I have an Srt with about 36000 miles on it, recently I had an oil light come on but only for about 30 seconds then itll shut off, I noticed that my dipstick was poping out and orderd a new oring for it. Changed my oil and checked the levels everything is good, dipstick isnt coming out anymore but the light is still on/off some. Im guessing the oil level sensor is the problem just wanted to get a few inputs before buying one. My other thought is if the sensor was bad would this not through a high/low oil warning on the odometer?


https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...tml#post524674

 

My 6 does the same thing. I change my oil regularly, keep an eye on my oil level via the dipstick and don't pay attention to the light. Pretty sure it's a bad sensor but it's not worth it to me to pull the oil pan to replace it. My light is normally very dim and can't be seen during the day and barely seen at night.

RL

 

So we have two oil lights- pressure and level. And the oil pan has to come off to replace the level sender. Isn't that nice.

 

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, I have a couple of questions regarding the oil sensors.

My oil light has come on, the yellow one on the side (not the level saying hi or low oil). It turns on usually once the engine is warm, and turns of from time to time. There are no issues with the car, normal running temps (i have an obd2 reader), oil level is fine.

I am guessing that its the oil level sensor, but, do our cars have a pressure sensor as well?

Any help would be appreciated.

Hecti

 

No, there is no pressure sensor. You can add one though :
MikeR ( RIP ) did this back in 2009 :
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ure-gauge.html

 

In GM cars, the most common failure is the oil pressure sender even has TSBs on the subject. I had them fail so often I always kept a spare around.

If I saw the light coming on I'd probably check with a mecanical gauge first to see what is really going on and would change the oil, if had not been done for a while (I used to change oil when I'd see the pressure drop 2 psi. Usually worked out to around 2,000-3,000 miles).

Are you running 0W-40 ?

ps long time ago when working at GM was told that at idle you do not need any pressure, just flow. Still use 10 psi per 1,000 rpm as a rule of thumb.

 

Hi Padgett,

I am on my way to buy a pressure tester from harbor freight. I run 0w-40 most of the time, sometimes get 5w-30 from costco when its discounted, all mobile 1 of coarse.

Ala_xfire, I might do that in the spring once the snow melts and its easier to work on the car. Thanks for the links.

Hecti

 

The manual says 0W-40 synthetic or approved for MB 229.3 or MB 229.5. I personally use 5W-40. If unapproved oil is used, engine damage and reduced engine life may result. I can't find where it is ok to use 5W-30. Overfilling or underfilling will cause oil aeration or loss of oil pressure which can damage the engine.

 

OY. Manuals are for those who need to ask. If you would rather know what it all means then see Car Bibles : The Engine Oil Bible : Viscosity .

0W-40 is a good spec for "anytime anywhere". However I live in Florida and my crossie is garaged so I read the spec as needing at least 40 weight oil. The MB spec is more for the additive mix and the time before it breaks down (the "change oil" light.

Synthetic is good but is often thinner than conventional oils because they do not break down over time and use. The original Mobil 1 was about a 15 weight oil. No "w" because it did not change much. Also the most common oil at the time was a 10W-30 which started out in the middle and had long chain polymers added to imrove the specs. As time went by the long chains became shorter chains and the 10w-30 befame someting more like a 15-20 weight.

When I ran dino, after about 2-3k miles I'd see about a 2 psi drop in the idle oil pressure (resulting from the degredation) and change the oil and filter.

Synthetics are much better about winter flow and maintaining viscosity so an 8k oil change is reasonable. OTOH the 40 part indicates the minimum viscosity MB considers enough to support the engine (mainly the rod bearings) at high rpm (force increases with the square of the RPM) .

So for me, no 0w-30, 5w-30, 15w, or 20W-20. Nothing unless the top number is 40, (10w-40 would be ok or even straight 40 racing oil since it is unlikely to ever be started with an oil temperature under 50F.
20W-50 would be a maybe but only in extremis (I'd rather add a quart of ATF).

But for me and here and with a well broken in engine, synthetic 0W-40, 5W-40, 10W-40, 15W-40, or 20W-40 macht nichts.

 

I would have to say our Crossfire Owners Manual is our bible.

 

Agreed 100% .. It's not like someone was just bored and wrote down whatever he felt like at the time..


There is rhyme and reason to what went in to it.

 

Oh I agree, there is definately rhyme and reason to what is in it, just their agenda may not be ours just as the facts of a decade ago may be different now.

There are those who believe the Bible is absolute and those who believe it is a guidebook for life .After all there are those who eat bacon and those who have the computer tuned a bit & no one ever said a parable had to be a true story.

Might mention that before I went over to the dark side I spent five years being trained by General Motors and was often talking to the people who designed interesting things like the Pontiac Super Duty program (and know why the engines changed color in mid-73 model year).

Will agree that the engine used in the Crossie was a very good design, just from the last century when synthetics were not common in the mass market. There is a lot more variety now.

Personally, I change oil more frequently than any factory requirement, I use different criteria, so really do not care if the oil matches the the FSS criteria.

However even the OM (2007 page 228) says MB 229.3 or 229.5. For those really interested in what viscosity is required, you might look here and here.

For my climate with months that near 100F OAT and higher on roadways, I'd prefer a 10W-40. There are some listed.

ps note from the data sheets: "which are distinctly marked with the label indicating the approval of Mercedes-Benz, e.g. “MB-Approval 229.51”. Labels referring e.g. to “MB 229.51” don't have an approval of Mercedes-Benz."

YMMV.

 

If it ain't broke I don't see a need to fix it with my better wisdom.. plain and simple. As a foot note.. run whatever makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.. I'll continue with the recommended platform without trying to convince anyone "this works just fine". That "someone" isn't going to pony up for a new motor or rebuild yours.

 

ps my OM does not say "0W-40 or..." What it says is "Only use synthetic engine oils, approved to MB 229.3 or MB 229.5, such as Mobil 1 SAE 0W-40." (07 OM page 280).

As previously mentioned, the current (Last update: 01/12/2015) MB 229.3 lists a large number (206) brands of oil of different weights just most are only available in Europe.

One which may be avaiable locally is Castrol GTX High Mileage 5W-40. "High Milage" usually has a different additive mix more suitable for a thoroughly broken in engine. With over 120k miles I suspect my XF qualifies.

So even if you are going to insist on going by the manual, you still have a number of choices.

Can we stop the holy war now ?

 

War? Guess you have missed some of my post if you consider this anything other than notes in a bottle.. LOL.

The closest thing to "holy" here is you preaching run something different.