“No Oil Pressure-Stop Safely” message.

[malcolm313]

Hi All,
While driving today, I got this message “No Oil Pressure Stop Safely” I pulled over, checked the oil. Plenty of oil. 190K on the Odometer. Tune up done at 172. Suggestions?

[malcolm313]

Forgot to say, she’s an 02

[AKAMick]

You got a plugged up oil pick up screen, don't think about driving it until you drop the sump (oil pan) and clean it out, drive it and it will need an engine, more expensive remedy.

[pbierre]

Oil volume and oil pressure are two completely different requirements. You can have your 7 qts. of oil sitting in the oil pan and the level will be right on the dipstick. But if the oil pump is not pumping oil into the bearings at a sufficient pressure, metal-on-metal friction will destroy the engine very rapidly. When Volvo console says "Stop engine safely"....it means get over to the side of the road ASAP and shut down....call a tow truck.

[BenF]

I had this recently, fortunately I was just pulling into my house. After I verified the level and it cooled down I tried again and the light didn't come back. Circumstances forced a couple of days of nervous commuting with no light on until I could change the oil. I found quite a bit of carbon gritty stuff in the oil and filter housing. No warning so far in the 50 or so miles since the oil change. Trying to figure my next move, I'm going to change the oil again in a few hundred miles and see if that tells me anything. Has anyone done any sort of flush with success ? Or am I being far too casual and I need to stop driving and drop the pan ASAP ?

[AKAMick]

Drop the pan or buy another engine as a spare for when yours self destructs because the oil pickup plugged up completely. You will find the PCV channel is plugged up too, the operation is easy, there is no magic in a bottle as a substitute for a good clean out of the pan.

[BenF]

Thanks, you are right, having thought about it trying to do a flush offer no peace of mind. However as no good deed goes unpunished I have a more questions.

I read somewhere about some rubber o-rings for the oil pump that are part of the pan, seems silly not to replace these. Is there anything else I should do while I'm in there ?

Have you got any favorite DIY's to link to ? Parts lists ?

Thanks again

[AKAMick]

The pan requires O rings for the pump end and the oil cooler as well as thin film of anaerobic sealant such as "Hylomar" or the Volvo brand, the O rings can be easily misaligned on the filter end during fit up which will cause a good leak, the long transmission end bolts need close attention in fitting correctly. That being said i have dropped the pan and used only fresh sealant reusing the O rings, While in there clean out the square PCV channel in the pan and block, Brake clean will work well for this. Plenty of bolts hold the pan on, no high torque required for fastening up. Easy job, no worries.

[BenF]

Thank you !!!

[BenF]

I read a DIY, any idea why they say ramps only not jack and jack stands ?

[AKAMick]

Ramps leave the work area clear to do the work, jack stands get Volvo's nervous and they might refuse to let you crawl under them, LOL! Really?

[BenF]

So I did it all as prescribed, and weird **** is going on ! Firstly I think this job had been done before. I don't think the old o rings were 18 years old and I didn't come across a single seized bolt. The oil pick up screen had a couple of bits of debris but wasn't clogged. However the oil light still flashes at me. The symptoms are a bit more consistent. The oil light and message flick on for less than a second when i do a low speed sharp right turn, pulling into a side street or parking lot. Any ideas WTF can cause that ?

[Xfingers]

It may or may not be related but I did a quick review of the posts on this thread and a little surprised none of us thought to mention this:
Do you know the condition of your PCV system?
You can get a basic idea by removing the cap and putting a rubber glove over the oil filler on the crankcase. When you start the engine, you should get a little suction. If the glove inflates, you've got a plug somewhere and will need to replace PCV asap to avoid blowing cam seals and losing your oil. For some, doing the PCV service includes dropping the oil pan and cleaning out engine block passages!
What is the mileage on your car? If it's 120k or more and the PCV hasn't been replaced...

[Astro14]

First - since you say the sump is now clean, and o-rings are in good shape, I’m going to presume that the pickup is OK.

