I'm curious about this too - getting the flashing oil light periodically this week, tho I just changed the oil 2 weeks ago, and the level looks good, no smoke, and the oil is still gold on the dipstick.

Any idea how big (costly) an oil pump replacement vs. oil pressure sensor replacement is?

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Is your check engine light on at all?

 

I would first check the oil pressure and then go from their.

 

start with checking the oil pressure...then sensor, then oil pump.

 

No engine light - just the oil light. It was flashing again this morning when I started the car, but I noticed that if I revved the engine, it went out at first. Then it flashed or flickered while dring, and stopped flashing as I was rolling into the bay at the oil change place to ask them to check for a leak, the light went off. (figures!)

The guys were really cool about it and looked it over and under (slow day) - even let me go into the pit to look myself; no leaks, the levels looked good, and that it appeared that the cams were getting oil at the top of the block from what they could see at the oil cap hole at the top.

I asked if I should get one of those engine-oil flushes, but the guy said I should pressure test it then look at the oil pressure sensor first.

So, per the advice here too (thanks for the feedback all, btw!), I'm going to bring it in for an oil pressure test, and go from there, hoping its not the pump. From what I could see from an old Chilton guide, replacing an oil pump looks like a big job.

I'm running Ultra94 gas this last few weeks, just to ensure the car runs smoothly otherwise, but I get the sense the car is guzzling a bit - would a flaky oil pressure or oil pressure sensor affect the computer's fuel-air mix?

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My friends dad has been working at a acura stealership Since 1990 (technition). Over the entire 13 years he has only had to change one oil pump. And that was because a lady kept the factory oil in the car for 25,000 miles. Who would have thought a new car needed an oil change??

 

Hey.
This is real typical for any Honda product with almost 158K miles on it. The "light goes out when I rev it" is also a classic sign that your pump is gettin' long in the tooth. The inlet to the oil pump may also be restricted at the screen as well. It's probably getting to be time for a new (-er?) engine, or a new (er) Integra.
good luck,
-W-

 

Ouch... newer oil pump, engine, or Integra - all expensive options. That said, for sure, the car is old and its time is coming, I just want to delay that time til after I finish school and have a real job again... like, a year...

As far as getting a new(er) Integra - its too bad they don't make the Integra anymore. The RSX, better or worse, ain't no Integra. I drove one for an hour this summer, and it was nice, but it didn't feel the same - I didn't get the same road-sense from it as I recall from my Integra when it was new, or even now to some extent. It was nice, but it feels a bit taller, a bit more brutish/less refined, and I felt a bit less confident in turns than I'm used to now. (K, thats just a newbie opinion, and for the record, today I've got winter tires on Integra, and its handling is totally different from my summer tires). Call me a die-hard or insane, but if they made new B18-based Integras today (with the double wishbone suspensions up front, updated electronics etc. and real cup holders) I'd buy a new one over a new RSX any day.

Thanks again for the feedback!

Peace, out. Will post with the diagnosis when I get it.
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