Cadillac Repair: 96 eldorado v8 northstar, crankshaft pulley, low oil pressure

Question
while driving my low oil pressure light came on and dash readout said stop engine. what could be the problem, if its the oil pump how do i replace it. also service engine soon and traction control lights stay on  

Answer
Hi Kenneth,

       The first thing you need to do is open the hood and check the engine oil level and if low top it off. If it is very low like 3 or more quarts that could cause the light to turn on and you should try to determine where the oil went. If the oil level is ok you will need to have your mechanic check what the pressure is to make sure it isn't a problem with the oil pressure or the sending unit itself. The senders are relatively inexpensive and located near the oil filter so you could just replace it and see if the light turns off before takeing it to the shop. The oil pump is located behind the crankshaft pulley and timing cover. Getting it off isn't the problem. Torqueing the harmonic balancer bolt is because it needs to be aproximately
230ft lbs and a special tool is used to hold the flywheel from turning. The oil pump gear is sandwitched between the crankshaft and the balancer so if the bolt isn't tight enough the pump can't turn.

     As for the service engine soon and traction control lights you need to enter diagnostics to see what they are. To do that run the engine and then press and hold the off and warmer or red button on the climate control panel for up to 4 seconds and the display will start showing codes. There will be a letter or two followed by a number such as E48 or EE48. I will need to know all the codes that are displayed in order to help you out. To exit diagnostics just turn the key off and the next time it is turned on the displays will be back to normal.

       Hope that answers your questions and let me know if I can be anymore help. Bill