2012 Chevy Tahoe low oil pressure/ shop says I need new engine!

[Aburns70]

there are a lot of what if's
but I would find a shop that's not going to ream you for starters
unless you can see glitter in the oil then I would order a oil test kit from blackstone labs, the test is like $30-35 and that is best way to judge the engine condition without tearing it down.
aside from that I would ask around about cost to drop the pan and check and/or replace the oil pump o-ring/pick up tube.
if it is not the pick up tube or oil pressure sensor sensor screen then it's probably time to shop engines

So I just got back from the shop and here’s what they had to say. I wanted to edit from my Original post, I initially said that it had 148k miles but it actually had 157k miles on it.

1.) the gave me the run down, their fix was to put in 10w-30 oil to see if they would increase pressure, they test drove it for 7 miles, once engine was up to temp oil pressure was at about 8-9psi and then parked it at the shop. Low pressure warning never came on during their test drive. He said he checked the oil again and again found metal flakes, and at that point called me to tell me that the bearings were most likely shot and need a new engine.

2.) so I had a list of suggestions and possible fixes that members of this forum gave to me. I had wrote them down and went down the line trying to problem solve with the mechanic.
1st- did they manually check oil pressure, he said they did not, said that because they believed it was the oil pressure sensor that they didn’t believe they needed to check it manually?
2nd- I then asked to make sure that the filter was replaced and he insured me that it was.
3rd- I asked if he heard any engine noise or knocking coming from the engine and he said he didn’t hear anything that would indicate that the engine was knocking.
4th- I asked about the oil pickup tube oring and testing it but adding an additional 2qts of oil and he said that is something “I” could try but with the amount of metal in the engine that I was on borrowed time with the engine and that I could drive it till the engine blew if I wanted too if I didn’t want to try and replace the engine.

So it seemed at that point they didn’t want to try to problem solve the issue anymore, and so I drove it the 1.4 miles home and I took some photos and videos on my drive home and once it was idiling in our driveway.

Pressure slowly dropped on my ride home, start at about 25psi to about 5-10pm once I got back to my house and it was idling. I checked the oil as one member mentioned with a darker cloth and if tried but to be honest I don’t really know what I was looking for as oil looks shiny to me but I didn’t see any obvious metal flakes.

Going to call around to a couple more shops and go from there.

Here’s a video I took once I got home and it was idling in my driveway.

 

[Doubeleive]

So I just got back from the shop and here’s what they had to say. I wanted to edit from my Original post, I initially said that it had 148k miles but it actually had 157k miles on it.

1.) the gave me the run down, their fix was to put in 10w-30 oil to see if they would increase pressure, they test drove it for 7 miles, once engine was up to temp oil pressure was at about 8-9psi and then parked it at the shop. Low pressure warning never came on during their test drive. He said he checked the oil again and again found metal flakes, and at that point called me to tell me that the bearings were most likely shot and need a new engine.

2.) so I had a list of suggestions and possible fixes that members of this forum gave to me. I had wrote them down and went down the line trying to problem solve with the mechanic.
1st- did they manually check oil pressure, he said they did not, said that because they believed it was the oil pressure sensor that they didn’t believe they needed to check it manually?
2nd- I then asked to make sure that the filter was replaced and he insured me that it was.
3rd- I asked if he heard any engine noise or knocking coming from the engine and he said he didn’t hear anything that would indicate that the engine was knocking.
4th- I asked about the oil pickup tube oring and testing it but adding an additional 2qts of oil and he said that is something “I” could try but with the amount of metal in the engine that I was on borrowed time with the engine and that I could drive it till the engine blew if I wanted too if I didn’t want to try and replace the engine.

So it seemed at that point they didn’t want to try to problem solve the issue anymore, and so I drove it the 1.4 miles home and I took some photos and videos on my drive home and once it was idiling in our driveway.

Pressure slowly dropped on my ride home, start at about 25psi to about 5-10pm once I got back to my house and it was idling. I checked the oil as one member mentioned with a darker cloth and if tried but to be honest I don’t really know what I was looking for as oil looks shiny to me but I didn’t see any obvious metal flakes.

