'83 accord engine lugging/flickering oil light

[podobo]

This just started a couple of days ago. the engine has been lugging like crazy, like i'm trying to start the car in 4th gear or something. lots of nasty vibrating, and when it idles the RPMS are really low. today, when it was idling, the engine oil light started to flicker. not a full blink but like it was having a hard time deciding it was going to come on or not.

some of the other threads here led me to believe that engine mounts may have something to do with it? where would i look for those in my car?
thanks!

[jeffcoslacker]

I'd say it's more likely you spun a bearing....

Hopefully not, and it's just got a dead cylinder or something...but it is definitely nothing to do with the mounts...I think you misunderstood the relation between a few symptoms.

An engine that idles too low will feel really vibey if the mounts are bad...

But your problem is you either aren't firing on all cylinders, or you have some kind of catastrophic mechanical drag internally...which is what brought me to a spun main...symptoms are very familiar, low idle, engine draggy and low oil pressure at idle...

[jeffcoslacker]

Thinking more about this...possible the timing belt stripped a few cogs and slipped, now it's running with severely retarded valve timing...the oil pressure indication could just be because of the excessively low idle...below a certain rpm there's not enough oil pressure to keep the oil pressure sender open and it'll make the light flicker with each variation in pressure as the crank rotates...

But a spun bearing will make it bleed pressure off at the crank too and cause the same thing...another reason I jumped to that possibility.

You really need someone to take a listen.

[podobo]

oh, you know what, I did have belt problems before (forgive my ignorance, but i'm not sure what belt it was!). they replaced it after it was squeakign miserably. I'll get it all look at for sure!

Thanks!