Oil Light

[Darrell]

Wise decision there, doesn't take a whole lot to check the bearngs

[KAL SPL]

Anybody got any other suggestions on what may be causing it ?

[Pete126]

The usual cause for low oil pressure is worn bearings the only other things i have come across is a weak or broken oil pressure relief valve spring, or the oil filter could be clogged.
I had the same problem a few years ago when i stripped the engine down and checked the bearings this is what i found (see picture) as can be seen the rear bearing has no white metal on, its just worn away and the big end bearings were no better, The engine still drove O.K. and to be honest was not over noisy but that maybe because they are a noisy unit anyway, Check the oil filter first then work your way down to the bottom end.

[KAL SPL]

Thanks mate , my new motor is nearly complete and ready to swap back , once the current motor is out I will strip it down and inevitably find out whats causing it but it wont be going back in so no way to tell if I find the fault really unless its obvious.

The oil filter is only gravitational isnt it ? It doesnt have flow rate so can that cause low oil pressure ?
If Im honest this engine has NOT been looked after , it generally only gets oil topped up once its to low and light comes on , not the best I know but its not been a priority haha.

The new motor might get a little more respect

[KAL SPL]

Dropped the sump tonight and theres quite a few bits of copper flakes in there , oil pickup wasnt blocked , pistons and end caps have alot of play from side to side , is that normal ?

Flushed the pickup out and going to put some fresh oil in see what happens but I think you are on the money , 1 of the crank case bearings is gone.
Its getting worse by the day now.

[Pete126]

Hi Kal,
Check the oil filter you will be amazed how much crap is in there if its never been cleaned out, It doesn't take long and that could be the cause of the knackered bearings, The oil filter should be cleaned out every service but because they aren't a cartridge type people think they haven't got one,
Here's a link http://club126uk.co.uk/index.php?pid=6 of what i found when i cleaned out mine, although its a water-cooled the filter is the same design as the air-cooled, the oil pump, pumps oil under pressure into the centrifugal filter, all the debris in the oil is spun to the outer edges of the filter body and then deposits the debris on the outer edge which gradually builds up into the centre of the filter, because the diameter gets smaller this allows any dirt/dust/grit into the oil system because it can't do its job properly, It will wear the bearings and can reduce oil pressure if its blocked up, the system is a full flow filter, it flows under pressure through the hollow crank to the bearings and valve train. so as you can imagine its very important that it is cleaned at service intervals

[Aaron]

With the oil filter link put up by Pete126, our Nikis don't have the oil thrower shown in the 5th picture.  It confused the cr@p out of me for a while there.

[bis13]

i think you need to look again because you must have the same type this applies to both water cooled and air cooled models.

[Darrell]

Check the main bearings.

It's such an easy job on a 126, engine comes out easy and most likely is the rear one so whip the flywheel off.

You'll regret it is you knacker that engine as 126's always need spares  Especially if used alot

[KAL SPL]

i think you need to look again because you must have the same type this applies to both water cooled and air cooled models.

No oil throwers in my 3 air cooled motors.

[Aaron]

Ditto, no oil throwers in both of my air cooled motors.

[poxxxy]

What was the outcome here? My car seems to be having this issue now. Hoping it's the sensor but have a feeling it isn't