131mirafiori forum

Just wonderin why does the oil light flicker in my 131 when the car is hot and ticking over?the engine it self has just 44 thousand on it so it is fine would it be a faulty oil pump as i had to change one when the sump got bashed at one stageand it was second hand

Oil level ok? Correct oil grade? Perhaps a faulty sender unit? Verify the pressure is low with an accurate gauge before thinking major issues like engine internals.

If the oil pump was working fine when fitted then it's unlikely to have worn since then; oil pump is the best oiled part of an engine  ;)

I'd second all that Dave has said above and will add that you shouldn't necessarily believe the dipstick when measuring oil level. I had a similar problem with my Silver Sport years ago and it turned out to be a faulty dipstick!  :o The rubber stop can work loose allowing the dipstick to move lower into the sump and giving higher readings. If in doubt, drain the oil and refill with fresh good quality oil and measuring the amount you're putting into the engine.

Also ensure you have the correct oil filter for your engine i.e. one specified for the engine and not just "one that fits"; oil filters are not all the same.

May be the oil grade I have semi synthetic in it What is the correct oil grade?

What would the correct oil filter be andwhat amount of oil is specifi3ed for the engine thanks

Oil for engine goin by the book is 15W / 40 ..Amount= 4.1 litres including the filter..  type of filter not sure of that but i would have thought as long as it has the non return valve inside the filter  will remain full at all times & thats what matters ..

Had an oil light flicker on me once turned out to be the drive cog on the top of the oil pump had worn some of the teeth off the cog.. this is the same toothed cog shared by the distributor drive  in the block..this is unusual but was my experence of a flickering oil light

Enda - This the oil filter I use.

I sourced it from a Fiat dealer in Limerick who has since closed. I think they got them from Fiat UK. Maybe your "local" Fiat dealer might be as helpful.  :)

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/P1190063.jpg)

Thats the spring loaded non return valve u can see inside the filter kevin ..
 any motor factors should easily be able to supply a matching filter ( there isn't really anything special about a standard 131 oil filter).. i know your a stickler for the genuine parts kevin .. amazed you didn't insist on it being one of the early blue '' olio'' filters ..  ;D

Gee I don't know if I'm a stickler Dave but having bought spurious rear brake cyclinders to discover they were missing the screw on thread....just as they were about to be fitted to a car that needed them...convinced me that OE is best wherever possible.  :)

My 131s get a punishing work out once or twice a year and the last thing you want 100s of Kms from home is an avoidable failure.... :)

That must be the right oil filter Kev  ;)
I normally use Champion C102 filters as they are easily available from Halfords. It's quite a common filter for the 131 as it fits many Fiats, Alfas, Lancias and even Fords, Toyotas and Volvos! So any good motor factors should be able to provide an oil filter for a Fiat 131 Twin Cam.

The valve that can be seen in Kev's photo at the bottom of the filter is a pressure release valve that will allow oil to flow even if the filter gets blocked. The Fiat 131 engine does not need a filter with an anti-drain valve as the filter sits "the right way up" which is with all its holes at the top. So oil will not drain out of the filter when the engine is turned off. Some cars (e.g. Gamma, Porche 911, most V12 Ferraris, some Jags etc) have the filter upside down so the oil can drain out of the filter when the engine is turned off. For some of those cars (e.g. Gamma and 911) that take about half an hour to pump the oil round their wide engines, it's important to keep the oil in the filter when the engine is turned off and so their filters have an anti-drain valve. Such valves are fitted at the top of the filter (obviously as they are meant to keep the oil inside the upside down filter) and would look something like this:

(http://gammaconsortium.com/lanciagammaforum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=499.0;attach=2535;image)

A filter fitted to the Fiat 131 should not have such a valve and you should be able to see all the way to the bottom of the filter and the pressure relief valve:

(http://gammaconsortium.com/lanciagammaforum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=499.0;attach=2537;image)

It's also important not to use a filter meant for a modern engine as they are likely to have a dense foam filter material (instead of paper) intended for clean modern engines, thin oil and long service intervals.

Not so unusual, I had it happen to me about 4 months ago, fortunately I had another drive gear in a spare block in the shed. I worked in a Fiat workshop many years ago, we replaced the oil pump drive gears quite often, unfortunately for some owners it also required replacing bigend bearings as well. It was enough of an issue for Fiat that later oil pump drive gears were longer, allowing more contact area on the drive spline.

Yes I agree, not so unusual. It happened to me twice but when it happens it's total loss of oil pressure and not just a flickering light at idling; in my experience at least  :-[  First time was in my 124 while on the elevated section of the M4 and that killed the engine; the big end shells got fused to the crank and needed a hammer and chisel to remove  :-\. Second time was in my silver Sport but the engine survived. I had some oil additive which was meant to allow the engine to run without oil for a long time. While I didn't necessarily believe the claims I think the additive must have worked as the engine was fine even though my wife was driving around for most of the day with "the red Aladdin's lamp" (as she called it) on  :o  Since then I always change the oil pump drive on a Fiat when I buy it.  

In this case I'll say oil viscosity or pressure switch. Try a heavier mineral oil, I've always run 20w50 in mine, if problem persists, throw a pressure switch at it.

Thanks for all the advice lads much appreciated :)

We had a regata towed in to the workshop one time, the woman driver was coming back from the coast, the "press" light came on, she pressed it, it didn't do anything, so she kept driving, not for much further though.

Sorry stand corrected on the valve in filter .. pressure release valve it is.. Not one way valve.. ::)

By the way Tas131 ,didn't know they lenghtened the oil pump drive gears on the later cars .. really good to know as i have a 130 T/C engine to strip & rebuild before fitting into my 131 & she will now defo be getting that longer drive installed.. ;)...
Never realised that drive gave trouble , had always thought i was seriously unlucky to have such an odd problem..
Of course i had to be about 130 miles from home the day it happened to me..Had to leave the car stranded in a farmers yard for a couple of days that time before i got back to collect her...

As suggested by Dave, check the oil pressure with a guage or a different pressure sender as a minimum.  Flickering can be caused when the diaphragm inside the sender unit fails.
A second-hand oil pump is normally worn.  If you need to remove it to check you will normally find the pump gears to be scored and therefore less able to achieve a steady pressure.
I have seen damage to the drive gear.  I think Guy suggests these are changed on any rebuild.  Nice to hear the later ones are modified.
Lastly, I put 20W50 in a Sport engine with 76K miles.  First cold morning under 5C and it wouldn't even crank over!  I think this would have destroyed a worn drive gear.  Nice new semi-synthetic worked well in all conditions.

You've got other problems then! Every winter mine starts every morning between 0 & 5 deg, first turn of the key.

Changed the oil and filter to a heavier oil and all seems fine now :)

You should install a oil pressure gauge... It may seems ok because the light is not on but doesn't mean that there are no problems....

It was on again yesterday when it got hot Turns out all it needed was a new oil light switch all is fine now  ;)