QuestionQUESTION: Thank you for your time!
I own a 1995 Avenger (same as Sebring/Talon) ES with 150k miles. Tried to get help elsewhere but the Dodge expert was unfortunately not able to help.
I have two separate problems. The first of which is that the car is overheating.
I found out that the passenger side fan is not working. This will cause overheating when car is not running fast enough to be ventilated. I don't turn on my ac because the compressor is broken. There is no existing belt either as it seems to have broken when compressor stopped working.
So, just for kicks, I turned on the AC anyway to high and voila! The second fan started working. Why would the fan not work while the AC is off to aid in keeping the car operating at healthy temperature?
The second problem is pertaining oil pressure. It fluctuates and it does so even more once the car has warmed up. Not so much while the car is still warming up.
At low RPM's the oil pressure is just below the lower mark of where it's supossed to be at. At higher RPM's it shoots up gradually till it's just below the top mark.
I had heard from someone else that this car "doesnt like anything other than 5w30" oil, but the car has high mileage and it's really hot in Miami year round so I'm running 15w50.
I accidentally overfilled the oil last oil change. Ran it like that for 3 weeks. 3 days ago I drained the oil and put 4 new quarts without changing the oil filter so it may have a tad bit more than 4 quarts (it calls for 4 quarts).
That helped the pressure not drop as much (though still below the lower mark while idling) but it still goes way high at high RPM's.
Thanks a million!
ANSWER: Hi JC,
On the fans, the use of AC always causes the fans to come on regardless of the engine temp. My suggestion would be to check the accuracy of the engine coolant temp sensor located to the base of the coolant filler neck, on the pipe. Measure the resistance across its terminal to be close to 700 ohms when the engine is at normal operating temp. If above that to a significant amount then the sensor it off-value.
On the oil, I would suggest 10W-30 or 15W-40 at most, next time. The 50 of the 10W-50 is too high, at least as reflected in the gauge.
Roland
PS Use the 'thank/rate' tab to get back to me with a follow-up, without having to wait for me to be available to take a new question.
There is a space for comments, to which I will respond.
Roland
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks Roland!
You said next time to go with 10w30 next time. The Haynes manual for the car does say to use 10w30 in hotter places. Should I wait for the next oil change, or is it possible that the pressure fluctuations may damage the car, especially when it goes down below the lower mark? And would there be any objective difference between teh 10w30 and 15w40 being that the car has high mileage?
AnswerHi JC,
I wonder how things worked out with getting the oil pressure situation to your liking? You can report back if you like by the 'thank/rate' tab below, without having to wait for me to be 'available' to take a question. While you are there, if my answer was helpful I would appreciate a vote of 'yes' for the 'nomination to be expert of the month'. I am in a close race for that honor so every vote is helful. Thanks in advance.
Hi JC,
The oil pressure gauge is not calibrated so you have to treat it qualitatively. As long as the minimum pressure requirements are met I would not be concerned where the needle sits at idle just so it isn't at zero and also that the oil warning light does come on when you are at an rpm above 1,000 or so (it is common for the light to flicker at idle with the engine hot, with no cause for alarm). The warning light switch too can be pessimistic. On the high rpm side, it would be better to not be at the very top end of the scale so as not to put excessive pressure on oil seals. The other aspect of too viscous an oil is that it wastes some energy (gas mileage). It is quite a difference between 10W-30 and 15W-50 so that is why I suggested no more than 40 for the second number if you were going to stray from the manufacturets recommendation. If your oil warning light didn't come on at idle when you were using 10W-30 I would return to using that. If you do your own change then it would be inexpensive to switch now, otherwise wait for the next routine change mileage reading.
Roland
