Oil alarm, please help

[ZachH3]

Hi guys. I really need some help. My truck gave me an oil alarm lately. I was towing my boat uphill when it first started to only give me "oil" alarm.

The temp always stayed below half and since that day, it keeps on going over and staying just above half. I understand that the oil system and the coolend system are two different units but I notice that the moment the temp go's up to 3/4 it give me an oil alarm.

I took it in and got the oil and filters changed, it cost me a couple of k. Apparently the gearbox oil was "burned". After that no problems. Went camping and the power stearing pipe burst due to poor work done on it previously. Got it towed in and a week later, when I went to pic it up, 16 km away from the garage it started to give me an alarm. Driving or standing. I took it back, 3 weeks later, they changed the thermostate and oil pump, cost me a lot of k.

Picked it up today, drove like a dream. 160km later, started to give me a oil alarm again and the temp rising to 3/4 again.

Gent, sorry to give you the whole story but I am really sad. I don't know what to do an I don't think the mechanics here know what they are doing. Can any body give me an idea or had the same problem. Any advise will be highly appreciated. We got a gtg coming up and I already missed the first one and in 2 weeks we are planning a huge trip, but my truck is not up to standard. Please, help me. Thanks gents.

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[LagunaH1]

Hi guys. I really need some help. My truck gave me an oil alarm lately. I was towing my boat uphill when it first started to only give me "oil" alarm.

The temp always stayed below half and since that day, it keeps on going over and staying just above half. I understand that the oil system and the coolend system are two different units but I notice that the moment the temp go's up to 3/4 it give me an oil alarm.

I took it in and got the oil and filters changed, it cost me a couple of k. Apparently the gearbox oil was "burned". After that no problems. Went camping and the power stearing pipe burst due to poor work done on it previously. Got it towed in and a week later, when I went to pic it up, 16 km away from the garage it started to give me an alarm. Driving or standing. I took it back, 3 weeks later, they changed the thermostate and oil pump, cost me a lot of k.

Picked it up today, drove like a dream. 160km later, started to give me a oil alarm again and the temp rising to 3/4 again.

Gent, sorry to give you the whole story but I am really sad. I don't know what to do an I don't think the mechanics here know what they are doing. Can any body give me an idea or had the same problem. Any advise will be highly appreciated. We got a gtg coming up and I already missed the first one and in 2 weeks we are planning a huge trip, but my truck is not up to standard. Please, help me. Thanks gents.

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First, this should be moved to the H3 forum, hopefully one of the mods will do that.

As far as I know, the transmission (gearbox) cooler is embedded in the engine cooler radiator on the H3's. That being the case, I can imagine how, if the engine is running hot, the transmission will also run hot and vice versa. Someone once told me that regular transmission fluid does *not* do well at the temperatures typically seen in engine coolers. -I wonder if that could account for the "burnt" transmission fluid. Maybe you should look into a transmission fluid which is specially made for high temperature applications.

 

[f5moab]

Engine oil is exceeding (I believe) 275 or 280 degrees (calculated number). And the engine oil can run 50-60 degrees hotter than the coolant temp; I know this since I monitor my engine, trans and coolant temps while towing the trailer (via a scan gauge). On my last trip; trans temp never exceeded 179 degrees (but I added an external stacked plate trans cooler), coolant never exceeded 210 degrees, but engine oil temp actually hit 270 degrees (calculated) on a very long uphill grade at about 70 mph. Engine was hitting 5K rpm most of the way and the trans was basically in second gear.

I would recommend a heavy duty oil cooler that is not hard to install. The inlet/outlet goes between the oil filter and the engine block, and then you route the hoses to the cooler. B&M sells one I believe.

External trans cooler is also nice, since before the cooler I used to hit about 225-230 on the trans fluid.

I can say if you use synthetic fluids all will be ok, but all will be ok only for the fluid. The seals are still getting pretty hot.

