay and throw it in. The hell with paying the dealer $6K+
Either this or go to the For Sale section here.

I dont know if it can be done easily, but I would want to know how much oil was put in by the dealer in December and what type of oil it was. Sounds like when they did the oil change, they botched something. Happened to me years ago. They put standard oil in instead of synth. Luckily they caught it before handing the keys over to me.

Either way, good luck and I wouldnt let the dealer...any dealer...touch the car again. Do the work yourself if possible or take it to a local Vette tech in your area.
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Old Feb 21, 2017 | 01:28 PM
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Buy an engine from a forum member (LS3). Get a speed shop to do a quote and install. Prolly get out for less than 6k. And then you have your engine to sell. Or the speed shop might take it in trade as a rebuildable core.

For around 5k out of pocket your back on the road. Oh yeah, keep a check on that oil.
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Old Feb 21, 2017 | 07:50 PM
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So, I had it towed from the dealership to a local domestic speed shop that frequently works on Corvettes.

I went to the dealer today to let them know a flat bed was coming to pick up my car. When I dropped it off with them, I signed a document that acknowledged a $125 diagnostic fee. When I returned today, he immediately wanted to charge me the $125 +tax. I asked for the diagnostic report and error codes.... he fumbled through a bunch of papers then said.... "I got you covered". Dealers.... pfffft.

Anyway, talked to the shop owner yesterday about my situation. He's fairly certain from my explanation its a failure of the oil pump and not a oil pressure sensor issue. My engine has a chatter noise "like lifters with no oil" and not knocking. The question is, is there material or bearing damage. They will take a stepped approached in troubleshooting tomorrow, draining and checking the oil for debris first. If there is engine failure or its not worth salvaging, I may go with the LS3 525HP build.

Thanks for all the advice so far, i'll post updates as I know them....
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Old Feb 21, 2017 | 08:43 PM
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Originally Posted by RUMBL B
So, I had it towed from the dealership to a local domestic speed shop that frequently works on Corvettes.

I went to the dealer today to let them know a flat bed was coming to pick up my car. When I dropped it off with them, I signed a document that acknowledged a $125 diagnostic fee. When I returned today, he immediately wanted to charge me the $125 +tax. I asked for the diagnostic report and error codes.... he fumbled through a bunch of papers then said.... "I got you covered". Dealers.... pfffft.

Anyway, talked to the shop owner yesterday about my situation. He's fairly certain from my explanation its a failure of the oil pump and not a oil pressure sensor issue. My engine has a chatter noise "like lifters with no oil" and not knocking. The question is, is there material or bearing damage. They will take a stepped approached in troubleshooting tomorrow, draining and checking the oil for debris first. If there is engine failure or its not worth salvaging, I may go with the LS3 525HP build.

Thanks for all the advice so far, i'll post updates as I know them....
Sounds like good decisions so far. Be methodical and cautious. I expect it will be worth pulling the pan and looking at the bearings. Prolly be easy to spot cause the crank shaft weights will be a different color due to heat. They'll be looking for a brown or blue color. if its blue, its a new crank plus whatever. Good Luck and thanks for not giving the dealer the satisfaction
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Old Feb 21, 2017 | 08:55 PM
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I trust you got some good info and referrals on the shop now doing the work.
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Old Feb 21, 2017 | 08:55 PM
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Originally Posted by schizcat
Either this or go to the For Sale section here.

I dont know if it can be done easily, but I would want to know how much oil was put in by the dealer in December and what type of oil it was. Sounds like when they did the oil change, they botched something. Happened to me years ago. They put standard oil in instead of synth. Luckily they caught it before handing the keys over to me.

Either way, good luck and I wouldnt let the dealer...any dealer...touch the car again. Do the work yourself if possible or take it to a local Vette tech in your area.
Dino oil would not cause the engine to fail, I believe the OP kept driving it till it was toast.
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Old Feb 21, 2017 | 09:21 PM
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Originally Posted by AORoads
I trust you got some good info and referrals on the shop now doing the work.
I hang around with a good group of Vette guys locally on the weekend. The shop they recommended really does some serious work. The shop has 6 corvettes that are raced on the the strip and oval tracks. They do engine diagnostics, swaps, tuning, and the typical stuff like installing headers, blowers, turbos, engine rebuilds. They work on and ship cars nationally and worldwide.
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Old Feb 21, 2017 | 09:26 PM
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Originally Posted by CMY SIX
Dino oil would not cause the engine to fail, I believe the OP kept driving it till it was toast.
I drove the it on the interstate for quite some distance because there was still oil pressure, though it was not optimal. I'm guessing at that point the oil pump was in a failing state, but not completely failed. I was still getting roughly 15 psi. After work that day, I fired the car back up to see if the oil pressure would register, it never left zero, so I shut it off and had it towed. That is when I noticed the "engine chatter". Probably shouldn't have done that in hind sight, but curiosity got the best of me. Might be a great excuse to get an upgrade.
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Old Feb 21, 2017 | 09:27 PM
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Originally Posted by rabrooks
I expect you're more than a quart low when you get that warning. Probably 2-3 quarts low.
The oil level isn't low. It was a quart low a month ago, but I topped it off long before this issue occurred.
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Old Feb 21, 2017 | 09:39 PM
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The lifters can start clattering before any real damage is done, so don't assume the engine is toast. A new oil pump and it may be fine. Let them look at it and see if they think the engine is damaged. Chin up!
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