Going to call around to a couple more shops and go from there.

Here’s a video I took once I got home and it was idling in my driveway.

in a effort to try and test the pickup tube function I would go buy some cheap wally world oil and filter and put a couple extra quarts in it and go drive it to see if the oil pressure stays up, then drain and refill as normal with the new filter. doing a blackstone oil test won't be much good unless it has been driven a good while.
the oil looks new i don't see any metal on there at all.
maybe they did with the old oil in which case they should have saved a sample to show you.
sounds to me like they just took your money with one 1 try

 

[Fless]

2nd- I then asked to make sure that the filter was replaced and he insured me that it was.

Did you specifically ask about the oil pressure sender filter being replaced? He may have thought you were asking about the engine oil filter.

 

[Aburns70]

I did specify that it was the oil pressure sensor and filter. I told him because of the holiday weekend I had a lot of time on my hands to do some research and said a lot of people mentioned that the filter often get overlooked and not replaced when a new sensor was put in and he assured me that they did replace it.

 

[Doubeleive]

ouch $500 labor and add on parts cost for a 2 hour job

 

[B-train]

I agree with @Doubeleive on this, along with others. Do the o-ring test as mentioned, but make sure to either drain out the extra oil, or just change it all together when finished.

I agree that the oil looks fine in the picture. I would suggest wiping the oil onto the dark cloth, then look at it with a bright light to see if there is glitter. The point of the dark towel is to absorb the oil and reduce the glare, anything shiny should stand out.

Depending on what the oil level test does, I'd do as suggested and run it for several hundred miles and then do a test with Blackstone. At this point, I'm not sold on what these "mechanics" have told you. I believe they took your money, and are hoping to scare more out of you. Do you due diligence based on what we've suggested here or and report back.

Just have some confidence in yourself and you'll learn some new skills that will come in handy in the future as well

 

[mikeyss]

$184 for an oil pressure sensor, and $166 for intake gaskets is absolutely crazy!!! They must have a 70% markup on their parts.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

All speculation aside, metal flakes in the oil is not good and cannot be fixed without opening the motor and finding the source of the problem.

Curing a "low oil pressure" problem will not make the metal flakes go away. It could be a lot of things like piston skirt material or lifters, bearing material

 

[Doubeleive]

All speculation aside, metal flakes in the oil is not good and cannot be fixed without opening the motor and finding the source of the problem.

Curing a "low oil pressure" problem will not make the metal flakes go away. It could be a lot of things like piston skirt material or lifters, bearing material

Presuming there are any.....
if I was a honest mechanic as soon as I found metal indicating internal engine damage I am going to stop work period, right there and reach out to the customer and have them come down and make a educated decision, show them the metal and maybe I get the work and maybe I don't but no sense in stringing someone along. either way i got paid so far.
these guys overcharged for minimum effort.

 

[petethepug]

I gave this a quick read. The shop that did this job followed the procedure for replacing the oil pressure sensor. A good tech knows the sensor can be changed without removing the intake. A shady tech will use that shortcut and charge a customer for an intake R&R.

The shop robbed you because they didn’t fix the issue as well as misdiagnosed it … as well as hiding their errors.

Either…

* Dispute the charge if it was made on a credit card. Get a refund 100%.

* Tell the shop they can replace the O ring in the oil pick up tube, supply the old O ring at their cost and call square, even if that doesn’t fix it.

* Tell the shop you want your money back for misdiagnosis and an incomplete repair or breach of contract.

Move fast as you may be on a timeline with keeping your rights depending on where you live or credit card terms.

 

[j91z28d1]

man these threads are just painful to read.

I honestly don't know what I'd do in your position without repairing cars most of my life. it's just painful to watch.


when I say it's amazing what they charged you don't take it as a knock on you. I'm sure I've been taken a lot of times in fields I don't know much about. I'm just blown away they can charge that for a sensor that I just walked into gm parts dealer a few months ago and paid like 60$ for with tax. ugh.


