Just bought a 2002 xkr that has engine issues. When started there is a low oil pressure warning, performance warning and the supercharger sounds like it has a bearing going bad. My question is,where do i hook up a gauge to make sure it has low oil pressure. Is it common to lose oil pressure in these cars? Should I be looking for a transplant? The car has 130,000 miles on it.
At 130,000 miles you may be right to consider another engine, but I'd hate to condemn it too soon. Being a 2002 model, you already have a steel sleeved engine, which is the worry of most people.
We don't usually have much in the way of oil pressure troubles with these engines, but it is possible that a timing tensioner could be causing the pressure loss. They can fail [the primary tensioners mostly] and allow a massive oil pressure dump. Simply replacing them restores the oil pressure. You'll just need to closely assess the overall condition of the engine to decide how to go about the repair.
To actually test the oil pressure requires the removal of the sending unit at the RH front of the engine near the alternator bracket, and installing an adapter for a pressure gauge.
