OK well i have an 88 LX with an 87 turbocoupe motor that i was driving for awhile, now im working on it...my problem is that the oil pressure is so-so when i first start it, but falls to around the "L" of the word "Normal" on the gauge, and at around 2000rpms it sounds like there is a rapping noise in the top end of the engine...i think its the oil pump/sender, causing top end oil starvation...but im not sure, i wanted to check it out with you guys before i tear into it...there is no noise under boost and the motor feels strong, but i want to get it all ironed out and back on the road again...its such a fun little car... thanks!
Couple things may be happening here. The oil pump driveshafts on the 2.3's are known weak links. The shaft could be worn just enough to be slipping inside the bottom of the distributor (kinda like an allen wrench rounding off in a tight cap screw). The other and most likely possibility is a plugged pickup screen in the oil pan. Little bits of sludge or deteriorated rubber oil pan gasket find there way to the screen and plug it up. The sender won't be the cause of the trouble, just the messenger.
sender I would replace the sender first. I see this all the time. It is the cheapest thing to try too. My svo kills one every couple of years.
Eric, I'm with you on replacing the sender as they do tend to crap out pretty often(mine just started acting funny a couple of days ago), but this guy claims he's getting engine clatter when the gauge shows a drop in pressure which leads me to believe the gauge and sender are telling the truth. He's describing the same symptoms mine had before it lost all oil pressure and spun a bearing a couple of years ago.
I like Melling oil pumps. They're available at most parts stores. I don't see a need for a high volume pump on a 2.3. I don't think the oil pump driveshaft can take the extra load it will see with the high volume pump anyway. Melling part number for the pump is M-86E and the pickup screen is 86-CS2.