I like the add oil idea and to check the o ring, and then personally I'd change it and put a thicker 15w40 or something in and drive it till it's atleast got a knock or some sign something actually wrong before replacing an engine. in the mean time, I think I'd consider after watching some YouTubes, buy a oem gm sensor and screen from rock auto and try changing it yourself. it's not fun but the sensor and price of a tool kit you'll spend less than they billed you for just a sensor of a unknown brand and quality or if they actually did change the screen. we don't know that they actually removed the intake, because you really don't need to but it does make the screen easier to get out. I don't know a flat rate tech alive that will remove a whole intake when there's a simple short cut. it's the reason they spend 1000s of dollars on the tool truck for special tools.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Presuming there are any.....
if I was a honest mechanic as soon as I found metal indicating internal engine damage I am going to stop work period, right there and reach out to the customer and have them come down and make a educated decision, show them the metal and maybe I get the work and maybe I don't but no sense in stringing someone along. either way i got paid so far.
these guys overcharged for minimum effort.

@Doubeleive Are you saying it’s possible that there really isn't metal flakes in the motor? This is turning into a bit of a roller coaster here

When I was asking local mechanics for advice with my AFM delete I got about a dozen and a half different opinions so I wouldn’t be surprised if OP was led astray.

 

[GREGB1954]

Let me share my experience with the similar symptoms: We have a 2007 Tahoe, 145000 miles. Suddenly the low oil pressure/turn engine off light came on. Oil level was fine. Light went off. Days later same thing. I paid a mechanic $500 to replace the sensor with an AC Delco premium INCLUDING the little screen that goes in first. I have worked on cars for over 50 years and this was just too difficult to reach. Then the oil pressure was reading low, like 20 psi high and 10 psi at idle. The mechanic told me that I likely needed to replace the cam bearings. Keep this in mind: If the oil pressure was truly low then the hydraulic valves would be clattering. Then the warning came on again with the new sensor, but went off again.

Someone here suggested running Motor Medic flush following the instructions. I think it is like put a quart in, start and idle for 5 min. Drain and replace oil. I was told by my mechanic to try a High Mileage oil so I used Valvoline's brand. Voila!! Oil pressure now just over 40psi and idles at 20psi. The light has not come back on.

My conclusion is the oil pressure sensor screen got plugged up with gunk. New one went in and had gunk intermittently blocking the new sensor. The oil flush got rid of the gunk and combined with the High Mileage oil my pressure at the sensor and the entire engine was restored.

 

[donjetman]

If it were mine I would:

send an oil sample to a lab for analysis, like Blackstone-Labs, JG Lubricant Services, Oil Analyzers Inc, Wix, Polaris Laboratories. I always have about 5 sample kits on hand. Results will tell the tale (metal in oil or not).

Overfill the engine by 2 qts of oil. Warm it up to normal operating temperature until the oil pressure drops. Jack the rear of the vehicle up and see if the oil pressure returns to normal. If so its the oil pickup o-ring needs changing.

Change the oil pressure sender screen and sender.

If its not making any unusual noises? like Valve train rattling, rods knocking, it isn't hurt bad.

Last resort: chemical engine flush

 

[Doubeleive]

@Doubeleive Are you saying it’s possible that there really isn't metal flakes in the motor? This is turning into a bit of a roller coaster here

When I was asking local mechanics for advice with my AFM delete I got about a dozen and a half different opinions so I wouldn’t be surprised if OP was led astray.

I was told by a mechanic once that a transmission had metal flakes in it while getting a flush, someone that I had dealt with many times, I drove that thing almost 100k and sold it and never had a single problem, so unless the mechanic showed him the flakes on a cloth or something I wouldn't trust it under many circumstances the picture of the dipstick shows pretty clear clean oil. Doesn't mean the mechanic is making it up, but I would add the extra oil as a test and see what happens and otherwise just drive it and keep checking the dipstick for flakes. Not everyone is honest

 

[2008yukonxlslt]

If it were mine I would:

send an oil sample to a lab for analysis, like Blackstone-Labs, JG Lubricant Services, Oil Analyzers Inc, Wix, Polaris Laboratories. I always have about 5 sample kits on hand. Results will tell the tale (metal in oil or not).

