Oil light on and engine noise.

[tom_d]

My mates 02 sv has had the oil light come on and is sounding pretty rough. there is a slight loss of power as well. the oil is black and def needs changing but i wouldnt have thought that was the issue.

what do you think?

[christian1000]

is the oil level correct in the sight glass?

[tom_d]

yep. we tried changing the oil but the sump nut is pretty much welded on and so we just changed the filter and topped up with fresh oil.

[yorkie_chris]

Could be pretty terminal :(

[BBadger]

Sounds pretty bad considering others had these symptoms before it all died due to too little oil.

[christian1000]

If the oil pressure light is on but the level is correct it suggests a fault somewhere else in the system, such as with the pump or pressure valve perhaps? Assuming of course that youve got the right grade of oil in there

[BBadger]

s a fault somewhere else in the system, such as with the pump

If power is lost then it would have to be the pump, which again is abit ehhhh:(

[yorkie_chris]

You need to drop the oil really, if you really can't get the sump plug out drop most of it out via the oil gallery plug and see what comes out. If there is loads of alloy wear material then it's knackered.

[mjc]

yeh get that plug out. penetrating oil, then freezing spray, then use a big ******* bar to get leverage on the spanner.

[timwilky]

I have done a quick search and cannot find any thread by you relating to removing sump plugs. What ever made you think it was sufficient to only replace a filter?

Tell you mate to start looking for a replacement engine as your opening statement makes it sound like he has been attempting to run it despite it telling him he has low oil pressure.

Sure degraded oil is better than no oil, but it does cause fouling of oil ways, breaks down over use and stops becoming an effective lubricant, viscosity changes, no longer removes contamination but distributes it etc. In short his engine is now fubar because of a lack of basic maintenance.

[andrewsmith]

it does sound terminal like a pump of pickup has gone.

I would get the plug out and inspect the oil for metal debris

[tom_d]

yeah i think maybe new engine is gunna be the route this takes.

yes he shoulda done the oil by now but to be fair to him when that light came on even i wouldnt have thought 'low oil pressure, must stop immediately, one of the bigs ends is going to be knackered'.

the reason we did the oil filter was that before we knew how bad it was we just wanted to do something and as i said, the sump plug was fairly welded on, so couldnt properly empty the sump.

oh well, not that it matters much now!.

[timwilky]

yeah i think maybe new engine is gunna be the route this takes.

yes he shoulda done the oil by now but to be fair to him when that light came on even i wouldnt have thought 'low oil pressure, must stop immediately, one of the bigs ends is going to be knackered'.

the reason we did the oil filter was that before we knew how bad it was we just wanted to do something and as i said, the sump plug was fairly welded on, so couldnt properly empty the sump.

oh well, not that it matters much now!.

That is what that light is, a low oil pressure alert. It means stop the engine now, failure to do so will render it an ex engine.

[andrewsmith]

As a side to the main thread

I was talking to a mechanic yesterday and he said that a lot of goosed engines through this type of issue are caused by the generic oil filters and genuine factory filters should always be used.

Anyone able to back this up or quash it?

[Biker Biggles]

Ive used all sorts of oil filters over the years and never had a problem.Having said that I make sure the oil level is right by checking it often,and I change the oil and filter every 3000 miles.My advice is that if you never do anything else to your bike,always do at least that.

[andrewsmith]

Ive used all sorts of oil filters over the years and never had a problem.Having said that I make sure the oil level is right by checking it often,and I change the oil and filter every 3000 miles.My advice is that if you never do anything else to your bike,always do at least that.

Cheers Biker

I'm going to be doing mine on a three to four monthly basis as the oil goes v weak in the block (irrespective of the miles covered).
It'll be a replacement filter on the next change.

[Biker Biggles]

I think the official Suzuki line is still to change the filter every other oil change,and I would stick to a Suzuki filter if leaving it on that long.Ive used Hein Gerrike filters a lot,and they work OK but the cases rust like mad in winter so you wonder about their longevity.

[BBadger]

Hmm im on my second hein gerrike filter and rode all through winter...hasn't given me any problems and looks just the same as it did out the packet 2000miles later

[andrewsmith]

mines a HG filter atm seems spot on, but the last filter (v similar to the HG units) was leaking after winter abuse

[yorkie_chris]

I have used hiflo almost exclusively without any problem for nearly 50k miles and many fitted to other peoples bikes.

[1952paul0]

As a side to the main thread

I was talking to a mechanic yesterday and he said that a lot of goosed engines through this type of issue are caused by the generic oil filters and genuine factory filters should always be used.

Anyone able to back this up or quash it?
agreed always best to use oe filters and good quality oil