Low oil pressure solved

[ShaneSaw]

I hadn't driven the car lately and took it out for a spin. After it warmed up, I stretched it's legs until the speedo pegged stupid, then i eased out of it for a mile or so and exited the highway. When I got to the intersection the oil pressure lamp lit up and i noticed it was about .3 bar. I could hear my sphincter pull my Levi's into my collon. A quick blip of the throttle brought it back up to 1.5, where it mostly stays. Even cold it doesn't usually make it over 3. So I headed to the house and hit this forum to find what I thought was my best guess as to what is causing this. The top choices seemed to be switching to the hotly contested "right" oil viscosity or a collaped or improperly fitted oil filter. I considered both of these causes and the bad charma my wife continues to throw at me and this car because she just doesn't get it. The correct answer turned out to be the bad karma. She caused the low pressure piston spring to break in the middle and the movement/vibrations allow it to thread itself back together to make a half as long - twice as strong spring, and that apparently will cause low pressure pretty much all the time. I ordered the part from the stealership $8, bought a cool new hat, and once it came in I swapped the springs. It took me little more detective work to find the bolt the spring goes over but once I did it is a 60 second swap. BTW, you can let out a lot of oil in those 60 seconds so be ready. That fixed it. 5 bar at start up, 1.5 at idle, and 3-5 going running thru the gears.

I'm willing to bet there are more of these worn out springs/bad wife karma combos out there so now you know. Maybe the brighter already knew.

Edited August 20, 2011 by ShaneSaw

[judgejon]

very nice job, great results. this is the spring that sits up inside the oil filter attachment? How did you get to it? You might consider posting this up as a DIY article.

Edited August 20, 2011 by judgejon

[logray]

Nice work. This is the pressure spring located at the rear of the engine underneath inside of the oil pump.

[judgejon]

yes, it seems to sit on a slight angle at the edge of the engine, and is very accessible. your post reminded me of the location, as I'd wondered before what that bolt was for and why the angular placement. Thanks much.

[ShaneSaw]

The brass looking bolt is the one. It's about 5" long with a 4" spring over it and a small chrome piston on the end. It's a steady 1/2" stream of Mobile1 while the bolt is out so you have to be ready. Remove the bolt, take the piston off the end, slide the old spring off, slide the new one on, and put the piston on the end. Fight the flow of oil shooting out of the hole you're going back into. Tighten to slightly past snug. (torgue?) Replace lost oil. The faster you move the less to replace.

Edited August 20, 2011 by ShaneSaw

[ShaneSaw]

This is what i found when I removed the bolt. The broken spring had threaded itself back together.

[logray]

I replaced mine when I overhauled the top end on my engine.

It was much less messy a job with the oil drained from the engine.

While I was in there I did the piston, LN billet hex driver, and all of oil pump related o-rings, seals, and gaskets.

My spring was fine after 75k miles.

I've read about this issue on a turbo as well.

[SageForce]

What's the part number for that? I have the same issue.

[KoljaRenn]

Hi , 

 

As per German parts manual from 01.08.2016, part numbers , all M96 01-04 engines :

 

996 107 127 53 Spring

996 107 125 51 Piston

 

Regards, 

 

 

[JFP in PA]

1 hour ago, KoljaRenn said:

Hi , 

 

As per German parts manual from 01.08.2016, part numbers , all M96 01-04 engines :

 

996 107 127 53 Spring

996 107 125 51 Piston

 

Regards, 

 

 

 

All these parts have been superseded with upgraded pieces:

• Piston 997.107.125.01 
• Spring 996.107.127.53
• Gasket 996.107.123.50

So for less than $20 at retail, you get better low RPM oil pressure.  The new piston also has a bevel on its upper edge as well, and the spring is slightly longer:

 

 

[wyovino]

I love to hear about $20 fixes, but can you explain the function of this thing?  Is it an oil pressure sensor?  Is it worth swapping out proactively?

Edited August 14, 2016 by wyovino

[JFP in PA]

9 minutes ago, wyovino said:

I love to hear about $20 fixes, but can you explain the function of this thing?  Is it an oil pressure sensor?  Is it worth swapping out proactively?

 

No, it is not a sensor, it is the spring and piston that control the actual oil pressure level leaving the oil pump and entering the engine oil passages.  Fortunately, because of the design of the M96/97 engine, the plug holding the piston and spring in place is exposed on the oil pump, making replacing this a 5 min. proposition.  The spring is slightly longer, which boosts the pressure, and the piston has a bevel on top that keeps it from getting stuck in the bore.  A simple low cost update that make your engine happy

[wyovino]

I just noticed that your parts description says 01-04 engines. Mine is a MY 2000. Is there a similar mechanism on the earlier engines?

[JFP in PA]

10 hours ago, wyovino said:

I just noticed that your parts description says 01-04 engines. Mine is a MY 2000. Is there a similar mechanism on the earlier engines?

 

Yes, these parts will work on a 2000, it uses the same oil pump.  Be sure to also order a new crush ring for the plug that holds it in place.

[mo968]

Hi,

How about the 1999 models? Will this also work on those?

Thanks,

Monte

[ttocs]

Thanks for this everybody. Gonna change the oil soon and this is good info and perfect timing for me.

[JFP in PA]

10 hours ago, mo968 said:

Hi,

How about the 1999 models? Will this also work on those?

Thanks,

Monte

Yes.

[van914]

JFP

Is this the same on my 2000 Boxster S?

thanks

Van

[JFP in PA]

2 hours ago, van914 said:

JFP

Is this the same on my 2000 Boxster S?

thanks

Van

 

Yup.

[mo968]

On 8/17/2016 at 3:30 AM, JFP in PA said:

Yes.

Thanks sir.