Suddenly lost most of my engine oil. Suspect the oil pressure sensor because this has happened before. (Sensor has been relocated to driver's side engine block right behind power steering pump which is standard procedure for supercharger install.) I hope I shut it off in time! So, it is not seized, but I can't start it. Someone said if oil pickup couldn't get oil, something in the top-end would prevent it from starting. Any advice would be appreciated.
2005 Denali -Sudden loss of oil, now won't start?
- Thread starter E-Force
- Start date
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strutaeng
Full Access Member
Not that I'm aware of...
So what does it do? It cranks but won't fire?
If it cranks over just fine and you suspect you lost oil pressure, hook up a mechanical guage and crank it over. If you see oil pressure, proceed with diagnosing why it doesn't start. If you don't see oil pressure, well then, you'll have to reconsider then.
okay, I will try that. Thank you!
strutaeng
Full Access Member
Pretty much, yes. You'll need to remove engine, completely tear it down, inspect, possibly machine shop work, etc. It will get expensive quickly. Or junkyard or crate engine swap.
If you run it with low or no oil pressure, it will cause a catastrophic failure such as spun bearings, broken connecting rods, blown pistons, holes on the block, ...things like that.
you need to clarify the issue
1. just no oil pressure shown on gauge?
2. no oil in engine?
3. gauge/sensor can go bad and not show pressure, hence a mechanical gauge is used to verify the problem
if the pickup tube came off or something of that nature then oil pump needs to be fixed or replaced, this involves dropping the oil pan
rockola1971
Full Access Member
There is nothing in the electrical system that will keep a bonehead from starting up a engine with zero oil pressure. If there were then your vehicle wouldnt run with a bad oil pressure sending unit which is what tells the gauge on the cluster what your pressure is.
There used to be many years ago quite a few GM cars that had an oil pressure switch that was wired in series with the fuel pump control relay coil so it would prevent engine start with zero oil pressure.
To Doubeleive: Thanks. To clarify: since the sudden loss of oil, I've drained the remaining oil, replaced the oil filter, and put 5 quarts new oil in. I also replaced the suspect oil pressure sensor. When I try to start the vehicle, it cranks and oil pressure as seen on dash is zero (coming from new sensor). I noted there was a few specks of metal in the remaining oil and I opened-up the old oil filter and looked at the pleats which also had a few specks of metal. There was not a lot of "glitter" in either the remaining oil or filter, but perhaps even a little is too much.
I agree it would be time to connect a manual pressure gauge and see what that reads as I crank the engine over.
I'm also going to check if I've got fuel at the fuel rails, but it seems that would just be a coincidence if there is not.
I agree it would be time to connect a manual pressure gauge and see what that reads as I crank the engine over.
I'm also going to check if I've got fuel at the fuel rails, but it seems that would just be a coincidence if there is not.
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