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I've been trying to chase down an oil leak on the wife's 9-5 for months now and finally identified the problem. If you're having a leakage problem, it seems like there's oil all over the rear of the lower block and oil pan (and it's dripping on the cat)... congratulations! Your car probably has the same problem as my wife's: a leaking oil-pressure switch. The switch itself is almost impossible to see as it's behind the starter.
Here's what I did to replace it, if I'd known what I was doing when I started it would have been an 1- to 1-1/2 hour job.
First things first: I'd found some posts here indicating that the switch can be replaced with a cut-off 15/16" wrench... I bought a 15/16" stubby combination wrench for the job but try as I might I could not figure out how to change the switch without pulling the starter - there's just no room to get the wrench in there.
So here's what I ended up doing... this is all done from above with the car sitting on the ground. One of those small flexible lights is very helpful - it's hard to get a full-sized light down there and still have room for your hands.
1) Disconnect the battery negative terminal.
2) Remove the stay between the back of the intake manifold and back of the block (2 bolts, 13mm combination wrench). It may not be 100% necessary to do this but it makes it way easier to get your hands in there.
3) Disconnect the large power cable from the starter (13mm combination wrench).
4) Disconnect the small cable from the starter (10mm 1/4" drive socket with regular handle).
5) Cut the tie-wrap holding the wiring to the starter solenoid.
6) Unplug the connector above the solenoid connecting the oil-pressure switch to the engine harness.
7) Remove the upper starter bolt. This bolt goes into the starter from the transmission side (it threads into the starter, there's no nut) and has a 18mm head. I used an 18mm combination wrench.
8) Remove the lower nut holding the starter on - this is a nut with a 16mm head that threads onto a stud. I used a 16mm combination wrench.
9) Remove the starter - now you can finally get access to the pressure switch!
10) I used a 15/16" combination wrench to remove the switch. But if you have one, it would probably be easier to cut off the wire and use a deep 15/16" socket.
11) Now here's the fun part: installing the new switch and getting it tight. Obviously you cannot cut the wire on the new switch to fit it into a socket. Luckily the switch I received from eeuroparts did not take a 15/16" but instead a 7/8" wrench, which just so happens to be the same size as an oxygen sensor! So I used an oxygen sensor socket to tighten it.
12) Put everything back together by reversing the above steps. Be prepared to use some finger-yoga to get the new switch plugged into the harness (since if you're like me you can only get 1 hand in there) and a lot more if you want to tie-wrap the wiring like it was originally!
This car is a 2002 model with the 4-cylinder gas engine, I think other years should be the same.
posted by 72.93.22...
, Sun, 12 Feb 2012 08:42:12
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