# Oil pressure issues BPY FSI (After rebuild) - PLEASE HELP



## darcness (Aug 8, 2008)

Ok so where do I even get started (TLDR below if you don't want to read the whole story)...

6 months ago GTI started to misfire very badly under load (160k on the clock). Soon after it started to throw very sporadic oil pressure warnings. At this time, I was very concerned and started diving in to the engine to see what was going on. Here's the time line and what I've done so far...

Edit: All of this was done with a mechanical oil pressure gauge so I know it's legit low pressure and not just a faulty oil pressure switch.

First thought it was oil sludge. Tried seafoam and engine flush, drove for a bit and oil pressure issues only continued. Next removed oil pan to inspect oil pump and pickup tube. Cleaned everything and checked oil pump, which looked ok so I put it back together and hoped for the best. Well, I got the worst and on the trip ended up spinning a rod bearing.

After this I realized I was in for the long haul. Come hell or high water, I wanted to get the car back on the road and decided to do a rebuild...

Pulled motor and found that I had spun 1 rod bearing and had pretty bad wear on my mains as well. Also found that one of my balance shafts had started to wear pretty badly and would need to replace the oil pump.

I took the crank to a machine shop to get it fixed, ordered the oversized bearings, new forged rods, new seals, new rings, new gaskets, and whatever hardware I needed. Instead of spending over 1500 on a new FSI oil pump I put together a kit to do the 1.8T oil pump conversion.

Once I got the crank back I did a really thorough install, including tons of cleaning, dusting, and plastigauge to make sure EVERYTHING was in spec. Gapped the piston rings, cleaned up the pistons, installed new rods and used proper measurements, install steps, assembly lube etc on everything.

Put the motor back in the car and I thought I would be good to go. Well, I was wrong and oil pressure issues persisted. Figured I probably had top end damage as well so I checked the cams and sure enough, wear on the cams themselves as well as the cam cradles. Ordered a completely assembled new head from VW at this point.

Installed new head and as before, still having oil pressure issues. I was pretty stumped at this point, having fully rebuilt the bottom end and putting on a brand new head (which included all the cams, timing chain housing, etc). I figured it was worth it to try a new oil filter housing in case it was a stuck pressure relief valve. I also checked the oil cooler and made sure it wasn't damaged or obstructed in any way when I had the filter housing off. It all checked out fine. Tried new housing and still was having oil pressure problems.

Just for reference I'm seeing about 25-30psi of oil pressure at 2k once warmed up where I should be seeing a minimum of 39psi per the VW manual.

*TLDR*

Car had oil pressure issues (160k on the clock). This lead to engine damage, including a spun rod bearing.

Replaced: Oil pump (1.8T conversion), rods, all bearings, seals, gaskets, piston rings, oil filter housing, cylinder head (complete assembled from VW)

Repaired: Crank (machine shop)

Checked and good: Oil cooler

All assembly was done correctly with proper procedure and plastigauge to check clearances, everything spec'd out within acceptable limits. At this point car continues to exhibit oil pressure issues. I'm seeing about 25-30psi @ 2k rpms where VW says minimum spec is 39psi @ 2k.

*Conclusion:*

This leads me to where I am today. Low on motivation, out about $3300, TONS of time and headache (6 months now), and still no closer to fixing this oil pressure problem. I've talked to mechanics, other VW owners, general gearheads, and every forum post I could possible find to no avail. Every time I thought I figured out the issue, it only lead to more problems, more money, and no solution.

My only possible thoughts now are either the turbo or a crack in the block some where. Since the motor has never been overheated I highly doubt there is a crack in a cast iron block. That leaves only the turbo. I DO have the green light to order a new turbo, but I'm tired of throwing money at this thing. That's where I need your help. Do I order the turbo or is there something I'm not seeing here?

Anything anyone can contribute would be great. Right now I just need some help and a little encouragement so I can get my VW back on the road...


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## darcness (Aug 8, 2008)

Just thinking about this today and wanted to get it down in writing and out of my head...

Everything I've done so far has been fixing the issues that the low oil pressure initially caused. Nothing I've done has fixed the ORIGINAL problem. Thing is, everything on the motor has now been replaced, machined, or checked to no avail. This tells me it HAS to be a component that is still on the motor that hasn't been investigated. Am I wrong with this line of thinking?

I realize that I could have made a mistake on my measuring of the clearances. I also realize I could have damaged a bearing and not noticed it. I could have gotten some foreign debris in some where and not caught it. To me though, I still feel that everything I've done hasn't affected the oil pressure enough to fix the problem. If it was something I didn't do right or the clearances were too large on the rebuild, I shouldn't be seeing the exact same problem I started with.

Bah, logic hurts.

Anyway, this is what makes me lean towards the turbo being the issue. Besides the physical block itself it's the only thing left on the car that's connected to the oiling system. Everything else has been replaced or repaired to factory specs.

Could I have missed an oil galley plug some where? I realize an external plug would likely cause a massive oil leak, but what about an internal plug?

