I have a 99 Neon DOHC that has a bad top end noise. Took it to the Mopar garage & they said it is definately in the top end. I have replaced 16 lash adjusters, & 16 new rocker arms. The noise is still there. While at the Mopar garage last time the mechanic said he believes that the lash adjusters are not all priming up, that would explain why my oil light comes on sometimes. So today at work i called the Mopar garage & asked the shop foreman what oil pressure it should carry. He called me back after looking it up & said at an idle it should carry 4psi, at 3,000rpm between 25-80 psi. Doesn't 4 psi, sound low? Well tonight i went to my uncles & took the valve cover off, pulled the fuel pump fuse & cranked it over while my uncle & a friend watched to see what was getting oiled. There is at least 4 lifters not getting oil. So we put everything back together, then installed an aftermarket oil guage. When i first started the car was at 50psi, after warming up went to 15psi. So do i have a weak oil pump, or is this good. Any ideas to why i am not getting all lifters properly oiled. Any useful input appreciated.

 

Sounds decent, once it warms up the oil pressure will be lower since the oil is thinning. Does it EVER drop below 15? Does it go up when you rev it?

 

you should be getting oil to all the lifters. if your not you could have a clog in the oil galley.

im not sure what the pressure should be so i couldnt help you on that.

 

Yes when i rev it goes up about 40psi or a little more. I am going to try 2 quarts of motor flush tonight when i get in. I hope that will help clean any clogs out. Any other ideas?

 

I have not seen the oil pressure go any lower than 12 psi.

 

your oil pressure sounds be be pretty good...
if anything, you just have a clog

 

Start it with the valve cover off and check to see if those lifters get oiled.

 

Well today my uncle called the Mopar garage & yes they said 4psi at an idle. The shop foreman said to run 1 quart of oil, & 3 quarts of kerosene. Said to let the car idle, while keeping an eye on the oil pressure guage. He said when the pressure drops, & starts gettin louder to shut if off & drain it out. He also said to remove oil pan & check the screen on the pump, which i was gonna do anyways. Well i'll post the results later, wish me luck.

 

4psi at idle? measured from where, the valve cover??? 4psi @ the oil sensor would equal engine failure. I don't know who is feeding you that crap, maybe they mean 14psi....that is a little lower than where I idle w/ 4quarts of 5w30 on a low compression turbo sohc.....I think that "mopar" mechanic u are talking to is smoking some strong shyznit

 

4psi at an idle measured from where the oil sending unit was. That is what the shop foreman said to me twice, then told my uncle the same when he called. Well tonight ran 1 quart oil, 3 kerosene for awhile then drained it. Later pulled off the oil pan & cleaned out the pickup tube, there was a little stuff there not much. Well at an idle now seems to drop to around 6-7psi, the noise is still there. Did not have time to pull valve cover to check & see if its oiling any better, i seriously doubt it sounds about the same. So friday will pull valve cover & check the oiling. Any ideas, should i try flushing it again. I really dont want to pull the head again, but i might have to. Any help appreciated.