I should ask, what is the ambient temp when this happens, and how steep of a grade and length of the grade. It usually takes quite a long uphill grade.

 

[alrock]

Couple of questions - is this a manual or automatic transmission? Second, what is the exact error you are seeing - is the an oil light, a message above the odometer, or something else?

 

[ZachH3]

The red "oil" light is burning and the panel is saying "oil" only.

I replaced the oil to full sythetic oil (they sead they did, but I let them changed it anyway), changed oil filters, replaced oil switch, replaced thermostat, replaced oil pump. Got the coolant system tested, no leaks and everything in order.

It initially started on a uphill doing about 60km per hour pulling the boat, and only when the temp started to go up. Yesterday it gave me the alarm when I stopped and got out of the car, when it was standing still??????

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[ZachH3]

Oh yes, its auto.

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[f5moab]

Does not sound like oil temp unless the grade was greater than 6 percent for about 10 miles and it was over 100 degress (all Fahrenheit) and you are pulling a decent load. (Sorry too lazy to think metric.) Now if the grade was really steep, it may be the oil switch is not seeing the oil due to the grade. Sounds like oil starvation vs. oil temp to me.
If you are using a recommended grade, full syn is not normally required. A good grade of dyno oil will not lose viscosity, but any cheap oil that does not meet the required specs could lose viscosity. Could be true for some syn oils too, but have never heard of it with syn oil (yet). And really not familiar with your grades of oil in SA. As a general rule, a reputable non-syn oil that meets the spec required by GM (and most likely Chrysler, Ford, Toyota, etc.), can withstand engine oil temps up to 350 degrees F. Syn oil can go up to approx. 450 degrees F. However, if my memory serves me, GM will shove the engine into reduced power mode somewhere between 275-325 degrees F (I know big range, but I cannot remember the exact number).

So, I'll go back to my original question...What is the approx. grade of the incline, what is the distance of the incline and a new question, what is the weight of the load? (I have the MPH as about 38 mph, so to me that sounds like a sharp grade or a very heavy load; or both.)

Also, what engine? Was it a SA produced vehicle or was it an import? And year of vehicle?

 

[alrock]

For what it is worth, my bad cylinder head issue would at times translate into oil starvation issues. I would get oil pressure issues on long steep climbs even without towed load.

 

[speedy]

Bad Fan Clutch?
Drive it and get it hot.
Pull over and shut it off.
Open the hood grab the fan and see if it free spins
Running that hot it should sound like an airplane under the hood when it cycles off and on

A mechanical oil gauge is the best way to monitor pressures.

 

[ZachH3]

Thank allot guys. You are giving me great points to look into. My truck is a 3.7L 5c Auto H3 2009. The incline when it initially started with its trouble was about 25 degrees for about 25 km (+- 15miles).

 

[ArtHummer]

What is the outside temp? South Africa got to be warm ant towing something up heal is allot of stress on trany... Like F5 advised I would invest in to the heavy-duty oil cooler.

Also, your mechanic said that oil got burned. First, check the oil right now to see if it is in good shape. Second, before spending big $, change the temp sensor. IF it overheated ones (when you oil got burned) it could damage the sensor itself and give you the false reading now.

 

[bebe]

I somewhat disagree - GM does a ton of testing in desert environments. His oil light coming on means he has a problem with the existing system. He needs to R&R that first before he starts upgrading the system to handle "loads".

Loads stress the trans cooling system and the engine cooling system, no doubt, but an oil light is a different story all together.

 

[LagunaH1]

25 degrees for about 25 km (+- 15miles).

If I did the math right, then that's a 46 percent incline. Sounds like a VERY steep slope for 15 miles? If this is indeed the case then I understand much better how much strain is on the engine and transmission

 

[skippy]

could be as simply as a faulty oil sensor! i think the oil light on the dash is level not temp (so one can confirm)
have you put it on a scan gauge?

