[]I just bought this car yesterday, its my dream and its so awesome but theres a downfall. Its a 92 and I was sitting at a stop sign and the car just DIED. The oil pressure dropped down to nothing and i had to start it with the gas pedal all the way down to get it to restart. I made it home but the check oil light was on the whole time. There are no known leaks that I know of and as far as i can tell its not buring oil, so what on earth could this be? please let me know if you can help, im so upset about this, i feel like i may have wasted my money. Thanks

Jessica

 

If you have the owner's manual & a paper towel, let's check your engine oil level & condition. If the oil level is too low for the dipstick
then, remove the oil filler cap to see oil condition. If your car ran low on oil, their start to make noise, usually the hydraulic lash
adjusters' will emit a ticking sound. If you have oil on the dipstick & no noises, it's possible that the oil pressure sending unit is bad.
Check with your friends', see where their have their cars repaired. If the oil is low &/or dirty have it changed, then have the oil pressure tested.
Please don't get mad at me for this I told you so remark. Any time you are planning on buying a used car even if it's dealer,
ask if its ok to take the car to another dealer or service repair place and have it inspected. The dealership I work, we do it free of
charge, but even if it cost $25. You will have some info on the vehicle before you decide to buy
I have my fingers crossed that it just the sending unit. Your state may give you legal recourse if this all goes sour.

 

Ok this car was checked and run on a diagnostic machine and nothing showed up. It seemed to be the perfect car so I bought it. heres where it gets bad, the oil pressure has something to do with it, but thats not the problem. around the head gasket there is oil, and it has dripped down the gasket and also there are a few seals that seem to have come loose since i bought it and oil is also around those. Mind you when i bought this car, nothing like this was visable. The car is still sputtering and stalling and black smoke is comming out of the tail pipe. We are thinking its the O2 sensor or something but ive had two miata owners totally look it over and can't find anything wrong. SOMETHING is wrong, very wrong. I called the seller that sold me the car and he says he is going to help me with repairs because he had not realized something was wrong (or so he says) anyway that being a verbal contract I can now sue if he does not pay once repairs are done. If you have any more advise as to what it could be, please keep me informed. Thanks so much in advance

-Jeyssika[]

 

jeyssika, I glad to hear you had your car checked out before buying. Sorry about the I told you so.
Several things can cause your driveability problems, eg. thermosensors, spark plugs & wires, pcv valve, airflow meter & fuel pressure
regulator.
I 'd first pull the spark plugs, if all are black & sooty then the problem is effecting all cylinders. If only one or two are fouled then
inspect the plug & wires for arcing, may have a black line which looks like a crack on the plug or inside the boot. Boot can arc thru to
the plug well causing a misfire.
PCV valve which is plugged or restricted, will cause the engine crankshaft pressure to increase & force oil past seals. Also can cause
driveability problems.
The airflow meter is mounted on top of the air cleaner. It has a spring loaded door which move to measure the amount of air the
engine is using. It send a signal to the control unit which adjust the fuel amount.
The fuel pressure regulator can have a torn diaphram, leaking excess fuel into the intake manifold
Your O2 sensor is used to fine tune the air/fuel ratio, doesn't usually cause your problem.
Once again I sorry about the remark. If you like to know more on diagnosing these things, I'd be glad to help.
mazdamarty.

 

alright heres the latest on my freakin car[] My friend Richie(who is a miata driver as well) took a look at it all day yesterday and we pulled the spark plugs and replaced the wire. They badly needed changing and yes, there was black stuff around them. If it was the O2 sensor then the problem would be constant, or atleast thats what I have been told. The problem only occurs on start up and idoling. If it is going down the road it will not stall, only if i slow down or stop does it stall, then starts to spit out smoke and smell of gasoline. I have it in the shop at the moment and they looked over the car at the main things such as head gasket, engine, and some other stuff that i cant remember, and they are still working so I don't know the outcome of their search yet but they did tell me its nothing extreme. So they suggested running a computer check and heres the tricky part. I am putting a new soft top on next week and the one that is on there leaked. My computer is mounted behind the seats so it is greatly possible that it got wet or aquired condensation making it short out. Does this make sense? could a computer make my car go this crazy? please let me know if you think it could be it or something else. Thanks alot! you have been alot of help! ohh haha thanks for the appology too, i didnt take offense to it but it was a nice gesture to appologise!

Jessica

 

jeyssika Unless your car has been rewired, the engine control unit (computer) is mounted under the dash & passenger's feet. Yes, if water or condensation gets into the ECU, it can go crazy.
The airflow meter mounted on top of the air cleaner, if the spring loaded door is not returning properly for idle condition. The ECU
will be adding extra fuel because the signal from the airflow tells it more air is going thru it, & it's not. An electrical problem in the
metering part can also do the same.
The fuel pressure regulator as I posted yesterday. Torn diaphram can leak extra fuel into the intake.
The idle speed control valve which sets your idle by controling the air bypassing the throttle body, could cause the stalling if not allowing enough air to pass.
Is the check engine or mil light on? With the black smoke & sputtering, the air/fuel ratio is too rich because of too much fuel or not
enough air.

 

She got it fixed. It ended up being the coolant temperature sensor and the previous owner picked up the tab.

 

That thermosensor must have been reading about -30F for all the black smoke.

 

Hey Its Jessica again, this problem was definately fixed by the thermosensor thing being replaced. Thanks for trying to help but since I called the previous owner and told him he sold me a faulty car he picked up the tab on the bill and was really cool about it. Due to the Lemon Laws in this state he had no other choice. Thanks again so much for your help!

Jessica