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I recently acquired (free) a 1993 Honda Civic LX with 308,000 miles. It was leaking a ton of oil so I replaced the valve cover gasket, the o-rings for the distributor, the the ignition coil tube o-rings, and the oil pan gasket. I got everything back together and as far as I could tell, there were no leaks so I took it for a drive. After about 30 minutes, I decided that everything was good, but as I pulled into the driveway, the oil light blinked a few times and came on solid.
I watched the videos on oil pressure so off to the store I went to pick up an oil gauge. I hooked it up and let the engine run for about 30 minutes again in the garage. The pressure started out around 65 psi and steadily dropped to 15 psi where it seemed to settle in. The needle of the gauge didn’t bounce and if I increased the RPM’s, the pressure increase back up to around 70-75 psi. I let it run until the radiator fans cycled on 2 or 3 times.
When I removed the old sensor it had a lot of oil on it and under the rubber boot, but it was hard to tell if this was coming from the sensor or from the other leaks.
I think I have verified this is just the sensor, but it just seems odd that the light came on when it did. Given the number of miles on the engine I’m just a little nervous about taking it any out without a gauge of some kind to have an actual reading. Does it seem like I have this figured out correctly or is 15psi a lot lower than what it normally?
I don’t think this is related, but just so in case it matters, I also replaced the exhaust manifold, B pipe, muffler, spark plugs, air filter, and oil filter. I put 5w-30 oil in and it isn’t over/under filled.
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Is 5W-30 the recommended engine oil grade?
From the statement where you said the pressure builds up when you rev the engine, I am assuming your oil pump is wearing out.
5W-30 is actually the recommended weight.
I’m confused by your statement that you thing the oil pressure rising means I need a new pump. In Eric’s video, How To Check Oil Pressure, he explains that oil pressure should rise when rpm’s are increased.
From the service manual:
Pressure should be:
Engine Oil Pressure: 80 deg C (176 deg F)
At Idle: 10psi minimum
At 3,000 rpm: 50 psi minimumYour test seems good, but like you I question coincidence. I’d replace the sensor and then watch like a hawk.
Or maybe play it safe and replace the pump. That is a LOT of miles.
And maybe start shopping for an engine with lower miles. A D16Y of that vintage shouldn’t be too hard to find.@relative4 Thanks for the response. I found another forum with a similar discussion, but the posters disagreed whether 15-20 psi is normal or 25-30 psi is normal. Enough people said 15-20 psi is normal that I went ahead and replaced the sensor. I haven’t taken it more than about 10 miles from home, but everything seems good.
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