Could defective piston rings cause low oil pressure?

Question

More specifically, I have a car that I do the maintenance myself. Well one day I decide to check the spark plugs and as I was untightening it, the spark plug stripped. But not the threads from the spark plug itself, but from the head. So I re used the same spark plug, thinking it was was ok since the plug could still tighten up even though it was stripped, and go about with my day. A month later my car breaks down and the coil (coil on plug) was burnt inside where the plug goes. It was a struggle to remove it but when I did, my spark plug had broken and the electrolight was nowhere to be seen. I pulled the head out of the car and to my dismay, the piston was scuffed as well as the valves. No valves were bent, and could hold pressure (thank god) but I got the head rethreaded and put everything back. Now, when I come to a stop after getting off the freeway or from a fast speed, my oil pressure light comes on. But only when I break. My engine also acts like it hesitates as I break and my oil is dark and has a burnt smell to it. I was wondering, if by any chance that electrolight messed up the ring of the piston, could that be the reason why my oil pressure light comes on?...

I did some research and I read that a bad oil pump could be the cause or a main bearing (car has 170,000 miles).

Could it also be from damaged piston rings?... I would much rather get new pump than new engine or piston rings...

Answer 1

NO. Piston rings are not related to oil pressure. But worn bearings can make oil pressure drop a little or a lot! I'm talking about crankshaft bearings and camshaft bearings, but not muffler bearings.



Hmmm. The above answer is after I read your question only. After writing that, I went up to the top and read your story. I'm rather surprised at what you did!



For Your Information: Tighten spark plugs, turn CLOCKWISE. Loosen spark plugs, turn COUNTERCLOCKWISE. You must have an aluminum head.



I think you didn't tell us the whole story. If the CERAMIC from the insulator got in-between the piston and the cylinder, it could/would EASILY dig a groove in your cylinder wall (did you see one? Did you LOOK??) It would make reduced power from that cylinder, and also combustion would be getting into the oil, so making it prematurely dark. Hint: Check the compression of all you cylinders. See if that cylinder has a markedly different and LOWER reading. Get a proper screw-in compression tester. Take ALL the spark plugs out when you do the test. Disable your ignition system so no damage is not done.



"as I was untightening it, the spark plug stripped. But not the threads from the spark plug itself, but from the head. So I re used the same spark plug, thinking it was was ok" Have you learned that it was NOT ok??



"the electrolight was nowhere to be seen". OK, it's spelling day. Maybe your voice translator did this, or your spellcheck did it, but the word is INSULATOR. At the end of the insulator (on the inside of the engine) is the ELECTRODE. "Electrolyte" is something that is related to the battery. Al least you didn't say Electrolux!

Answer 2

You are obviously rather ignorant about cars and need to learn the basics before you try to "fix" it again yourself. First off, it was stupid to reinstall a stripped plug. I hope you now realize that and have sufficiently beat yourself with a club for making such a mistake.



Second, it is not called an electrolight, it is an electrode. Obviously the broken piece went into the cylinder chamber and beat up the piston and valves. In the process, I imagine that a certain amount of debris got into the oil and has damaged the bearings and / or the oil pump.



Piston rings do not effect oil pressure, they control compression. Low oil pressure is almost always caused by worn bearings, a worn or defective oil pump, a bad pressure regulator or a blockage in an oil gallery. It is possible that the piston rings (or more likely the cylinder wall) got damaged. When the rings don't seal properly, "blow by" quickly turns oil black with carbon and causes the burnt smell. Check the compression on that cylinder and you'll probably find very low compression.



If applying the brake (correct spelling) causes the oil light to come on, the only likely connection is that the oil level in the engine is too low.



Bottom line, I think you've pretty well trashed your engine. Replacing the oil pump might fix the oil pressure problem, but don't count on it. Live and learn.

Answer 3

No!

A problem with oil returning to the oil pan can as well as worn bearings or oil pump. This happens after a long run and the engine drops RPM's. Make sure the oil level is right. It sounds like the level could be low and or there is engine sludge build up in the engine. If you do a lot of short drives between shutting off the engine- it might be a problem with moisture in the oil causing it to get gunky and blocking the oil return passages.

Answer 4

If I understand correctly the issue at this point is the oil pressure light. It's good that you included the history but I don't see a direct relationship. The cylinder wear will not significantly affect oil pressure; the oil control rings are not meant to operate under any significant pressure anyway.



My approach to oil pressure lights is to blindly change the oil pressure sender. They are inexpensive high failure rate parts and replacement is actually a bit less labor than checking oil pressure. If the replacement makes the light go away, problem solved... the old sender was yanking your chain. If not it is time to see exactly what oil pressure is at idle and cruise, then decide what you are willing to do. One step at a time.

Answer 5

Ah a classic LID (Let it develop) situation.

When you first stripped the plug seating where do you think all the thread fragments went? They certainly didn't jump out the plug hole.

If you want to wreck an engine a good way is to drop a few minute metal fragments down a plug hole, Add to your sins you put a damaged plug back into your engine.

I'm guessing some of those fragments got down the side of your cylinders damaging the rings they will also have been sucked into the oil pump.

Whjo knows what damage you've done without stripping it all down

Answer 6

low oil pressure, no. low compression yes. if you are going to do rings, rebuild the engine. you have to go in that far any way. the cylinders have to be measured for a proper set of rings. too big, the rings will not enter the cylinders or bind up when they heat up. too small, a loss of compression past the ring gap will allow air to pass.

Answer 7

Hi a drop in oil pressure comes from the wear within an engine. as oil is pumped into bearing surfaces like the main crankshaft bearing if it finds no resistance such as when they are worn there is no pressure it just leaks out all over the place. yes in some small part broken piston rings is part of this. but generally the issue is about very worn bearings such as mainshaft bearings big end bearings and small end bearings. the pistons and there rings are right at the end of this journey taken by the oils so the chances are n oil gets to the piston rings which is why they break due to no lubrication as it has leaked away long before it gets there. due to WEAR.

Answer 8

Don't feel bad - you got 170,000 miles out of your engine.......gotta wonder how many you should have gotten if you hadn't screwed-it-up with your unusual maintenance. As others have said - you destroyed the engine - - - but you saved the cost of having someone change the plugs for you - or the cost of a plug after you busted one.

Answer 9

ABSOLUTELY NOT!



Excess main, connecting rod, camshaft bearing CLEARANCE or a worn out oil pump can cause low oil pressure.

Answer 10

You can only determine it by a compression test. I did it free (others might charge $5)

Answer 11

The combination of the high mileage and the damage that could have been done could easily be the reason why the light comes on.