What is an HLC?

Hlc
 

HLC = hydraulic lift compensator, also known as a ball stud, in parts catalog

Thanks. How dangerous can it be?

I'll try to flush the oil and replace(plus filter). Which grade should be used? (It had, by now, 15W40 mineral)

~Nautilus

Temperature
 

Check your manual, to select the correct oil. In my manual, there are about 6 or 7 oil weights depending on the temperature range that the vehicle operates in. Also, the service CD has the oil weights too.

I have two of the three cars with over 230k miles and both show 1 bar at a hot idle. I change oil and filter every 5k miles (they tend to have quite a bit of highway driving). I drive them hard every so often onced warmed up.

In the hotter part of the year I use 20w50 and in the cooler time I use 10w40.

Haasman

On my late, much-missed 420SEL . . .
 

. . . in Denver, I used to run 20W-50 in summer and 10W-30 in the winter, and usually saw 1.2 bar at hot idle. I used 20W-50 all year in New Orleans for the first year or so I was back here, and saw about the same reading.

Then, following suggestions I've read here, I went to Chevron Delo 400 15W-40. The hot idle reading went to 1.8 (!) and stayed there for the remaining 1.5 years I had the car.

-- At cold startup: 3
-- At hot idle: 1.8, but according to the manual, anything down to .3 bar is OK, *if*:
-- Needle rises to 3 on acceleration

During those 4-5 seconds, do you hear the engine ticking loudly? If so, does the noise stop once the gauge reads pressure? If you don't hear anything, my guess is that your oil pressure is fine. The oil pressure sending unit is probably bad. I would change it.

For my M102 engine the oil pressure spec is .3 bar at idle or higher! It will increase to 3 when the engine is over 2000 rpm and fully warmed up. It pegs at 3 when started when not warmed up yet. My gauge drops to about .5 bar on really hot days, but mostly stays above 1 bar. Then again I also think my pressure sender is probably getting old and tired, but no need to replace until it dies. As long as there is pressure there the engine is fine and of course you do not hear ticking from the engine area due to oil starvation. Best bet if you are so worried is to get the pressure checked at a shop. Never truly trust an electronic gauge as gospel as well. May be the sensor is just not as sensitive as it used to be!

No, it doesn't tick at all, makes just the normal sound the engine does when running(a sort of weak "purrrrrrrrrrrrrr....", like a large cat would do :D as heard from the inside)

For Cigar Havana: sorry, I don't have either the manual or the CD :( can someone post the list of recommended oil grades?

Among the best brands of oil available here on the market are OMV, BP and Mobil 1, in various grades, either synthetic or mineral.

~Nautilus