Yes, it can also cause the cam to seize if driven too long without pressure. On the 1.8t I ended up swapping into my wagon, the low oil pressure killed the turbo a few weeks after the pressure was lost due to sludge. A new pump was fitted and after the turbo was replaced, the engine lasted another 60K or more. More than likely, sludge is to blame.

 

I just got done checking oil pressure I have 30psi at idle and when I hit the gas it goes up to 60 is this normal?

 

Those are good oil pressure readings. It's possible that something (chunks of coked oil or plastic bits from the oil dipstick tube) floated into the oil pickup screen and temporarily blocked the screen, causing the low oil presure. This is a common problem.

 

I believe that is what left me on the side of the road. But I still don’t get this code I was thinking if I had low oil pressure or if I could see the pressure surge like the engine does at idle them my timing chain tensioner could not be working right since it does use oil pressure. It really does seem like the tensioner is bobbing at idle not able to set timing until the gas pedal is hit a little then it stiffens up as soon as oil pressure rises. I honestly don’t even know if this is possible just wondering what other people are thinking before I go tearing it back apart.

 

I'm with 4zfed on the possibly intermittent loss of oil pressure. There is also a screen in the oil supply line of the CCT that can get clogged but I don't think problems there would cause the oil pressure light to come on.

It does sound like you have a real oil pressure issue although the readings you measured are well within spec.

To answer your question, I've never heard of a chain slipping a tooth on a 1.8t due to a bad CCT but it is probably possible. I've read about people who have had the chain loose enough to rattle against the valve cover or who have driven with no pads on the CCT but even then it usually didn't skip a tooth. I'm not saying it couldn't happen but it doesn't seem to be common.

 

I'm with 4zfed on the possibly intermittent loss of oil pressure. There is also a screen in the oil supply line of the CCT that can get clogged but I don't think problems there would cause the oil pressure light to come on.

It does sound like you have a real oil pressure issue although the readings you measured are well within spec.

To answer your question, I've never heard of a chain slipping a tooth on a 1.8t due to a bad CCT but it is probably possible. I've read about people who have had the chain loose enough to rattle against the valve cover or who have driven with no pads on the CCT but even then it usually didn't skip a tooth. I'm not saying it couldn't happen but it doesn't seem to be common.

The chain can definitely jump if the rub blocks have popped off.

You can compress the tensioner slowly with a bench vise or one of those vise grip quick clamps or a basic big c-clamp. I even squirt them down with oil before compressing them. After it is compressed you can install the holding tool to install it. They usually show up new with the holder tool installed though...The rub blocks are available separately also, and cheap too, but I have had a lot of those break when installing them.

Sometimes it's a lot easier to just take your cams out when you change the cam chain tensioner or replace rub blocks. This also allows you to see and reach deeper into the head to pick all those rub block bits out that can cause major issues later.

I was going to experiment with getting the rub blocks a little more flexy to get them to pop on easier by heating them up, but I never did. I was going to drop them into boiling water. The rub blocks are definitely a weak point because I have never seen them not break up in a high mile car. And on a V6 or a V8 they're usually quite the pain in the ass to change out.

 

I’m going to take the valve cover off tonight and check the timing marks and count rollers between the two cams. Is there a way to check if your getting pressure to the top end not just on the oil filter bracket but somewhere on the head maybe or cct

 

Not that I know of. Obviously if the pressure is low for long enough you will see the damage to the cam caps, etc or have trouble with the CCT but I don't know of any oil ports that specifically measure the pressure at those points.

 

With the valve cover off would there be enough oil pressure from just cranking engine to see the tensioner move or to see if it’s operating correctly?

 

EDIT : GRAMMAR

Yes, just by cranking the engine over you should see some slight up and down movement on the CCT.
If you're able to start the engine (without causing more trouble) the oil flow should be sufficient enough that it will run over the edge of the cylinder head. Not gushing over, but just enough to seep over the edge and smoke a lot from hitting the hot exhaust manifold.

 

Yes, just by cranking the engine over you should see some slight up and movement on the CCT.
If you're able to start the engine (with causing more trouble) the oil flow should be sufficient enough that it will run over the edge of the cylinder head. Not gushing over, but just enough to seep over the edge and smoke a lot from hitting the hot exhaust manifold.

Is that an "ask me how I know" statement with the oil flow?

 

I believe I found the cause of both of my problems. I took off the valve cover, and found part of the cam tensioner pad missing. I have a cheap tensioner I bought for the solenoid. Once I got everything apart, I found the piece of the tensioner pad inside of an oil port right by the tensioner. I have ordered a Bapmic tensioner and am now just waiting on it I broke the cheap on just tightening the tensioner.

 

Go easy on the tensioner when tightening it. If you crank it down so it's tight you run the risk of damaging the pistons that hold the plastic pads.
Use the tensioner compression tool so that it compresses the pads just enough to allow for chain removal / installation.
Can't tell you how many people have broken their tensioner compression tool because of over tightening.

 

^Totally agree about breaking the compression tool -- it's easy to do. I'd just add that I use the tool to keep the pads compressed, not to compress them. In other words, compress the pads (slowly!) by hand and then insert the tool to hold them in place while finishing the install. Once everything is in place, release the tensioner pressure.

The tool can probably be used to compress the pads if you go very slowly and carefully but personally I just use it to hold the pads after they have been compressed by hand.

 

You can have good oil pressure and still have a clogging pickup tube. This was from the engine I swapped into my wagon a year after I replaced this for the owner. Parts of the failed CCT, a rivet head, a plastic tube and chunks of JB Weld. The car was fine around town, then had the oil light come on after 10 miles or so on the highway. Stopped and idled, then driven a few more miles until the light came on again. It sounded like a diesel when trailered in and driven into my garage. The next day, no noise, no oil light, and good oil pressure until it was run at 3K for 10 minutes and I could see the oil pressure on the gauge start to plummet.