I'm in the process of purchasing a 1987 Turbo II. It's in good shape, 95,000 miles, and I'm getting it for $2000. It's a Texas car too, I've been having difficulty finding a Turbo II or sale in Texas. Pretty good deal, I think. I just have to go to Houston to pick it up.



Anyway, here's my real point to this post. The owner says the oil pressure gauge has been reading low. He doesn't know if it's a bad pump, clogged injectors, or just a loose conection. Is there an easy way to test this when I'm there to look at/pick up the car?



He says the car runs strong, no smoke under boost. The speedo has also stopped working. The car has to make the two hour drive back to Austin. Should I run premix just to be safe?



Here's a picture... Thanks.

 

Thoughts, suggestions, rude comments???

 

There's a thermo-wax pellet that can fail on these cars and cause reduced oil pressure. The repair is in the FAQ somewhere here or on FC3S-pro.com. I would want to make sure the car has full oil pressure before driving it any distance.



My TII read zero oil pressure when I first started it, which caused a bit of concern. It turned out to be a non-functioning sending unit, so your car might have the same problem.

 

I think it looks good.. I wish my n/a was a TII..

 

bring a pressure gauge, one that is fuel/oil safe. northerntools.com has em pretty cheap, but you can get one anywhere. Get one that goes to around 100PSI.



If I remember correctly it's 1/8" NPT right on the engine where the sending unit goes, ask the seller if he's OK with letting you replace the sending unit with the gauge, then you can confirm if the gauge in the car/sending unit are faulty and the oil pressure is actually OK.



if it turns out to be really low, or you cannot confirm it (assume it's really low then)... there are a few possibilities.



- external leak, (oil cooler line leaking for instance, these are easy to check, just look)

- thermopellet, (mentioned above) if this is the problem, you need to replace it with a good one or a plug which disables this evil device. Unfortunately, it's kindof a task to do. You have to remove the eccentric shaft bolt which is torqued to like 90 lbs-ft and thread locked in.... and be careful not to let the thrust bearings fall (keep clutch pressed the whole time)

- front cover O ring, these squeeze out sometimes, it goes between the front cover and front engine housing. This task is even more involved than the previous one and involves removing the front cover altogether.



other less likely possibilities are the oil pressure relief valve or the oil pressure regulator failing, both of which involve removing the oil pan to check. The oil pump is also a possibility but also unlikely. and if it's getting some pressure the oil pump chain is likely intact.



I wouldnt drive it far with low oil pressure, so you should really try and confirm if the gauge is leading you awry or if it's telling the truth before driving it anywhere other than maybe a shop.

 

Pengaru,



Thanks for the inormation, I will check out the pressure when I get there. If it does have low pressure, could I just premix to get it back to Austin? The mechanic I trust and all of my own tools are there. I would prefer to work on it back at home. What do you think?



Thanks again.

 

I know your question was directed at Pengaru, but I'll offer my two cents: NO! The premix will lubricate the combustion chamber area, which is good. But it will do nothing to get oil to the eccentric shaft bearings or any of the other places that need a good healthy flow of oil for lubrication and cooling.



The premix would serve as a substitute for the oil metering pump, but certainly not the main engine oil pump.

 

Now it all makes sense.



Thanks for the info.

 

yeah when you have a engine oil pressure problem the oil injection is the least of your worries.

 

the speedo, is just a cable its no biggie



mike