I've read ALL the documentation I can find on the 1.8T oil pump swap and I did everything properly. I don't think it's anything with this, but if anyone has any experience with it, please do share. 
*
Also forgot to mention this, may be highly relevant... The oil pressure is fine when the car is warm. I realize that oil is going to think out once the car is warmed up, but the pressure drops pretty drastically as the oil warms up. That tells me it's less likely to be pump or volume of flow related and more clearance related. *


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## rommeldawg (May 25, 2009)

i think its the clearances on the bearings... the oil pump retrofit maybe but you should have another opinion/inspection of the bearings themselves. the turbo would be damaged by low oil pressure but should not effect engine oil pressure


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## darcness (Aug 8, 2008)

rommeldawg said:


> i think its the clearances on the bearings... the oil pump retrofit maybe but you should have another opinion/inspection of the bearings themselves. the turbo would be damaged by low oil pressure but should not effect engine oil pressure


It's definitely something I am going to check on. Got the picker in the garage today so the motor will be coming back out and re-checked all clearances and galleys. 

The thing that I don't understand though is that I still have the same problem as I originally did. So everything I've done to date hasn't fixed this. That's why I'm certain my measurements on the clearances the first time were solid. The oil pressure has improved since the rebuild but obviously not enough. I just feel like whatever was causing the original problem is still yet unresolved. That scares me because I have no idea what that problem would be.


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## stilgoing (Nov 7, 2015)

*i feel your pain..*

I have recently been through similar nightmare---2005.5 Audi A4 2.0 code BPG

Auction purchase for quick turn---not so---

head
couple valves
pistons and rings
bearings
hpfp
1.8 oil conversion (this week)
new oil filter housing w/MANN cartridge (see below).

will fire first time tomorrow 1/7/16 and report

i have a stealth gauge mounted in the glovebox--aimed at the driver
prior to the 1.8 conversion--hot pressure was 20 psi idle

we shall see.....

p.s. years ago as a Jaguar Tech I fixed an XJ6 with the 4.0 ? DOHC six that had
chronic low pressure. Ended up stripping the block to find a "ball" made of
"jiffy lube" filter cartridge material jammed in a main internal runner for the block's
oil system. Someone left the filter in so long it self destructed and got blown into a bad place.......

my engines probably commin out too

best....Eric


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## rkeehr20 (Jul 21, 2012)

Can you elaborate a little on your oil pressure readings? Give every reading you have taken. Cold idle psi, hot idle psi, off idle cold and hot psi. Don't go run it more to test and chance damaging all the new stuff, just try to recite all that you remember.


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## rommeldawg (May 25, 2009)

> p.s. years ago as a Jaguar Tech I fixed an XJ6 with the 4.0 ? DOHC six that had
> chronic low pressure. Ended up stripping the block to find a "ball" made of
> "jiffy lube" filter cartridge material jammed in a main internal runner for the block's
> oil system. Someone left the filter in so long it self destructed and got blown into a bad place.......


i just did a service on a relatively new 5 series bmw ... apparently the customer was concerned about the oil level and kept adding rather then actually checking it (done through the idrive) anyway so it was 9k over the service interval 3qts over filled and the filter crumbled when i touched it. nice car too in spite of the neglect. every service indicator was light up

any update on the oil pressure ?


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## Rolando_TX (Oct 14, 2008)

It would be interesting to see your oil pressures, mine are as follow on a rebuilt engine:

Cold Idle 60psi
Hot Idle 30psi
Light throttle 60psi
Wot 70psi


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## Jesse15856 (Jan 16, 2016)

*dud you ever solve your oil pressure issue ?*

Hello i have a audi a4 2.0 fsi that has the same issue . i have low oil pressure at low rpms under load. Rebuilt the engine from top to bottom


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## Waffle (Mar 5, 2008)

To the people with low oil pressure, what kind of connecting rods do you have in your car?

I have been getting low oil pressure warning while cruising after a wot run.

I have IE connecting rods.


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## MomoAK (Dec 23, 2014)

Did you all ever figure out the source of the low pressure issue? I’m having the same problem. I have low pressure at hot idle, ~9psi and ~35 at 2k. My next step is to try seafoam in the crankcase and then change the oil to make sure it is 5w-40 (I think the shop that replaced the block may have put 0w-30 in it but that’s a different story). If that doesn’t do it then I’ll check the filter housing valve and then the main bearings. Hopefully I haven’t spun one. Is there any surefire way to tell if you have spun a bearing without dropping the pan and pump? I checked the cam journals and they are slightly scored but barely enough to feel. The lobe surfaces and the cam bearing surfaces themselves are smooth so I don’t think that’s the cause.


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## kjr6306 (Sep 12, 2007)

Dro your oil pan and check your oil pump pick up screen. Common problem with the screen getting clogged and causing low oil pressure. Also look real close at your oil pump drive chain, sprocket and tensioner for issues. Its not uncommon for the balance shafts to seize and sheer the sprocket bolt. If all checks ok there you can drop the oil pump and check your crank and rod bearings.


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## federal8valve (Sep 20, 2011)

*updates*

Any updates.. Leaving me hanging.. I am sure after reading all that there is no way its the oil pickup. Did you ever figure this out?


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## MomoAK (Dec 23, 2014)

Zombie post arise!!

I have replaced the oil pump (was seized) but I STILL have the same pressure readings. This leads me to believe that it may be the check valve in the filter housing or maybe a spun main bearing. Anyone else figure this out yet?

Momo


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