86coupe

Hi, recently I am getting the flashing oil pressure indicator, while driving. It only appears, once the motor is warmed up, and when it's under moderate load, if I'm just coasting or maintaining speed it's ok. It also is flashing when in turns.
So it seems like some kind of oil starvation.
Is it something I should be worried about?
Also I noticed that the coolant reservoir is not air tight, it has some "sippage" on the side of it, so once the coolant is hot, it's letting it out a little bit through the old plastic, which deteriorated I guess.
Any advise, comments.
The car has only 200k (and that's in km), so about 120 kmiles.
thanks in advance

AudiSport4000

New coolant tank is one of them.

Is the crankcase full of oil? Are you short any, or does it show up fine on the dipstick?

May be a fauly oil pressure sender. Depends on which motor you have.

86coupe

thanks for a quick reply.
A few questions though. What is a good place to score another coolant tank? Online parts stores don't sell them as far as I know.
It shows fine on the dipstick, so I would assumer that the crankcase is full of oil.
Sender could go nuts I guess, and just trigger the low oil pressure light at normal pressure levels. Still it's a bit fishy, that it does like to have it in turns. and how is it linked with what kind of motor I have. I have a regular KX I believe, 2.2L 5 Cyl. It's a regular 86 Coupe GT after all.

AudiSport4000

The main reason is because the 4cyl cars had a different pressure sender because they came with an oil pressure gauge, and the 5cyl did not (just oil temp and volt).

There are a few pin type oil senders on the drivers side of the block, low, easy to spot. I had installed B3 aux gauges years ago and ripped out the oil pressure buzzer relay. These cars pretty much never have oil pressure issues (but hey, anything can happen).

May just be a faulty sender?

As for the tank, they can be pricey, so be careful. Ive found the price to fluctuate. I checked bimmerparts.com and its 75 there. I didnt see one listed on the autohausaz catalogue, but I didnt use a part number either.

You could try calling the dealer, it doesnt hurt in some cases.

86coupe

thanks for the info.
though, I should say that some 5 cyl cars, coupes at least, came with three aux. gauges. That is volts, temp, and pressure. My aux. pressure gauge is shorted though, since it's showing 5 bar, once I turn the key to power (even before cranking).

Hmm... I will try the dealer, but I'm afraid it would be crazy expensive there...
well, there's always bimmerparts.
And I checked Autohausaz as well, that's why I stated that online parts stores don't seem to have the expansion tank

4corners

There was a new one for $25 on A-fans last week or so. Might be woth it to search the archives or ask on the forum.

NJRoadFan

The low oil pressure light doesn't blink, and I believe it activates a buzzer. My coolant light does the same thing and is supposed to indicate low coolant level, the expansion tank needs to be replaced one of these days.... the part number is 857 121 403 and shows up on autohaus part search. Shop around and find the lowest prices. A test to see if the low coolant light is causing the problem is to simply unplug the wire from the sensor under the tank. If it goes away, thats the problem.

4corners

2nd that......good call

AudiSport4000

That would make alot more sense

86coupe

brilliant observation! damn, I guess, I'm too overworked to think clearly. That does make a lot of sense, and I actually like this much more, then having low oil pressure.
thank!!!