Low oil light on at idle
 

Hey people, I have a 00 galant with a 2.4 & 160K. Once the car has warmed up & driven for a bit, the oil light comes on when Im idling but if I take the RPM's up to 900 or so, the light goes out. Theres no indication of engine issues (no knocking, abnormal noise, etc). I havent put a pressure gauge on it, but Im wondering if there is a possibility of a pressure relief valve failure, valve stuck open or if its just the pressure sender. Just one last question, what would a failing oil pump sound like? There is a grinding when I take it up to about 3k on the highway, but it might also be my AC compressor, the clutch bearing is shot. Tightening the belt helped a great deal, but I know it needs to go

hi mikemitsu,
i am in the same hole, what did happen with your mitsu? the manual shows the pan needs to go and some plug, both need special tools. the pump should never fail at 160 (in my case 184k) but it happened on my volvo at about 200k as well.
best regards

Either the sender, the oil pump, or the engine has gone out. I wouldn't drive this car.

Ive been busy lately but saw the replies just now & it was just the sending unit. Once I changed it, never saw that light again

That's lucky.

great you updated the thread. i would help lots of individuals with same problem. Thanks:D:D

mikemitsu,
i don't know how many times saying thank you would do good enough. i appear to be another lucky one to get away without replacing the oil pump. it was the oil sender or the cable connection. it was sprayed by oil and that made the cable very stiff, it broke off the moment i touched it. there was some corrosion on the cable shoe as well. i replaced the sensor using a tool i bought from autozone. your answer arrived just in time.
i was staring at the abyss of removing all the timing components AND the oil pan.
thank you, thank you, thank you

If your oil pump is what's failing, likely your engine is trashed with it. When the oil pump fails, it usually means that metal has gone through it and gouged it to hell. After that, your oil pressure remains consistently low, and the bearings can't get the lubrication they need. Which results in a new motor.

Glad it was a cheap fix for all.