Leaking oil pressure switch....
 

About a week after doing an oil change I found oil stains on my driveway. I knew that the the bottom end of this car was rock solid clean last time I was under there and I never mess up on the drain plug. I feared my daughter probably hit something cracking the oil pan. I interrogated her and she gave honest answers so I scratched my head wondering what could it be.

The pan was coated with fresh oil droplets but the filter cap was clean and so was the oil cap. I noticed that behind the starter there were fresh oil drops and in other areas were it shouldn't be. Removing the starter revealed oil droplets on the pressure switch connector. I popped it out and it dripped even more oil. Upon removal the connector side dripped oil everywhere.

I've ordered a new one and my question is does this happen often on these cars? I lost about four quarts of new oil so the oil loss was significant for such a minor repair. Luckily I caught it in time knowing my daughter would of never been aware of this until the oil light came on or the engine seized... :eek:

Not an Ion guy, but first post of this issue on this board that I know of.

Lost 4 quarts? How many does it hold (don't feel like looking it up)?
You may have significant internal wear problems. Time will tell.

The Ecotec engine is a standard 4 cylinder engine that comes in several GM cars including recent models, (besides Saturn Ions). Did a Google and found some other GM cars with the same problem. Time will tell if there was any damage but I am fairly confident I got it on time. This engine uses 5 qts.

Seems like you dodged a bullet. I've had OPS' leak before, but not that much. I'd be curious to find out what happened to that one.

I am aware of the existence of Ecotec engines in Saturns and other GM vehicles. I didn't know which you had (2.2, 2.4 or SC 2.0), nor could I remember if the 2.0 takes a diff amt. Didn't feel like looking it up.

What were the conclusions from the other posts? Just vibrated loose?

Undertorqued from factory?
Needed Loctiite but none used at factory?
Bad gasket (deformed from heat, overly compressed (leading to sensor loosenesss or play in threads)?

Could you please post a pic of the sensor from a couple different angles?

Did the threads seem nasty when putting in the replacement?

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1 qt out of 5 left in there? Ouch.
Nice catch.
Keep an ear out for the timing chain. It's an interference engine.

Will do. I have not yet received the replacement. I'm not not really sure what the failure was, (it's a 2.2L BTW). The oil comes out from inside of the connector were the pins are. Here are a couple of pics of what the OEM switch looks like: :cool:

Oil pressure sensor failure is somewhat common across all brands. The sensor fails internally and leaks oil through the center core of the sensor. Coolant temp sensors can leak the same way but they are under less pressure. By the way the oil light really should be the " change engine light".

It is...Thanks! :D