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E36 M43B18 Oil pressure warning

2K views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  David Mc 
#1 ·
Hi guys,

Hope someone can give me some ideas as I recently lost my job and can't afford to throw money it this.......

My trusty old workhorse threw up the red oil pressure warning light yesterday.

She's covered 207K miles, does not use any oil, never smokes, rattles and rumbles. The dipstick shows about a millimetre below full.

Her last oil change was about 2k ago, filled with quality 5W/40 and a Unipart filter with new O-rings.

The warning came on after a longish journey, first one we done for some time. The light only comes on at idle when the engine is warm. Goes off by about 900rpm.

The temp gauge is slap bang in the middle and never moves, and there's plenty of coolant in the radiator.

I am gonna try a new oil sender switch as that's cheap and easy to get to, ish!

So basically any advice or thoughts from you would be most appreciated as I am dreading the prospect of having to get a fresh motor, as I have neither the funds nor the tools or ability these days to swap an engine.


Cheers and thanks in advance .

John on behalf of "Betty the Beemer"
 
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#2 ·
Which "quality" oil did you use - I had this problem years ago when the viscosity of the oil I used dropped as the engine temperature increased. The exact same (major) brand of oil was I believe responsible for a catastrophic engine failure on a near new motorcycle I owned at that time and in spite of all the advertising hype in light of my personal experience I would not use that particular brand of oil to lubricate the wheels of a billy cart.

Needless to say after I drained and refilled my car with decent oil, the problem was solved and never reoccurred.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Hi David,

Thanks for your reply, the oil I use is Unipart ProS400 5w/40 which is made by Fuchs. It exceeds BMW specs, and many others too.

So theoretically it's about as good as it gets for the price.

I used to work for Unipart and have used the same oil for the last seven years.

Cheers,

John.

P.S. Sent you a PM!!
 
#4 ·
Update, fitted a new Febi oil pressure switch yesterday, Haynes manual said just unscrew it, easy enough if there's no inlet manifold fitted as seems to be in the photo!

Took her for a blast up the motorway and back then on to A roads then onto stop start. Touch wood all seems well. So everything crossed that Betty is back to her old self again.

Merry Christmas to you all.

John.
 
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