Volvo S80 (1998 - 2006) - 00 2.4 Oil Light comes on

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Sun 16 Aug 2009 10:46
00 2.4 Oil Light comes on - iain073
Just recently bought the Volvo which has a fault of the oil light coming on when warmed up and displaying message "low oil pressure stop safely asap". Replaced the oil sensor switch and changed the oil. But again the car runs fine but after about five miles the light goes on and off and remains on then a little later. No other problems, the engine runs great, no noises or bad running.

Any ideas?

Thanks Iain
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Sun 16 Aug 2009 13:18
00 2.4 Oil Light comes on - davecuk
Sounds like when the oil is nice and warm the oil pressure is actually dropping below an acceptable level. It can do this without immediate noticeable effects on the engine....but under high engine stress/loads, you may well be getting metal to metal contact. In addition the cooling around critical areas will be affected, thus shortening components life.

This could be for many reasons, oil pump worn, bearings worn or both. It sounds as if this fault was present either when you bought the car or shortly after you bought it. A common trick was to place a few cans of Wynnes or similar in the engine or use a really thick oil to disguise the problem for a few weeks.

If it was a private sale, not much you can do, If it's from a dealer.....go back and discuss it with them.

I hope it's not the above, but with a 2000 car presumably it's already done over 100,000 miles and it's likely. I don't know if you can fit an oil pressure gauge (or how accurate they are nowadays), but this would at least tell you the pressure when cold vs when hot and whether there is a huge drop. 25psi would probably be the lowest oil pressure you would want.....with 30-35 being OK.
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Sun 16 Aug 2009 13:27
00 2.4 Oil Light comes on - iain073
Thanks, it was a private sale but it has only done 57000 miles.
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