My only car which i need tomorrow now has some sort of oil issue.

I had an oil leak for a while and it got low today so i filled it up so its at the right level and later today i was heading home stopped at a light and the oil light came on. thinking it was probably something bad i shutoff the engine and coasted down the hill and pulled over and got it towed home. while in the driveway a few minutes ago i i started the car and the light did not come on so i revved the engine a few times then it lit up and as i rev the engine it gets dimmer with higher RPM.

The oil leak is somewhere below the distributor.

Lots of short trips and have alot of white goop in the oil cap so im wondering if it may have fell off and clogged the oil filter or an oil passage.

as it is the oil is at a proper level.

Anything simple i can do to try and fix this tonight? i really need a car for tomorrow.

 

Locate the oil leak, it could be a factor in the issue. I've seen many oil PSI sensors leaking and also triggering the oil light. If you suspect oil pressure an issue, rent a mechanical gauge or buy a mechanical gauge. Remove the sensor and confirm the pressure.

 

I already found this out before your post. Unfortunately i had to call in and take today off to find it and fix it but i found that oil was steadily pouring from the rear of the engine block by the oil filter so i cconsidered that the oil filter seam may have been to blame as it is common in STP oil filters so i replaced it with a Fram filter and still oil pouring but since it was all cleaned off i noticed the oil streaming out of the oil pressure switch. So you were without a doubt correct on the first guess. i bought a new switch and am about to put it in. Thanks anyways for your response, confirms my conclusion.

 

Cool! Glad it was simple. My oil stream wasn't so easy.. balancer shaft seal..

BTW, since you mentioned Fram, watch out - many people say they are junk, causing engine failures. I've used them for 20 years and never had an issue... except one my father had told me about that they missed threading the center to spin it on the engine..

 

What about this....

This could be a sign of a coolent leak?

 

I would get the new oil pressure switch oem from the dealer. I replaced mine with an aftermarket from Oreily's and it didn't work, the oil light kept flickering on and off. I Replaced it with oem and no trouble since.

 

I replaced it today and all is well. no light flickering or loss of oil. only thing i did not like is that the original was a 5/8 or 3/4 and the new duralast one was a special socket between 1 and 1 1/16

 

Nobody knows why this is. everywere i look people say it is a head gasket and then theres people who say no its condensation. im losing coolant but it is because the heater core it is undoubtedly the source as i can smell it and see it fog up the glass and leave a residue on the inside. i was losing ALOT of coolant before but that was due to the water pump leaking as well. Im leaning towards condensation because of a small oil leak in the distibutor o-ring the oil escapes and air has to take its place. As well as the fact that during the oil change no water or coolant was present at all in the clear bottle that i poured it into. so im thinking it is just condensation collecting in the valve cover. the only spot i find the goop is under the filler cap and around the filler cap neck in the valve cover and sometimes a dot a few inches up the dipstick. so as it is im not to worried about it. after i fix the heater core this fall i will do a compression test on the coolant system to triple check it just in case.

 

After you fix the heater core and you still lose coolant, THEN it still might be a headgasket. I've seen condensation in the crankcase causing the crud, but it's not constant, not a LOT of crud, and only happens with shorter trips.

 

Only time will tell i should have the heater core by the end of this month. Do you happen to know if anyone has a DIY guide for replacing the heater core for a 97 accord? i could probably figure it out but seeing as the hole dash has to come out i dont want to screw it all up.