1FZ-FE Newbie w/big problem (no oil pressure) (1 Viewer)

[YYC Cruiser]

Hello all! First post but I have been lurking for a while. I'm a proud owner of a 1994 FJ80 w/230K miles. Purchased approx 9 mos ago - it's been an adventure to say the least.

I managed to do the head gasket/valve job (white smoke in the exhaust but not overheating - cylinder #6 was the culprit) in Oct. '07 w/the help of the FSM and the many tutorials posted by members here - thanks for that! Everything has run perfectly since then until now.

Last week I hopped in for a drive (it is my wifes daily driver) and noticed that the oil pressure gauge was not responsive - prior to that it had been functioning normally. Engine sounded great - no noisy valves or lifters, and ran great but I promptly parked it. Hoping it was a faulty sender. Local mechanic stuck a mechanical gauge on it and it turns out it was operating at minimal oil pressure: "approx 10psi upon startup and dropped of to almost nothing soon after" in his words. I had him drop the oil pan and check the pickup screen - looks good - v. little debris. I had him check the crankshaft bolt - seems tight according to him - I have no idea whether he has a 300lb torque wrench.

Anything else I should look into before we assume that it is the oil pump? - from what I understand these almost never fail. My local independent mentioned that the book quotes it at a 12 hour job. Is replacing the oil pump something I should consider tackling given my new found confidence after a succesful DIY head gasket?

Any help/advice would be great! Being in Canada there are not many mechanics that have wrenched on these units. I will post some pics later when I get a chance. Cheers, Chay

 

[baldilocks]

What kind of oil and filter are you running? 6 psi is ok at idle. Was it lower than that? Did the mechanic take a reading at higher Engine speeds? You say no difference other than the gauge indication?

 

[YYC Cruiser]

What kind of oil and filter are you running? 6 psi is ok at idle. Was it lower than that? Did the mechanic take a reading at higher Engine speeds? You say no difference other than the gauge indication?

Running Mobil 1 5w30 with a Wix 51515. Changed the oil twice in the month after doing my head gasket. Also tried to be careful scraping the old head gasket off - don't think much ended up in the system.

Mechanic did mention that a very small amount of oil would flow out of the oil sender port when he turned it over without the efi fuse. Don't think he has checked the oil filter port for flow. He acted like the pressure was so low that he shut it right down as he feared engine damage. Does the pressure have to be tested with the engine warmed up?

The truck was running great before I noticed the gauge, smooth and quiet - as far as I know my wife may have drove it for a week without noticing the gauge - I was about 3 miles from home before I glanced at the gauge.

It has been very cold here - about -30 celcius. Not sure if that has any bearing on anything.

Thanks for the reply - hopefully I can get to the bottom of this.

 

[2fpower]

If I recall the oil pump is driven off of gear that has to have certain amount of tension off of crankshaft bolt. I think it also runs the power steering too. Any sense the power steering is not getting power? does it sqeal?

I have had the actual main pulley crack, but it tore up the front seal and thus spewed oil everywhere, so you would likely see that.

 

[2fpower]

I would say the oil pump change is no longer than doing the oil pump gasket, which you have to pull the front pulley to do anyway.

Probably about 5 hour job I would say. I pull the radiator to do it and use a big impact wrench to knock off the bolt.

 

[baldilocks]

Replace that filter ASAP. Several members have reported problems just like what you describe. One member lost his engine because of a defective Wix filter.

Yesterday another member posted that replacing the Wix solved his oil pressure problem.

It’s a cheap, easy place to start.

 

[Rifleman]

Running Mobil 1 5w30 with a Wix 51515

This may not have anything to do with this problem, but i seem to remember not to long ago some threads were Mud members had BIG problems with Wix oil filters. You might want to do a search for Wix oil filters, just for peace of mind.

Here is a quote from another thread "
Oil filter failed on my 94 FZJ. Overnight normal oil pressure to no gauge movement at all. I read the bit on Wix filters and had a Napa brand made by Wix. Removed filter and installed a Bosch and oil pressure is back. No change but filter swap. Do not trust Wix/Napa oil filters!! I noticed right away of oil pressure drop due to prolonged timing chain slap. Timing chain I believe builds tension from oil pressure. Thanks everyone for all the great notes and knowledge." end quote

Here is another link.
If you're using a WIX oil filter read this

 

[YYC Cruiser]

If I recall the oil pump is driven off of gear that has to have certain amount of tension off of crankshaft bolt. I think it also runs the power steering too. Any sense the power steering is not getting power? does it sqeal?

I have had the actual main pulley crack, but it tore up the front seal and thus spewed oil everywhere, so you would likely see that.

Power steering pump is leaking but as long as I keep it topped up it works great. No oil spewing from the front seal as far as I can tell. From what I can see - as long as the pump is spinning it should be pumping oil? Do the internals go bad on these? Broken fins, ect.? Just spoke to the mechanic - he quoted me 15 hours and $500CAD for a new pump which is essentially a timing chain cover. From looking at threads on replacing the oil pump gasket it seems like it should be a fairly straight forward job - for sure less than 15 hours - what am I missing? Anyone replaced the oil pump/timing chain cover before? Anyone have the OEM part number for a new oil pump? Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[YYC Cruiser]

Replace that filter ASAP. Several members have reported problems just like what you describe. One member lost his engine because of a defective Wix filter.

