2004 3.7L. Bonehead move: I bought Castrol HD30 for my last oil change. Drove for a few days and the low press light came on. Just changed oil to 5w30 with new filter. Light came on again after a short drive. Did I damage the oil pump by using the HD30 oil? Something worse?
Wrong Oil now low pressure light
- Thread starter wiedhas
- Start date
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02blue
Comfortably numb
Seems pretty harmless to me:
when to use SAE 30 HD? | Passenger Car Motor Oil (PCMO) - Gasoline Cars/Pickups/Vans/SUVs | Bob Is The Oil Guy
Might just be the sensor is going. Coincidence?
when to use SAE 30 HD? | Passenger Car Motor Oil (PCMO) - Gasoline Cars/Pickups/Vans/SUVs | Bob Is The Oil Guy
Might just be the sensor is going. Coincidence?
Could be a coincidence but the timing is suspect. She has 134k miles. I guess I can swap the sensor and see if it returns to normal. The HD oil is sae30 so I don't think that this could of done any real harm (although it's a thicker oil)?? She is not overheating or running rough.
02blue
Comfortably numb
It'll be thicker when cold than a 5w or 10w-30 but you are in CA so I doubt it has anything to do with the light. My sensor went a while back. Usually they will leak a bit too. If you hadn't changed yours yet good possibility its just acting up. Make sure you get one for a switch not a gauge. I used a Mopar.
02blue
Comfortably numb
Keep us posted.
You can always have the pressure checked professionally for sanity sake but if its really a pressure issue and sporadic it's likely tough to get it to do it when a mechanic is looking. Could set up a real gauge just to be sure.
Low oil pressure = bad things.
CactusJacked
Full Access Member
Back in the day, all we had to use was single grade oil, and 30w was the all around viscosity used. Multi grade oils were developed to give the engine better oiling upon start up in severe cold climates ("thinner" oil pumps faster), plus it helps the frigid engine to turn over easier than it would with straight 30. The 30w you used did NO harm to the engine, you could have left it in.
CactusJacked
Full Access Member
I remember in high school, if the temperatures got down to 0-10, I'd go out between classes and start up my truck and let it run for a couple of minutes. Otherwise, by the end of the day, the thing would groan and barely start. Even at those extremes, the 30w oil didn't do any engine damage.
Got home today and this is the story. I changed the oil over the weekend for my mother in law as a favor. Having never used the HD30 stuff before I thought it was the viscosity that perhaps was the culprit for the light. She just took the car in to the shop today where they diagnosed a bad pressure switch. $45 for the part and $180 in labor!!!!! I called a local parts shop when I heard how much they charged her and they quoted me $13.99 for the part. I don't know how hard it is to swap this part out but can't imagine it would be more than an hour??
Anyway, the timing of the switch giving up the ghost and the oil change was too weird. Thanks for the help.
Anyway, the timing of the switch giving up the ghost and the oil change was too weird. Thanks for the help.
CzarKJ
Full Access Member
Mine was more than that due to the fact they had to drill it out...
02blue
Comfortably numb
Ouch! 45 is okay, mine was around 50 a couple years back but 180 is steep. Good thing is it's likely fixed. It is tight in there (just above the oil filter) but can be done in 15 minutes if you do it while changing the oil. I seem to remember the connector being a bear since it's tight and all greased up.
dude1116
Full Access Member
Mine was a 30 minute job in my driveway.
