Low oil but still have lots of pressure!?

[Brett Garret]

When my car gets around 500-1000 to my next oil change the low oil light comes on. I'm almost positive it does not leak. However, my oil pressure gauge stays right where it always does (I have 3.4 so its annoyingly jumpy) and I have even replaced the oil pressure sensor over a year ago. Any ideas as to what it could be?

[skorpion317]

Originally posted by Brett Garret:
When my car gets around 500-1000 to my next oil change the low oil light comes on. I'm almost positive it does not leak. However, my oil pressure gauge stays right where it always does (I have 3.4 so its annoyingly jumpy) and I have even replaced the oil pressure sensor over a year ago. Any ideas as to what it could be?

umm ur car is just telling you to change the oil cuz it's getting low?

[i_love_my_maro]

ya check the oil

[V6Bob]

Your oil level is just low. It doesn't have to leak, an engine just uses some oil, some more than others.

It's not unusual to have good oil pressure even if the oil level is a bit low.

[1DangerousV6]

hmmm...might wanna check out the sensor just in case?

[Brett Garret]

I checked it and it was a little low, nothing out of the ordinary though. I run Royal Purple and have heard that it gets 'used' a bit more than other oils. I took her in though for the 3k filter drop and refill which is nice and free and that took care of it.

[F1GT]

Originally posted by Brett Garret:
I checked it and it was a little low, nothing out of the ordinary though. I run Royal Purple and have heard that it gets 'used' a bit more than other oils. I took her in though for the 3k filter drop and refill which is nice and free and that took care of it.

...until you burn up some more, then the low oil light will come on again. Just check it every 1k and refill. Most old school manuals will say check oil everytime u fill up gas, but if you are burning that much oil, you have problems.

[WickEdSix9838]

the oil pressure wont change even if you have low oil...the only time it will start acting up is when there isnt enough oil in the pan for the pickup to reach....

[camaro_speedemon]

When my rear main seal went on my Camaro, my oil pressure gauge would jump all over the place when the engine was hot. I was loosing a lot of oil, about 1qt every thousand miles.

When I replaced the rear main seal, the gauge worked fine and stopped jumping.

A jumpy oil pressure gauge is a good indication there's a leak somewhere. Check you're oil level once a week or so and add oil as needed, that's what I had to do. If you're consuming a lot of oil, then you might want to get it fixed.