oil light fickers on camry ..1/4 low drive home..light flickers again .. no oil pressure!

[rustybucket]

I was thinking...mmm bad oil pressure light switch? I was heading off the highway to see my my old house when the light on 3sfe engine was flickering. I turned around drove 1/4 mile stopped at a gas station and perched a quart of oil. The engine does not leak or burn oil. So checked the stick it was low pored it in and it was topped off. I noticed the engine was making some noise..but not rod knock or main bearing noise. Drove it home and the engine light would go off going down the highway. Got home it was flickering. Put new OTC kit oil pressure gauge on engine and I received zero oil pressure. WHAT? I removed it from the head started engine and no oil came out of hole. Shut off engine ..and was thinking what the hell. Removed oil filter and disabled the ignition and cranked the engine...no oil coming out. I had the filter cut open and ripped off the pleats in the filter. No metal flakes..or were so tiny could hardly see them..and quantity was very little. Drained oil..put magnet in bottom of milk jug fishing for oil flakes..nothing except ONE tiny flake.

Tomarro will be removing the oil pan to see what kind of quantity and size of metal flakes in pan. Hope I only see little tiny flakes...and nothing big

So...had anyone seen a oil pump on a 3sfe start to fail on its own? The engine never over heated. IT was cool when I put the one quart in.

Pan comes off fishing for flakes...then next taking the timing belt and tensioner off and then the oil pump. Possible the pump impeller is coming loose from the shaft?

 

[toyotaspeed90]

If the engine was a quart low - unless you didn't fill it when you did the oil change last, then it either burns or leaks oil.....

The pump in that engine is mechanical and runs off the timing belt - if the car was running, then the pump was turning.

The pump doesn't make pressure, it pumps oil. Pressure is determined primarily on 2 things - the bearing tolerances and the relief valve.

The relief valve is built into the oil pump - has a spring, retainer 'plate for the spring, and an snap ring. Not likely that it failed, but I guess if the snap ring popped out somehow, then oil would just pump back into the pan. I've never heard of that happening.

It's probably a bearing.