Hey everyone,

My oil pressure light flickered on and off about four times within an hour of driving yesterday afternoon and then was on continuously for about 20 minutes within about an hour and a half of driving later last night. After checking the oil level (which was very low), I topped it off today and was driving for about two hours running errands and everything was fine. There was absolutely no difference in anything about the car throughout this. The only reason I'm asking is because I just checked the manual and it says to stop driving immediately and call the mechanic if this light comes on.

So to my question is, should I be worried or can I just overlook this as long as I make sure I keep up on the oil level?

Thanks.

 

if you want to be sure, during your next oil change, examine it very closely for any metallic powder, grit or flakes. if you want to be REALLY sure, save a sample and mail it out to be analyzed by a lab... sounds expensive but its not, and they will break it down exactly how much wear and tear has been done.

you might have gotten lucky, but definatly next time, that light even blinks on for a second, pull over and check the oil level! sounds like just a low level oil...if you had a large leak and that light came on, in a matter of minutes she could have been bone dry

but on the more important note, how long ago did you change the oil or check that it was at full level? it shouldnt really loose all that much during a normal change schedual... did you go longer then normal for some reason between changes... like, by alot? if not, your engines burning too much oil, or you have a leak somewhere externally.

check under the car visually look for any wet spots, drops gathering on endpoints, and darkspots or even puddles under where you keep the car overnight (street or driveway)

good trick also is to take some white paper or cardboard and lay it under the car while idling or overnight, and see if any spots appear (dont confuse water drips from a/c lines though and give yourself an uncessary scare!)

lastly you might want to buy some UV dye, drop it in the oil, let it cycle for awhile then with a uv flash light (cheap on ebay or from autoparts store) at night and look around for the telltale orange glow of the leak spot. if none, you know for sure at that point that its being burned off in the motor and you have other problems!



ps. land rovers are notorious for leaking every fluid imaginable... especially oil around the valve covers. retorque the valve cover bolts to see if they have walked out over time. too tight or uneven pressure along the entire cover will warp the seal in certain spots and just make it worse by crushing or pinching out the gaskets. you might want to replace the gaskets themselves if they are old or havent been changed... its not difficult nor expensive, and might be one of the major contributors to your leak if its not burning it off internally for some reason or leaking elsewhere!

 

You need to check your oil once a week.

 

step 1. buy discovery
step 2. buy slick50

 

Thanks so much guys I appreciate the friendly words of advice.