 

[f5moab]

Oil light will come on if the oil overheats and exceeds the limits set by GM in the calibration. I have never heard it happening, but it is part of the engine protection system. IF it exceeds a certain value it will cause the engine to go into reduced power mode. Syn fluid will not help since the computer has no idea what fluid you are using, it only goes by temps, engine rpm, etc. It has to assume a person is using dyno oil and oil that matches the spec required by GM.

I agree, GM does do some testing in desert areas, but a lot of that testing is not under stressful conditions, and many miles are driven in and around Hoover Dam since it is a local that outputs a heck of a lot of EMI and a great place to test shielding on onboard computers.

You will actually put more stress on the engine (oil) on steep and/or long mountainous grades vs. running in the desert, unless running at extreme speeds, and except for the Mesa proving grounds, the vehicles are tested at maximum speed limits.

However, with the grade mentioned, I wonder if it could be the oil level, due to the angle, is actually below or just barely touching the pickup tube. The PU tube is situated it tends to pickup oil at the mid-to-back of the engine, but with an extreme angle I wonder if that oil position could cause some problems for a long (15 miles) climb. Honestly, I don't know, just throwing something out.

If it only happens when climbing this extreme grade, I would guess that is the first thing I would go after.

But for a comparison, two weeks ago, pulling a 3K trailer on about a 15 mile run with a mixture of 2-6 degree slopes, at 70 mph, I was hitting 270 degrees Oil temp. I cannot even imagine what my temps would be pulling the same load for 15 miles up a 25 degree slope. (One reason why I decided the H3 is not a vehicle to be towing a trailer in the mountains.)

 

[bebe]

yep - since I started wheeling in Moab, my H3 was the only one who's oil light came on going down steep declines (hells in particular and Lions Back ) I have never had an issue with it other than that.

I'm going to go with the oil starvation - oil temp (fan clutch inoperable) first. The sensor I think was replaced (earlier in the thread).

 

[ZachH3]

Thanks allot for the valid tips, info and support.

My truck started with this for the first time when I towed my boat uphill. Now, since then, if been having the problems. Currently, I drive on the hwy with no problems but when I stop, it gives me an "oil" alarm. (oil pressure). Since that day the temp also stay above the half mark.
:gaah:
I replaced the oil pump, oil filters, oil, oil switch, thermostat, fan tested, got the radiator tested (head), all wiring checked from all sensors....... this morning they still don't know whats going on. The comp say nothing is wrong. Now they are getting a mobile computer to test it while they are driving.

 

[bro of bro of 3 & 3hummer]

How many miles are on this engine? I know it is not likely with the oils we use today but if one or more of the oil return drains in the head are sludged up or blocked in some way the oil will not return to the oil pan as fast as it should reducing the level of the oil in the pan which would cause oil starvation and the light to come on. Really need to do road test monitoring the readings.

 

[LagunaH1]

Now they are getting a mobile computer to test it while they are driving.

Probably the best thing I've heard them suggest so far. Good luck, keep us posted please.

 

[ZachH3]

Hi guys. Some feedback on my truck. Got it back on Saturday morning. The mobile comp system indicated a poor earth on the oil switch. They just cleaned the connection and I took it yesterday on a trip with no problems...... Jip, they replaced a lot of parts and it was only an earth wire..... With regards to the heat, they don't know as the system told them that the water temp is 103 degrees Celsius, and the oil 107 degrees. They recommend to put an additional oil cooling system on but otherwise they don't know.

I spoke to Sennin and some of the other Hummer guys on Sunday at the track, and everyone's temp runs between half and 3/4. (My q is just why it ran below the half mark and since the alarm above...???) Well, at least the alarms are off and although the gage show 3/4, I know the temp is ok.

Thanks allot for everybody's input and support.

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[ArtHummer]

Damn this malfunctioning sensors. Telling you that there is an issue when there is not... Glad it finely all worked out for you.