Low oil pressure causes?

Jammer864

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2021
Location
USA
TDI
2014 Passat SEL TDI
90 miles after taking delivery of a used 2014 Passat TDI SEL with 101k miles, I get a STOP ENGINE low oil pressure light. Got it home and hooked up a oil pressure gauge to it. At hot idle I'm reading as low as 7 to 8 psi that sometimes reaches 10psi. At 2000rpm Im seeing mid 20s psi. My AllData service info indicates these readings meet the minimum of 8psi at hot idle and 15 psi at 2000rpm. But a search of these forums indicate normal psi's as high as 60. As I bought this car to commute 750 miles, one way, to work every week Im concerned about this. Could this be a oil filter improperly installed, sludge buildup (oil cap is clean), diluted oil, wrong weight oil (sticker indicates 0W40 change 2 months ago), or the usual suspects of bearings? Is the turbo at risk running 20psi at interstate speeds?
 

06bluebeetletdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Location
Middlesex, NC
TDI
'14 Passat TDI SEL and '13 Beetle TDI
How is the oil level? I would start with an oil change, I thought vw recommended either 5-30 or 0-30. Make sure to get a quality filter to verify it’s not collapsing the filter. I’m running castrol 5-30 and a mahle (vw oem manufacture) filter in mine.
 

thundershorts

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Location
west chester pa
TDI
2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
change oil to proper 507 spec then check pressure and hope no long term damage has occurred.
 

Jammer864

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2021
Location
USA
TDI
2014 Passat SEL TDI
Oil level shows at full mark and was changed at a "Euro" type repair shop. I will drain and fill using an oem filter from VW.
 

Tom in PT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Location
Twilight Zone, WA State
TDI
2005 Passat sedan - SOLD; 2013 Passat DSG; both purchased new
See this thread, posts 6, 7 and on. And pray to the automotive gods the sticker indication 0W-40 isn't going to mean you screwed the pooch and do not get a new engine from VW . . . The code is different but the message still applies- READ your dieselgate extended warranty and understand it completely.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Wrong oil or not, you shouldn't have low oil pressure. The spec is typically on the very low side of normal, most all healthy VAG engines easily are above the minimum spec by a wide margin. Sounds to me like something is wrong with yours.

If it were me, I'd drop the oil pan and take a look at the oil pickup screen. You have some oil pressure, and the engine has not locked up already, so we can say the hex shaft hasn't spun yet. But I'd still want to at least take the pickup tube down and look it over for any sign of debris.

Do you have any service history at all for this car? CKRA turbo failures are common, it may have suffered a turbo failure a while ago and the engine was run without oil pressure long enough to slap a quarter million miles of life off the bearings, and now it has surfaced. May be why it was sold.
 

Jammer864

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2021
Location
USA
TDI
2014 Passat SEL TDI
Im headed to work in a rental car. Be back next week to drop the oil pan, see what I find, and install new oil pump since Im there. Update in 7 days. Thanks everyone for your help.
 

Jammer864

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2021
Location
USA
TDI
2014 Passat SEL TDI
Before I go.....CarFax only showed the heater core work done in 2014. No turbo work indicated. Had a few oil changes, tire rotations, etc done since then.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Let's hope you find something when you drop the pan. Unfortunately, you cannot easily check the condition of a main as the balance shaft assembly is in the way of getting to any of that. I doubt the oil pump itself is to blame. Low oil pressure is usually caused by a massive amount of clearance against some or all of the rotating components of the engine. The oil pump has an internal pressure regulator that can supply quite a bit, even if it were itself worn.

You'll need the world's smallest snap ring pliers to get the clip out to slide the hex shaft out in order to remove the oil pump. It is TINY.
 

thundershorts

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Location
west chester pa
TDI
2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
Doesn't dieselgate warranty cover internal parts? Maybe change oil,filter, but not drop pan until ruling out that its a warranty repair. Low oil pressure is sure to throw codes, as it lit up a message.













low
 

ticaf

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2018
Location
US Mid-Atlantic
TDI
Stock 2015 Golf SW S Manual TDI
I once had low oil pressure due to severe oil dilution with diesel. Not saying that this is your problem, but it would be a good idea to feel the oil thickness and smell. I had about 10psi at idle.
 

thundershorts

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Location
west chester pa
TDI
2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
Oil change will be a good start, w/filter. A bad injecter will dilute the oil quickly.
 

Jammer864

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2021
Location
USA
TDI
2014 Passat SEL TDI
Oil/filter change did not affect the pressure. Family death took me away from this project for a week. Am reluctant to drop pan after talking with Frank, who is only 1.5 hrs from me. He is helping me with a sympathetic dealer employee to determine next step.
 

3fordasho

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 15, 2012
Location
Southern MN
TDI
15 Passat 6M
I just dropped the pan on my 2015 to reseal, not sure about differences between 2014/15 but my 2015 was very straight forward and about a 2 on a 10 scale of difficulty. The hardest part being getting the old sealant to let loose.

I did not disassemble further to inspect bearings so can comment on difficulty of doing that but you can inspect the oil pick up and also the belt that drives the oil pump.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
The CKRA and the CVCA (2014 and 2015, respectively) are two different engines. Similar, but not the same.
 

Jammer864

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2021
Location
USA
TDI
2014 Passat SEL TDI
FIXED. Dropped pan and replaced pump and hex shaft. Hex shaft was not rounded off and was the latest part number. My impression was that the pump and shaft had been replaced earlier. Replaced both anyway and refilled with oil. 45psi at 2000 rpm and 20s at idle. I did talk with a VW tech at a dealer and he indicated that it was possible to get a new engine out of this but the kicker is that its at least a 6 month wait for an engine. "Last engine we got took over 6 months to receive". Tech also indicated that I could remove the oil pan, replace pump and hex shaft, and still be ok with warranty work, as long as the job looked professionally done, which was good to hear. Thank you for everyones help with this.
 

Jammer864

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2021
Location
USA
TDI
2014 Passat SEL TDI
40,000 miles later my engine is running fine. Replaced the oil filter housing at 110,000 miles. It was leaking coolant. Had the timing belt replaced at 120,000 miles for preventative maintenance. Now at 141,000 and its doing good. Been using Mobile 1 ESP oil and a oem VW filter at each oil change. Averaging 39mpg doing 80mph on the highway.
 
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