The next guess: is the light accurate? Since it happens in sharp turns, I’m going to, again, presume, that the light is accurate. Ordinarily, I would say to put a good gauge on it (this is still a prudent check, but I think a gauge will reveal normal idle pressure).

What I think is happening: oil quantity in the sump is low when the engine is running. Hard turns slosh the oil away fro the pickup, starving the pump. You are doing damage every time this light comes on.

You say the oil level is good. What’s the difference between level immediately after shut down, and after sitting for five minutes? Plugged/sludged oil passages and returns could cause oil to be trapped in the head while running and the level to be low in the sump.

I generally advise against additives and flushes.

However, in your case, I would check that level immediately after shutdown, and if it’s very low initially, but comes up eventually, you may have plugged oil returns. In which case, I would try something like this:

https://products.liqui-moly.com/engine-flush-plus-3.html

Available on Amazon. Follow the directions on the can.

Use a good quality synthetic afterwards, change it more often to continue cleaning up this engine internally.

For more discussion on oil see this from a few years back: http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showthread.php?19629-Oil-Rant

And yes, do a complete PCV system replacement.

[AKAMick]

Since you think the pan has been dropped before, are the pan baffles still in place and complete?, was the pickup sealed and tight to the crankcase?.8966

[BenF]

Since you think the pan has been dropped before, are the pan baffles still in place and complete?, was the pickup sealed and tight to the crankcase?.

I THINK so, the pick up wasn't loose, apart from that I didn't look at it that closely ( kicking self )

[BenF]

It may or may not be related but I did a quick review of the posts on this thread and a little surprised none of us thought to mention this:
Do you know the condition of your PCV system?
You can get a basic idea by removing the cap and putting a rubber glove over the oil filler on the crankcase. When you start the engine, you should get a little suction. If the glove inflates, you've got a plug somewhere and will need to replace PCV asap to avoid blowing cam seals and losing your oil. For some, doing the PCV service includes dropping the oil pan and cleaning out engine block passages!
What is the mileage on your car? If it's 120k or more and the PCV hasn't been replaced...

Did the rubber glove test all good !

[BenF]

It may or may not be related but I did a quick review of the posts on this thread and a little surprised none of us thought to mention this:
Do you know the condition of your PCV system?
You can get a basic idea by removing the cap and putting a rubber glove over the oil filler on the crankcase. When you start the engine, you should get a little suction. If the glove inflates, you've got a plug somewhere and will need to replace PCV asap to avoid blowing cam seals and losing your oil. For some, doing the PCV service includes dropping the oil pan and cleaning out engine block passages!
What is the mileage on your car? If it's 120k or more and the PCV hasn't been replaced...

Did the rubber glove test all good ! Car has 97K.

[BenF]

First - since you say the sump is now clean, and o-rings are in good shape, I’m going to presume that the pickup is OK.

The next guess: is the light accurate? Since it happens in sharp turns, I’m going to, again, presume, that the light is accurate. Ordinarily, I would say to put a good gauge on it (this is still a prudent check, but I think a gauge will reveal normal idle pressure).

What I think is happening: oil quantity in the sump is low when the engine is running. Hard turns slosh the oil away fro the pickup, starving the pump. You are doing damage every time this light comes on.

You say the oil level is good. What’s the difference between level immediately after shut down, and after sitting for five minutes? Plugged/sludged oil passages and returns could cause oil to be trapped in the head while running and the level to be low in the sump.

I generally advise against additives and flushes.

However, in your case, I would check that level immediately after shutdown, and if it’s very low initially, but comes up eventually, you may have plugged oil returns. In which case, I would try something like this:

https://products.liqui-moly.com/engine-flush-plus-3.html

Available on Amazon. Follow the directions on the can.

Use a good quality synthetic afterwards, change it more often to continue cleaning up this engine internally.

For more discussion on oil see this from a few years back: http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showthread.php?19629-Oil-Rant

And yes, do a complete PCV system replacement.