Overfill the engine by 2 qts of oil. Warm it up to normal operating temperature until the oil pressure drops. Jack the rear of the vehicle up and see if the oil pressure returns to normal. If so its the oil pickup o-ring needs changing.

Change the oil pressure sender screen and sender.

If its not making any unusual noises? like Valve train rattling, rods knocking, it isn't hurt bad.

Last resort: chemical engine flush

I like the oil analysis idea, that will tell if and what parts in the engine maybe falling apart. Isn’t the oil plug magnetic? Cant you just pull the oil plug out and inspect for metal, not as good as the analysis but cheap and easy.

 

[donjetman]

I like the oil analysis idea, that will tell if and what parts in the engine maybe falling apart. Isn’t the oil plug magnetic? Cant you just pull the oil plug out and inspect for metal, not as good as the analysis but cheap and easy.

ferris metals (iron, steel, etc) yes.
Non-ferrous (lead, copper, aluminum, etc) no. Bearings are non ferrous.

 

[petethepug]

When the shop had the intake off you should have been provided info on the valley cover underneath. My $8h oil pressure sensor in my 09 included a diagnosis and repair of leaky valley cover gaskets, the clean up, parts, as well as the gaskets for the intake.

The shop got me a good bang for the buck on labor as well as offering the opportunity to decline it. You can see the oil sensor sticking up at the back of the motor.

This is an 09 6.2L w/o AFM so the valley cover plate looks a little different.

 

[Fubar0715]

I cannot get over the $185 part - I did mine for the low pressure issue and the warning messages. The sensor and screen helped a little (enough the messages didnt return) however, I bit the bullet and pulled the oil pan. I think I am all in at this point with new O-ring, pan gasket, sensor and screen, oil cooler filter, and 2 oil changes with filter - must be less than what that "professional" shop charged. That hurt just looking at the bill but, in your defense, you were in a bind and trusted they knew what they were talking about. If it were me, do the O-ring on the pick up tube and roll with it - FWIW, I run the recommended oil with a PF63 filter and mine runs about 45 cold and 25 hot with the gauge climbing when the loud pedal is pressed.

 

[Aburns70]

Let me share my experience with the similar symptoms: We have a 2007 Tahoe, 145000 miles. Suddenly the low oil pressure/turn engine off light came on. Oil level was fine. Light went off. Days later same thing. I paid a mechanic $500 to replace the sensor with an AC Delco premium INCLUDING the little screen that goes in first. I have worked on cars for over 50 years and this was just too difficult to reach. Then the oil pressure was reading low, like 20 psi high and 10 psi at idle. The mechanic told me that I likely needed to replace the cam bearings. Keep this in mind: If the oil pressure was truly low then the hydraulic valves would be clattering. Then the warning came on again with the new sensor, but went off again.

Someone here suggested running Motor Medic flush following the instructions. I think it is like put a quart in, start and idle for 5 min. Drain and replace oil. I was told by my mechanic to try a High Mileage oil so I used Valvoline's brand. Voila!! Oil pressure now just over 40psi and idles at 20psi. The light has not come back on.

My conclusion is the oil pressure sensor screen got plugged up with gunk. New one went in and had gunk intermittently blocking the new sensor. The oil flush got rid of the gunk and combined with the High Mileage oil my pressure at the sensor and the entire engine was restored.

Hey Greg, I actually just did this today even though the oil had just been changed. I added it, ran for exactly 5 minutes then changed the oil and filter, this was my first time changing my own oil, still feeling anxious about it as I am very much a noob when it comes to cars. It was idling at about 21-22psi for about 10 minutes before I had to go inside. I saw someone on YouTube to do this as well. I should note that the person in the YouTube video did this after they already replaced their oil pickup tube oring, and this finally helped get his cars psi back to normal.