Questions and Answers

Volkswagen Golf Oil Pressure Problem Q. Hi Vincent, I have a manual 1995 Volkswagen Golf 1.8 litre carburetted engine that has done some 206,000 kilometres. We recently had a bearing knock and we replaced all the main bearings and redid the rings and gaskets on the engine while we were at it. After re-assembly we found a leak in one of the oil pressure switches and replaced these as well.

We filled up with 20W-50 oil as recommended by the car manual. The problem we have is that after 2000 rpm the oil light on the dashboard comes on as well as the beeper for the oil pressure. The oil pump is working, there are no oil leaks anywhere. We have replaced the new switches with different switches and now the light and beeper come on at 3,000 rpm instead of 2,000 rpm.

The Haynes manual that we use indicates possible problems with the sensors may be the cause, and mentions 3 sensors, but we only know of 2 sensor switches. Where is the other one? The Haynes manual is not the best written manual. What else could cause this problem?

Regards,
Winston

A. I'm like you, I only know of two oil pressure senders, the low pressure, 0.3 bar, sending unit and the high pressure, 1.0 5 bar sending unit.

I think the light may be coming on because of the thick oil you are using. I would try a 5W30 for break-in and then go to the heavier oil if you must.

I'm assuming you put a mechanical oil pressure gauge on the engine and confirmed that the oil pressure is actually within specifications.