Thanks, the oil level check right after shut down sounds like a great idea, I hadn't thought of that. I'm getting a new sensor tomorrow. My gut says it won't make a difference, and I don't usually like to randomly replace parts, but this is less than $10.

I will keep you all posted. Thank you all so much.

[hoonk]

So I did it all as prescribed, and weird **** is going on ! The oil pick up screen had a couple of bits of debris but wasn't clogged. However the oil light still flashes at me. The symptoms are a bit more consistent. The oil light and message flick on for less than a second when i do a low speed sharp right turn, pulling into a side street or parking lot.

Was the oil pickup tube plastic or metal? I learned after a couple of neverlefts, where we would clean the sludge out of the pan and reinstall the original metal pickup tube - the light would still flash - replacing the tube with the new style plastic pickup tube fixed the flashing oil pressure light. After that every car we de-sludged got a new pickup tube also.

Or if the light flashes in a sharp right turn - are you sure you put 6.5 quarts of oil back in? And is the oil level still ok?

[AKAMick]

How was the PCV oil return channel in the block and the oil pan when you removed the sump, any type of build up evident?. Could give you a indication of the PCV system's overall condition.

[BenF]

Is that the square section channel in the oil pan ? It had some build up but wasn't blocked. I did the " rubber glove " test and it sucked into the oil filler suggesting correct operation.

I took a pause on this to hopefully solve a cvvt issue and a self inflicted misfire.

I put in a new oil sensor and have only done a short test drive ( the same one after I did the pan seals ) and NO LIGHTS !!!!

I checked the oil immediately and repeatedly on shut down, I didn't use a stopwatch but estimate less than a minute for it all to find it's way down to the bottom. So for now I think we are case closed, thank you all for your help.

A couple of amateur observations. The only o ring that looked bad was on the dipstick. If I was to do it again in hindsight I would change it and the sensor before committing to dropping the pan, you might get lucky. One of the symptoms of the o-rings being bad is bubbles on the dipstick. When you drop the pan the oil will totally run out, when you have filled it and re start for the first time, the oil will be bubbly. I had a mini freak out when I saw that, but it's probably normal when refilling the cooler and all that.

[hoonk]

I took a pause on this to hopefully solve a cvvt issue and a self inflicted misfire

Low oil pressure or level can/will cause VVT codes.

[BenF]

Could have been, I also found the cvvt solenoid was weeping a bit of oil and the bolts weren't very tight. Cleaning the oil around the coil packs caused a misfire.

[Xfingers]

Sounds like you've done your due diligence, BenF. If that warning message doesn't appear, hopefully you're good to go.

Just one note for future reference about the PCV. I think I said the glove over the oil filler was a "basic" test because that only checks for blockage in the IDLE circuit of the PCV. The PCV also has a BOOST circuit for oil vapors that comes into play when the engine is under load, like when you're accelerating up a steep hill. If you have a blockage there, it won't be indicated by the rubber glove test. You can still blow a seal and lose oil even though you have suction at the oil filler (happened to me!).

I'm not sure if there's a straightforward way of testing that BOOST circuit. This is one reason why almost everyone here will tell you to use FULL SYNTHETIC OIL to prevent sludge buildup. As you rack up the miles, you have the option in the future to replace the PCV as a preventative measure but it's a big, involved job.

If you've got a lot of oil around the coil packs, that could be a sign of a worn rubber gasket on your filler cap which is cheap to replace. Or someone could have spilled oil when adding. Or one of your PCV hoses, the little black one next to the oil filler, is leaking. You'll want to check to see if oil continues to accumulate on top of the engine.

Good luck with the XC!

[BenF]

Thanks for the info, just done the school run with no warning lights. I believe the oil around the top of the engine was because the cvvt solenoid was quite loose allowing a weep. I have done a fairly detailed clean up with q tips and will monitor it. I will bear the pcv system in mind for the future. Since all this happened within the 1st month of ownership I think I'm going to hope for a few miles of hassle free driving before I worry about too much else right now !

Thank you all