Hey all,

When i'm idling at traffic lights or wherever the oil light flicks on and off. Anyone know whats wrong? I'm thinking it could be the pump?

Cheers
Adam

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1975 Leyland Clubman 'S'
1976 Leyland Clubman 'S' *work in progress*
I smile everytime!

might be earthing out on something. trace the wire back from the sender and look for a split in the insulation.

There is quite a few things this could be and unfortunately none of them are good. Firstly it may be a short in the wiring but you really should get someone to temporarily hook up an oil pressure guage to see what pressure you actually have.

It could be a very worn oil pump, a faulting oil pressure sender switch, a sticking or excessively worn oil pressure relief valve. Or it could be very thin oil simply draining back out of the pump when the engine is not spinning fast enough.

The first step is to see what the pressure actually is and then make appropriate diagnosis from there.

YES, oil pressure tends to drop at idle. A worn motor will have quite low pressure at idle.....hence the light coming on.

I hope this isn't your prob.

Remember to check for obvious and easy solutions, before assuming the worst.

You can also check to ensure that the correct light is placed in the correct socket. I once had my oil light and generator light plugged back in the wrong way when I had the engine replaced in my old Morris Mini once.

As they had plugged the generator light into the oil light in the speedo and the oil pressure light plugged into the genertor light in the speedo.

I was also on my way to Batlow in the middle of the night when my oil light came on and I quickly pulled over. I knew there was something funny going on though. As my oil pressure guage was saying that the pressure was normal.

Either way I did not want to risk anything so I drove as slow as I could to the nearest auto electrician. As it turns out the generator had given up the ghost and because the lights were not plugged into their corresponding holes this was the result.

Either way I dont think you can really trust lights and I believe that a guage is far more trusting and valuable than a light.

Anyway its just a thought and an experience that happened to me. But either way you need to get it looked at and find out what the real problem is. I hope for your sake it wont be a major problem .

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Opinions expressed by me are of my opinion only and are copyrighted to Kinkabell Corporation? 2006.

Thanks for the replies! =)
I will check all of the above. I hope its not the pump....but if it is how hard are they to replace?

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1975 Leyland Clubman 'S'
1976 Leyland Clubman 'S' *work in progress*
I smile everytime!

motor out for oil pump replacement......

If its the oil pump then I am sorry to say that engine has to come out ..

The best thing I think to do is hook it up to an oil pressure guage and see what the pressure is runing at. Even if you just get one of those cheap gauges from Super Cheap it is going to give you a better indication than what a light is.

Also when was the last time you changed the oil? As the oil might not be much chop anymore. But either way get it looked at as soon as you can.

I mean you dont want to be lke my brother and be crusing down the road at 80 km/hr with the oil light on saying oh its ok it always does that. I think its an electrical fault. Then all of a sudden you come to a sudden stop and end up with a seized motor..

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Opinions expressed by me are of my opinion only and are copyrighted to Kinkabell Corporation? 2006.

Dam theres the quick and the dead and as always Anton is quick on the replies

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Opinions expressed by me are of my opinion only and are copyrighted to Kinkabell Corporation? 2006.

If its the oil pump the crank and bearings will need doing to, it will be engine rebuild time

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Roundies and Clubbies(except vans) are both ugly that is why I have Midas and a van
1293 Mini Midas Bronze,1275 Clubman van

I hope its not the engine.
Time to do an oil change and then oil pressure and then electrical and then PANIC!

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1975 Leyland Clubman 'S'
1976 Leyland Clubman 'S' *work in progress*
I smile everytime!

It may be that the lights are hooked up in the wrong sockets,

but i`d be checking the oil pressure limiting valve for being stuck open

easy fix if it is that

hope all is well

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

sorry to ask.....where is the oil pressue limiting valve?

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1975 Leyland Clubman 'S'
1976 Leyland Clubman 'S' *work in progress*
I smile everytime!

When facing the block, its on the left hand side. Its behind a large raised nut that is below the pipe that leads to the oil filter on a car with no oil cooler.

When you unscrew it you will find a spring and a bullet shaped cup in the hole. The oil pump creates enough pressure to force this cup back against the spring and allow oil to pass. The tension of the spring enables the oil to be carried around the engine under pressure.

If the relief valve is stuck open (ie held back against the spring) then although the pump is functioning there is little or no oil pressure. The oil pressure is important as this is what transmits the oil to all parts of the engine and the bearings actually need the oil under pressure for proper lubrication.

Most of the mini manuals have exploded diagrams and descriptions of the oil releif valve

drop a 9/16 Ball Bearing in the hole....

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"Show me the Mini!"