# 2.0 oil pressure mk4 help



## vwcarney91 (Aug 15, 2010)

2001 vw golf
So my oil pressure light came on
I read the pick up tube could be clogged with sludge
Dropped pan, pulled pick up tube and all is clean, pan is clean, small specks of yellow chunks but maybe 2 or 3, could my oil pump be shot? any other suggestions? parts to buy/ places to buy the stuff?

I tried to move the oil pump mech by hand and it wouldn't budge, does this suggest it is frozen?
Also did a quick search and couldn't find pics of the 2 oil pressure sending units. Found locations in forum but I'm a pictures guy, any help would be appreciated.

Found 1 of the oil pressure sending units, the one above the oil filter, pulled it off and it is covered in oil. Diagnosis?


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

Oil sludge clogging the pickup is more of a 1.8T problem.

The oil pump won't turn by hand unless it's removed from the car, the timing belt and distributor are holding it in place.

The first step to this diagnosis should be to install a mechanical gauge and verify pressure. If pressure is good, it's simply a bad sensor. I've found that to be the case more often than not when an 2.0 car starts throwing an oil pressure warning. Always check the simple stuff before diving balls deep into the complicated stuff


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## vwcarney91 (Aug 15, 2010)

Yeah, well my wife was at work with the other car and I a) didn't have an oil pressure gauge. or 2) wasn't sure how to use it if I had one but I do have/ know how to use common hand tools.

I took off the switch to the oil pressure sensor, the part that just plugs in, but I can't seem to get a wrench or anything down in that area to take the nut off. Is there a trick or something to fitting something in there, I have a haynes manual but it suggests that the picture taken in the book was when the vehicle didn't have the front end off and I really would rather not do that.


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## ps2375 (Aug 13, 2003)

That year car only has 1 pressure sw, IIRC. What weight oil are you running and you really need to get a pressure gauge or tester on the motor to see if it is within specs. And a better manual than the haynes. And isn't the oil pump chain driven off of the crank? This is an internal H2O pump motor, no IM shaft, no dizzy.


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

ps2375 said:


> That year car only has 1 pressure sw, IIRC. What weight oil are you running and you really need to get a pressure gauge or tester on the motor to see if it is within specs. And a better manual than the haynes. And isn't the oil pump chain driven off of the crank? This is an internal H2O pump motor, no IM shaft, no dizzy.


My bad, I'm thinking ABA.

Yes, this has no IM shaft or distributor (I still can't bring myself to call it a "dizzy"  ), and only one pressure sensor.


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## vwcarney91 (Aug 15, 2010)

What would be a better book, I only know of Haynes and chilton, the bentley book is outrageously expensive for a book and I couldn't justify spending 60+ dollars on a book.


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## vwcarney91 (Aug 15, 2010)

ps2375 said:


> That year car only has 1 pressure sw, IIRC. What weight oil are you running and you really need to get a pressure gauge or tester on the motor to see if it is within specs. And a better manual than the haynes. And isn't the oil pump chain driven off of the crank? This is an internal H2O pump motor, no IM shaft, no dizzy.



Valvoline max life high mileage (132k) 5w-30, Book doesn't specify what to put into it what would be best. It's my first vw and I've had it for 2 years with no major problems, electric fan went out but that's been it so far.


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## vwcarney91 (Aug 15, 2010)

Also, could I put a T on that sensor and run an oil pressure gauge into the dash area?


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

vwcarney91 said:


> What would be a better book, I only know of Haynes and chilton, the bentley book is outrageously expensive for a book and I couldn't justify spending 60+ dollars on a book.


Well, Bentley is the only manual that's going to have the info you need. Perhaps you prefer working on a VW with SAE standard tools because you can't justify purchasing a set of metric wrenches? It's the same philosophy. You need the right tools to do the job, and that book is the most important tool. Haynes, Chilton, Bentley, take your pick, but you get what you pay for. Besides, it'll pay for itself, $60 is less than a shop would charge you just to diagnose your oil pressure issue, no?

Also check out AllDataDIY.com, they're a bit cheaper and have all the same info the Bentley does. IIRC it's like $35 for a year of access to one year/make/model. On the most expensive end, there's always erwin.vw.com too.



vwcarney91 said:


> Also, could I put a T on that sensor and run an oil pressure gauge into the dash area?


Yes. But I highly recommend against anything permanent to that effect. Ever see what happens to an interior when that little plastic hose to the gauge breaks?


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## ps2375 (Aug 13, 2003)

I would have to agree with what Anony00GT said. As for oil, a 5/40 or a 10/40 would be what I would be running.


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

I've seen this problem in VW 2.0's many times, and it's usually as simple as a bad sensor. I don't think I've seen different weights cause pressure problems, or fix them. My opinion on oil is very simple:

5w-40 or 10w-40 would be ideal in your car, but personally, I just use whatever is cheapest (usually 5w-30 now) in just about every car I've ever owned. I also use the cheapest oil filters, LOF every 3k miles religiously. No lubrication-related problems yet, and some of those cars had well over 200k miles on the clock.

There are some VW engines that should have synthetic 5w-40 only and good filters (like the 1.8T), but on a regular 2.0, just about anything will work fine. Also, any engine with VVT should use the manufacturer specified weight.


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## vwcarney91 (Aug 15, 2010)

Anony00GT said:


> Well, Bentley is the only manual that's going to have the info you need. Perhaps you prefer working on a VW with SAE standard tools because you can't justify purchasing a set of metric wrenches? It's the same philosophy. You need the right tools to do the job, and that book is the most important tool. Haynes, Chilton, Bentley, take your pick, but you get what you pay for. Besides, it'll pay for itself, $60 is less than a shop would charge you just to diagnose your oil pressure issue, no?
> 
> Also check out AllDataDIY.com, they're a bit cheaper and have all the same info the Bentley does. IIRC it's like $35 for a year of access to one year/make/model. On the most expensive end, there's always erwin.vw.com too.
> 
> ...


You're right, I called a local vw dealership and the "diagnostic" cost $99 so I suppose I will be getting the Bentley if it really is that much better than the Haynes.

Also, I replaced the sensor with a 15/16 deepwell socket with a swivel on it just in case anyone needs to know the size or anything. Everything works correctly now. Thanks everyone for the help. Lessons learned with a vw.


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