Yesterday another member posted that replacing the Wix solved his oil pressure problem.

It’s a cheap, easy place to start.

Thanks for the heads up on the WIX - will try that when I get home. What easily sourced replacement should I try? - I know wix makes some for other brands.

 

[YYC Cruiser]

This may not have anything to do with this problem, but i seem to remember not to long ago some threads were Mud members had BIG problems with Wix oil filters. You might want to do a search for Wix oil filters, just for peace of mind.

Here is a quote from another thread "
Oil filter failed on my 94 FZJ. Overnight normal oil pressure to no gauge movement at all. I read the bit on Wix filters and had a Napa brand made by Wix. Removed filter and installed a Bosch and oil pressure is back. No change but filter swap. Do not trust Wix/Napa oil filters!! I noticed right away of oil pressure drop due to prolonged timing chain slap. Timing chain I believe builds tension from oil pressure. Thanks everyone for all the great notes and knowledge." end quote

Here is another link.
If you're using a WIX oil filter read this

Thanks for the heads up and the link - here I thought I was doing good using Wix (bought a whole case). I thought oil filters has a built in bypass to avoid oil pressure problems - don't know much about it - will have to do some research.

 

[baldilocks]

Thanks for the heads up on the WIX - will try that when I get home. What easily sourced replacement should I try? - I know wix makes some for other brands.

The Toyota filter -yzzd3 is $6 at the dealer. It’s a smaller one and made in Thailand but it has been proven, by a filter dissection nut on a site that I read, that the small toyota filter is actually a very good filter at its price point, solidly built with more filter media than most filters its size. A lot of members run it. I have run them without issue.

If you can find one, the Purolator Pure one is supposedly a premium filter.

 

[Rifleman]

What easily sourced replacement should I try

I run the distance Plus from Bosch, from what I've researched Purolator makes Bosch's oil filters (there's actually only a handful of oil filter manufacturers). The "Bosch Distance Plus" filters are essentially a rebadged "Purolator ONE" filter without the exterior grip paint. Similarly, the "Bosch Long Life" filters are rebadged "Purolator Synthetic" filters, and the standard "Bosch Premium" is a rebadged "Purolator Classic" but with a silicone anti-drainback valve
DistancePlus™ Oil Filters

• 
• 
  

Bosch DistancePlus Oil Filters are high efficiency and high capacity oil filters designed to keep oil clean longer and protect the vehicle‘s engine. It goes the distance with a 99.9%* efficiency rating to remove more dirt and is designed with 300%** greater capacity to hold more dirt. Bosch DistancePlus is the ultra-premium leader in engine performance protection.

Key Features

• Bosch DistancePlus holds 29.1 grams of contaminants compared to economy filters that only hold 7.4 grams
• Ultimate performance with synthetic, semi-synthetic and conventional oils
• Contains a PTFE treated seal gasket for easy installation and removal
• Silicone anti drain-back valve to protect against dry starts
• Heavy gauge case for increased durability, providing 2X’s greater burst resistance strength compared to conventional oil filters

 

[Malleus]

FWIW, here's the specs for the lubrication system for your '94:

Depending on what gauge your mechanic used, if he measured the oil pressure at idle, he may not have seen any pressure. This is an example of why you should only trust your truck to someone who has and uses the Toyota FSM.

x2 on the Toyota oil filter. Why would you use a more expensive aftermarket filter on a forklift engine?

 

[Proven]

I am going back to the small toyota filter just as soon as I can get to the dealership. (Or buy one on amazon...)

 

[Malleus]

One more (really cheap) thing to check, before you have someone tear the front of your engine off: The oil pressure sending unit pigtail connector sits on the PS inner fender, just inside the windshield washer reservoir. The connector has three wires into/out of it. The white one is the ground. This connector is notorious for losing its ground.

Push the white wire fully into the connectors from both sides, then check your gauge. I had this problem on one my '95s. The wire, from the harness side, was loose in the terminal, inside the connector.

 

[JohnVee]

Or maybe the OP suffers my fate... Two trucks in my driveway suffered the same fate the same night this weekend. Fxxxing rodents.

 

[Proven]

Or maybe the OP suffers my fate... Two trucks in my driveway suffered the same fate the same night this weekend. ****ing rodents.

I've had to chase rats out of a mini-cooper..they were in behind the dashboard. The owner discovered them while she was driving...glad she didn't die that day from shock.

 

[BILT4ME]

I've had to chase rats out of a mini-cooper..they were in behind the dashboard. The owner discovered them while she was driving...glad she didn't die that day from shock.

Do you get rats in a car while it sits OVERNIGHT?

Maybe feed the little bastiges some rat poison outside to quench their hunger and eliminate the problem at the same time........

I have only seen mice get in a car/truck after it sits for months and that's usually during the winter.

 

[2fpower]

@Malleus OP stated in original post that he had mechanic put mechanical gauge on it, so that elimanted sending unit and/or wiring.

 

[Funner]

My experience here.

Dead oil pressure gauge- Fixed