Problem, solution

As the Rolling Steel Tent ages, I’m ever more diligent about watching the gauges. (It’s a good thing the van has actual gauges instead of just idiot lights.) How’s the temperature? How’s the oil pressure? How’s the charging system?

Ever since I bought the van the oil pressure has read between 40 and 50 PSI while cruising along. Nice and normal. But this past weekend I noticed it creeping below 40, down toward 30 PSI. Hmmm, was something going wrong?

I pulled off the highway and checked the oil level. It was hard to read because the oil was very clear. I’d just gotten an oil change the week before. As near as I could tell the level was down just a bit, so I topped it off.

The pressure remained low. Rats. I continued on to my campsite, driving lightly.

I spent the rest of the day and all of the next researching possible causes. Oil pump going bad? Worn main, rod and cam bearings? Worn rings? Clogged oil pickup? Maybe. Any of them would be an expensive pain in the mechanical ass to repair, requiring the engine to be hauled kicking and screaming from its hidey-hole under the dash. If the engine was going to be pulled, would it be cheaper to rebuild it or to replace it. And if I replaced it, would a lower mileage junk yard motor serve my purposes, or should I play it safe and go with a freshly rebuilt engine? Or should I just start looking for a replacement vehicle? Whichever way I went, where would the bucks to do any of it appear from? I’ve had no luck with the lottery or money falling from the sky.

I consulted with my mechanic friend, Forrest. He replied, “The most common issue is an O-ring at the oil pump. But again unless you drop to zero I wouldn’t worry about it.”

I’m not good at not worrying about the fate of my home.

Well, one of the basic principles of auto repair, when you’re not sure of the cause, is to try the least expensive solution first. That got me thinking back to that recent oil change—the one where I decided to switch from conventional oil to synthetic, thanks to something I’d read about extending the life of older engines. Could the synthetic be causing the pressure drop? I did more googling and found a mention that oil pressure might decrease “a little.” Okay. Forty bucks for another oil change sure beat thousands for any of the other fixes.

So bright and early this morning I went to an oil change place and specified conventional oil. Fifteen minutes later I had the results of my experiment. Yup, it was just the synthetic oil. That probably means the lower pressure wouldn’t have been a problem. It just would’ve been the new normal. But I feel better having things back to the old normal. Long may it last.