Oil pressure low warning light - More oil in it than last week???

[missymckay]

Hi i am hoping someone can help.

The low oil pressure light came on today and said to turn off engine. I did this and looked for leaks etc but nothing was visible, there was no smoke from the back and the engine sounded as it normally does. I started it again and drove it about one mile back to home, no further lights appeared.

I have checked the oil and there appears to be more oil than when i checked it last week. This is the bit that is puzzling me as I haven't been able to find anything online about this in relation to the golfs. The oil did smell a bit of fuel (although i know this can be normal as they run rich). Do you think it could be an issue with the fuel injector seals?

Any help of advice is appreciated.

Cheers

[Dan_FR]

Fuel pump has failed. Change it ASAP and get the oil changed before driving it any further or you will quickly kill your engine. Once changed, get a garage to do a proper oil pressure test using an old fashioned mechanical gauge to verify the oil pressure is ok

[missymckay]

Thanks, i don't mean to sound thick but how would the fuel pump failure cause an increase in engine oil? I've not had an issue like this before so totally not sure where to start with it. Cheers

[Dan_FR]

The high pressure fuel pump seals have failed, which leaks fuel from the pump into the the engine, which has caused the level to increase. The fuel in the oil will cause massively accelerated wear and needs sorting ASAP

[missymckay]

The high pressure fuel pump seals have failed, which leaks fuel from the pump into the the engine, which has caused the level to increase. The fuel in the oil will cause massively accelerated wear and needs sorting ASAP

Would an error show up for this if i get it scanned?

[Dan_FR]

No. This is a phyisical/mechanical issue that is not monitored by a sensor. The only way to verify it is to either strip the fuel pump and examine it, or send a sample of the oil off for analysis.

If it is the pump, this issue will kill your whole engine very quickly so get it seen to.

FYI as I just re-read your original post. These engines don't run rich - most of the time they run a stoich 14.7:1 mixture and this only enriches under heavy driving. It's normal for the oil to smell of combustion due to heavy blow-by/engine breathing, but this is a different smell to neat, unburnt fuel.

[missymckay]

Thanks for the advice. I will get it booked in my local garage 

[ady-gti]

Easy way to check fuel pump failure, take off the oil cap and smell - if it smells STRONGLY of fuel then that's it. But TBH, as has been said by Dan, oil level increase can only be one thing and that is fuel in the oil and the fuel pump is the main culprit. The oil will be so thin that it cannot maintain the pressure needed to keep all the parts from hitting themselves.

Could also be cam follower failure, which in turn wears down the end of the fuel pump etc - won't know until it's removed and inspected..

Don't drive it to the garage, get them to pick it up with a trailer. Don't let them drive it away, it may well be ok for the drive to the garage but it's not worth the risk of killing the engine.

[The Red Warrior]

Just concurring with the above posters. I had the same symptoms as you along with backfiring and misfires.
My seal in the high pressure fuel pump had died letting fuel into the engine oil.
Unfortunately this seal can't be bought on it's own. You have to buy a whole fuel pump.
Although mine failed due to the extra pressure from a stage 2+ tune and AutoTech fuel pump internals. I changed to the Intergrated Engineering fuel pump internals which don't exert as much pressure on the seal, as they use a different design that comes with their own seal.
No problems since.

[missymckay]

Thanks for all your help, it's booked in for the weekend and i'm getting a tow there so hopefully back up and running next week :)