1995 Chevy Lumina Oil light came on now won't start

CONFUSINGLUMINAPROBLEM

MEMBER
1995 CHEVROLET LUMINA
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
150,000 MILES

The low oil light kept coming on upon checking the oil it was fine. Today while driving home the low oil light came on, the oil light came on and the car did not want to accelerate. The car would eventually accelerate slowly and then would slow down again. While driving the car it felt like I had a flat tire, but did not. After a couple of miles the car stalled. After waiting a few minutes I finally got the car to start again then drove a short distance and then stalled again. This time the car would not start. Checked the oil and the oil was a little low so added a little more however car still refuses to start. Upon having the car towed home decided to try to start the car again car started and was extremely noisy and stalled again. Any ideas?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,742 POSTS

The oil light means stop the engine immediately to prevent major damage. It is related to oil presssure, not level. Some possible causes include a problem with the oil pump itself not developing enough pressure, or something inside the engine has excessive leakage. Most common would be a "spun" crankshaft bearing or connecting rod beaing. Once something causes the pressure to be low, other parts will fail in a few seconds.

The valve train components include parts that fill with pressurized oil to take up the freeplay in the system to make it quiet. You are most likely hearing those parts rattle from the lack of oil pressure. You will need a professional opinion to be certain, but most likely you will need a used engine or yours will need to be rebuilt after the initial cause of the failure is found. In rare cases, the oil has to circulate through all the passages to get to the critical places first before getting to the internal leak. Sometimes that will minimize the damage and worn bearings can be replaced without rebuilding the entire engine.

Caradiodoc