Low oil pressure problems, Please Help!

[josefb134]

I am new to working on my car myself but i have done a little work on it. I have a 2005 Chevy Aveo and i have cleaned out the throttle body, replaced the thermostat myself, and changed the oil twice. My car keeps giving me a lot of troubles and the low oil pressure light flickers on and off when i'm sitting at a hot idle. I changed to synthetic 5w-20 the first oil change and that didn't help the oil pressure light flickering so i changed the oil again to 10w-40 and i'm still having the same problem, its just that my oil lamp not flickers at a slightly slower rate. I had the oil pressure checked with a gauge at the shop and they said it was holding 6 psi when idling at 2000 rpm's. The oil light /pressure switch is made to come on at 7 psi. I was told i should remove the oil pan and check the pickup tube and screen for oil sludge buildup as well as the oil pan. I'm not sure how to go about doing this and i haven't found much help with searching online. Could you please provide me with detailed steps on how to remove the oil pan to check out everything? I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!

[Aveo5_boy]

Your using the wrong viscosity recommended for your car. Here is a copy and paste regarding engine oil from your 2006 owner's manual:

Look for two things:


• GM6094M
Your vehicle’s engine requires oil meeting GM
Standard GM6094M. You should look for and use
only an oil that meets GM Standard GM6094M.
5-14

• SAE 5W-30
As shown in the viscosity chart, SAE 5W-30 is best
for your vehicle.
These numbers on an oil container show its
viscosity, or thickness. Do not use other viscosity
oils such as SAE 20W-50.

[Daox]

In addition to running the proper oil (as mentioned above). I'd probably look at that oil pan too. It is the metal bin on the bottom of the engine. The oil pickup is exactly that, it sits in the oil pan and sucks oil up into the pump. I have some pictures from when I disassembled my grenaded engine.

http://www.aveoforum.com/forum/f103/...tml#post128766

[Aveo5_boy]

Here are the steps to remove and install 2006 Aveo oil pan.
Hope this helps:

Removal & Installation

1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
   
2. Raise and support the vehicle safely on jack stands.
   
3. Drain the engine oil.
   
4. Remove the right wheel.
   
5. Remove the right side splash shield.
   
6. Disconnect the heated oxygen sensor connector.
   
7. Remove the catalytic converter lower flange nuts and nuts that secure the front exhaust pipe. Then remove the exhaust pipe and catalytic converter as a unit.
   
8. Remove the lower crossmember bracket, if necessary.
   
9. Remove the oil pan-to-transaxle case bolts.
   
10. Remove the oil pan-to-engine block bolts.
    
11. Remove the oil pan.
    

To install:

1. Clean the gasket mating surfaces thoroughly.
   
2. Coat the oil pan gasket with sealant.
   
3. Install the oil pan and tighten the bolts to 89 inch lbs. (10 Nm).
   
4. Install the oil pan-to-transaxle case bolts and tighten to 18 ft. lbs. (25 Nm).
   
5. Install the oil pan-to-engine block bolts and tighten to 18 ft. lbs. (25 Nm).
   
6. Connect the exhaust pipe and catalytic converter. Tighten the nuts to 37 ft. lbs. (50 Nm). Tighten the front muffler nuts to 22 ft. lbs. (30 Nm).
   
7. Connect the oxygen sensor connector.
   
8. Install the splash shield and wheel.
   
9. Refill the engine with oil to the correct level.
   
10. Connect the negative battery cable.
    
11. Start the engine and check for leaks.

[josefb134]

Thank you so much for the quick reply! The only downfall is that I have a 2005 chevy aveo not a 2006 but I still got it done! I understand that I should only use what the manual says I should use, and I did for the first part of my ownership. My aveo has 136K miles on it and I just bought it off of an individual at 135,500 miles in October. The individual had put a new head on the engine and told me that it is practically like putting a new engine in or at least it will run like new. The low oil pressure light flickered at a hot idle so I figured it was the sending unit going bad. I replaced the oil pressure sending unit and I still had a flickering light. I decided to drive it for a little while after adding some Restore additive and some STP high mileage oil treatment to it but that only worked for about two days. As time went on, the oil pressure light flickered more rapidly and started almost staying solid at a hot idle. I changed the oil to 10w-40 oil that way I would know weather or not my engine just had a lot of miles on it and needed thicker oil in it to keep the oil pressure up. Well the oil pressure lamp still flickers, just not as rapidly. I removed the oil pan today and there was no sludge in it at all. My oil pickup tube/screen was also free of debris. I haven't yet put the oil pan back on yet because I am not sure if I will get a response from you telling me to check anything else under the engine block. Gm does have a re-manufactured oil pressure switch that is supposed to come on at a bit lower oil pressure but I am still finding it hard to believe that it is good for the oil pressure to be running at a steady 6 psi... what have you found to be the standard oil pressure at a hot idle? on the receipt I got back from the shop it read "Holds 6 psi when hot and idling at 2000 rpm's. rpm’s minimum specs are 8.88 psi." does this mean that it should be running at minimum, 8.88 psi? Thank you so much for the replies and I really appreciate your time and patience!

[ontarian_frog]

it means @ 2000rpm, you should have 8.9psi or higher. Any lower and you have a problem. It could be a bad oil pump or something else is wrong with the engine.

[fbc]

If he put a new head on it, then there must have been a failure at some point. I would definitely drop the pan and check for other damage. I would definitely remove the pickup tube and any other assembly in the block and inspect it. If any thing looks sheared or worn down, or if there is any metal grit at the bottom of the pan; I would recommend having your block checked for wear. Something it definitely wrong.

[josefb134]

i dropped the oil pan down last night and it had absolutley no sludge, grit, large particles or anything in it.. Chevrolet has a new oil pressure switch that is redesigned for the aveo, to come on at a lower psi instead of the psi that it normally turns the light on at. I appreciate all of your guys help so much! my only other concern was that when i was putting the oil pan back on, i accidentally hit the oil pickup tube (not the screen, just the tube) and got a bit of gasket engine sealant on it. i am not going to put any oil in the engine until 24 hours from now to give the sealant enough time to properly set and dry. Do you think that the sealant that got on the tube will come off and do any harm to the engine? it was no more than the amount you would put on your toothbrush, about pea sized. Thanks!

[josefb134]

there was an article i was referred to (www.examiner.com/article/chevrolet-aveo-engine-oil-light-flickering) that said to replace the oil pressure switch with a redesigned switch that comes on at a lower psi. I ordered the switch, replaced my old switch with teh redesigned switch and my oil light is now flickering more rapidly (and staying completely solid at an idle) than my previous oil pressure switch. I dont know what i should do to be honest... im not hearing any loud knocking from my engine but i feel like i can hear a rattle when im sittting at idle from my engine..

[petrified.rabbit]

the sealant on the tube will probably be fine.

the more sensitive sensor shows more of a problem? I wold probably hook up a gauge on the bottom end, and the top end, and see what the pressures are. Its always possible you have a blockage.