Anyone Know Cars?

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spitz006

spitz006

Piranha
MFK Member
Dec 25, 2010
565
122
76
Allegan, MI
My oil light came on today. I know the oil's not low because I just checked it yesterday and it was maybe a half-quart low. I added the tiny bit of oil I had in my trunk which was maybe like a cup, not enough to make it full, but it's only slightly low.

I did just get a uhaul trailer in preparation for moving, so maybe pulling that around caused it?

It has been hot as hell here in Arkansas.. maybe that had something to do with it?

I haven't changed my oil in many many miles.... which is stupid. :duh:

Maybe it's a combination of all of these things. I really am not a car person, as you can probably tell. I grew up with my dad working on cars but I kinda hated my dad so I really care nothing about cars.

It's a 1990 Pontiac Bonneville with maybe 120,000 miles. That would be my guess. The odometer is inaccurate because it was my grandfather's car and I was told her replaced it.

I was planning on moving tomorrow morning but now I'm going to have to un-hook my uhaul and try to bring it somewhere that's gonna be open on a sunday. Which is going to end up being the wal-mart car-center which opens at 7am... If it's a few hundred dollars I wont care, I just hope they can fix it fast so I can get on the road.
 
Ok here's the issue, high mileage car, more gaps between piston and sleeve. Hot oil is always thinner and more likely to bypass piston rings and get burned. Add in old oil and extra strain from a traitor and might not be pretty
 
You think if I get an oil change and make sure it's topped off I could just go for it? I heard the oil light will stay on even if the problem gets taken care of unless you reset it, so there's really no way I'm going to know if I'm okay or not. Hopefully the guys at wal-mart will be able to fix it or properly diagnose it. Worst case scenario I guess I'll have to stay here in Arkansas for a few more days... I'm gonna have to pay for the extra days with the uhaul trailer though..
 
Hello; Does the oil light stay on when the engine is revved up a bit or only at low engine speeds and idle?
An oil change will possibly do some good and for sure will not hurt. It will not help if damage has been done internally to the engine. Use a clean container to collect the old oil that is drained from the engine. Look for bits of metal in the old oil. The oil drain plug may have a magnet on it and this will collect the ferrous metal shavings. There will be some shavings even from a sound engine but if the amount is large it may be an indicator on internal engine problems.
After the old oil has sat in the clean container for a bit pour off some slowly leaving a thin layer on the bottom of the container. Look for shiny copper/brass particles in the old oil. There should not be much at all. If there is much, this is a possible indication of serious wear of the crankshaft bearings and/or other brass composed bearings. If there is not any(the best case) or very little of these types of metal in the old oil you may not have a serious internal wear issue. If there is much of the metal shavings there may well be significant wear and the engine may fail soon. I would suggest taking the car to a good mechanic if you do not do your own oil changes and would also suggest that you do not go to one of the quick change places as the tech may know little about engines.
The likelyhood is that by the time the red oil light comes on, there is a chance of engine damage, especially if you continued to drive the car. If the oil light continues to stay on after the oil level is topped up (Which is what I gather you have described.) the likely hood is that serious engine damage has already occured. If so the engine may well fail soon.
There is a small chance that the pressure sensor is faulty. This is probably the best outcome as these sensors can be replaced and the engine may not be damaged.
As you have stated that the oil has not been changed for a long time and the car was operated in very hot conditions, it seems very possible the engine has a problem. At the least it should be checked out by a decent mechanic before hooking up a trailer and setting off on your trip.
Good luck.
 
Right off the bat, a '90 Bonne shouldn't be towing even if it was in good shape. The engine/transmission combination can't take the abuse the added weight is going to put on the car.

The oil light could just be a faulty pressure or level sensor. An oil change is never a bad thing. If the level is ok, I would guess it's being triggered by pressure (usually too low on worn out engines like you probably have). If that is the case, you are risking a lot just driving it let alone towing something with it.
 
i had a similar problem in my old jeep, it was the oil light that cam on when i idled which was caused by the oil pressure sensor, i did a oil change with a thicker high mileage oil and never had the problem again
 
Something I have found to be common with those motors.... sludge.

Sludged up engine would also cause the oil light to come on but to be optimistic about lets hope it's just the oil pressure switch/sensor
 
Go get some Seafoam, put that in your oil and run it for 20 minutes, then do an oil change with a new filter (STP or Wix) and put in some high mileage oil (Max Life 10W30). Rarely do oil lights need to be reset, most will go off when the problem is corrected. If you still have issues with it after this, then you may want to take it to a good mechanic for proper diagnosis (not Walmart).

Had to think about it for a minute and edit this down for you a bit more. When you get the Seafoam, use half a can in your gas tank, like you would a fuel additive, and then dump the other half of the can into your oil where you normal add oil to the engine. Drive the car or run the car for a good 20 minutes, I like keeping the rpm at or just below 2000, and stopping and starting a bit. You will probably have smoke coming out, this is all the crud burning off. Since it's having issues now, I would then do an oil change like I said above. See if that is enough to improve it. If it still has issues you can add another half a can of Seafoam to the new oil and run it for awhile like that, the Seafoam shouldn't hurt anything. After 50 miles or so do another oil change the same way above. You are basically doing a slow disolve on all the crud built up inside and then flushing it out when you do your oil changes. This does work, if that's what is causing the issue. If you have a part gone bad (like mentioned above) then you still need to get it properly diagnosed and fixed.
 
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