Drove car hard and low oil light came on?

[Mark72]

Where is the so called "switch"? inside the pan, outside the pan? Dang!!! If if its inside then I'm dropping 500.00 to tear it down and put back together because they must have hired someone form China to design where the oil pan is on this stupid car.

 

[RobertISaar]

http://i.imgur.com/yh7EiwB.gif

that should help you. it's pretty simple really, takes all of 5 minutes to change once you're under the car.

if you're dealing with a 3.4... slightly different, but still very similar.

 

[dishdude]

The GM low oil level light of this era never came on while driving the car. It would sense the oil in the pan as you turned the key through the run-start positions and that was the only time the sensor reading was used.

If it didn't come on while starting the vehicle, it wouldn't come on while driving. If it did come on while starting, it would remain on for the entire trip.

 

[Mark72]

Found the sensor, took it off...drained oil into a clean bucket as it's still fresh. I did howerver notice antifreez on the bottom of the starter where the belt goes around..I looked up top at the water pump and saw one drop on the edge of the plastic sleave that the belt goes underneath as it attaches to the pulley. Nothing is very wet there though at all. Will some antifreez leak out in this area if driven too hard.?

 

[default]

Hammering on a car will find all your cooling system weak spots FAST. Its generally how I find leaks, a 0-100 run will really give the system a workout and bring the pressures up.

 

[Mark72]

LOL...so true..oh well. Process of elimination. I'll replace what related parts I can get to myself and see if it solves it. Thanks for all the advice guys. I realize there is no concrete answer until I find out what is wrong.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: The_Eric
Originally Posted By: Doog
I should have stated it differently. If the oil level is full add 1/2 quart. I have owned over 20 GM cars and had 3 that had the false reading on the oil sensor. All were fine by adding 1/2 to 1 quart extra oil. I am sure it was the sensor but might have just been a poor oil system design as well. Adding the extra volume did the trick either way. BTW, I was told to do this by my dealer mechanic.


I see. However, I'm getting that this is a recent issue? Assuming he has kept the same or similar service routine means that this is likely a faulty sensor and adding oil will do nothing to fix it.


You don't see...if you had read the entire thread maybe...but I doubt it. For me adding 1/2 quart made the sensor turn the light off. I don't really know why but it did. So I see you don't get it.

 

[The_Eric]

Out of curiosity, why didn't you just replace the sensor?

 

[Vikas]

Did he answer the question about the color of the light?

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: The_Eric
Out of curiosity, why didn't you just replace the sensor?


My GM mechanic with 30 years experience told me it was easier to add 1/2 qt of oil because the sensors had a long history of inaccurate readings.