If the coupe didn't have an oil pressure gauge..

I cannot help but notice all of the oil pressure related threads on here.


If the Coupe didn't have an oil pressure gauge, what would we all worry about instead?

Most of the cars I have owned haven't had pressure gauges and without one you simply don't worry unless the light comes on, and that hasn't happened on any of them yet.

new big end bearings

But quite often you can tell if they are knackered from the noise, as well as the gauge.

A gauge tells you a trend. A red light says 'oops, too late...'

mines just done this and its been on rnr for the last 12months and its had and oil change less then 3k ago and regular top ups. ive no idea why!

It does give you an early indication of a problem, usually the light comes on just as it seizes in other cars.

I always wondered about that. The most cost effective cure for poor engine oil pressure is to just shove a new engine in so why not just wait for the red light of doom or the knocking to get so loud you bin the engine and start again. But no instead the coupe owner is treated to 6 months of agonising wait as the pressure gradually drops to less than 1 bar when hot no matter what oil you stick in it.

That said I managed to trade mine in with the oil pressure hovering around the 1 mark. It was a very cold day and I drove very very slowly to the garage. I then spent a good hour chatting to him before he asked to look at the car. He then checked the oil pressure by revving the engine so I needn't have worried. lol

You're the sort of driver that makes me slow down at green traffic lights!

I think you mis-spelled 'is regular servicing and oil changes, and if necessary, replacing the shell bearings before they damage the crankshaft'

Stan, I'd make *you* slow down at street lights...

Oh, you mean kerb-crawling?

Oil gauge probsbly saved me an engine - was stuck in traffic when my oil cooler pipes burst a few years ago, and noticed the oil presure going down, and switched off the engine. If it had got to the stage were the light came on it may have been too late...

On a side note, some cars now beep at you if the oil presure dips. Quite a good feture I think.

My car's oil pressure was a cause of concern, it still goes down to 1.5 bar but as I've changed the engine, had the fueling checked, changed the turbo etc etc I've now stopped worrying about it. Seems okay!

my bravo doesnt (will do soon) if it had......i would have walked away as i would have known the bottom end was on its way out

invaluable item of equipment

I totally agree. I bought a Alfa 145 Cloverleaf, and a week after the bottom end started knocking. If it had a gauge I probably would have known about it.

The reason why I started this thread though was because the gauge also causes worries for no reason on occassion.

It wasn't coz I think its worthless.

You'll never find me arguing against the precept 'you can't have too much instrumentation' - hence the widget, of course. But the issue is whether the person viewing the information knows what it means, and whether they can be distracted from the road to read the gauges.

These days, I'm disappointed to find current mid and high range cars which lack even temperature gauges (but which naturally include the requirement not to rev the engine until it is warm!).

For me a *minimum* instrument set is RPM, water temp, and oil pressure. (I take the speedo and fuel gauge as read.) I'd *like* to include battery voltage, charge current, oil temperature and perhaps (per older Lancias) oil and coolant levels - maybe as an alternate value or a check button when the engine's off.

On the widget I use water and air inlet temperatures, manifold pressure, and either throttle position, injector period (most commonly), or battery voltage.

In this day and age, particularly with the cheapness of electronics and the fact that there are graphics displays for everything, there's no reason why the equivalent of the widget should not be available in any car. That in most cases the entire instrumentation is an 'oops too late' light is a crying shame.

Cambelt! Other than oil pressure, it's the one thing on my mind whenever I use the car!

G

There is a *lot* to be said for a chain... change every couple of hundred thou...