low oil pressure problem still!!!! help!

[alexhoughton]

my oil pressure gauge is dropping to zero when my car is at an idle. only when the car is warmed up though. when you hit the gas it will fluctuate up and down when the engine is throttled up and down. im very worried about my engine getting oiled properly. its still cold here and i have a feeling the prob will get worse this summer because its worse when its warmed up. please help-or tell me if my motor is going to hell. it has 150,000 miles on it but still runs excellent! i need an expert

[nascar24jd]

Re: low oil pressure problem still!!!! help!

my oil pressure gauge is dropping to zero when my car is at an idle. only when the car is warmed up though. when you hit the gas it will fluctuate up and down when the engine is throttled up and down. im very worried about my engine getting oiled properly. its still cold here and i have a feeling the prob will get worse this summer because its worse when its warmed up. please help-or tell me if my motor is going to hell. it has 150,000 miles on it but still runs excellent! i need an expert

You need to connect a mechanical oil pressure gauge. Even if you only hook it up temporarily, you need to determine if it is a gauge problem or an actual oil pressure problem.

[auto666]

Re: low oil pressure problem still!!!! help!

nascar24jd nailed it isolate the problem

[firechicken3800]

Re: low oil pressure problem still!!!! help!

you could try replacing your oil pressure sending unit. that is probably where i would start, instead of replacing the oil pump from the get go. well i hope you the best on this, and hopefully it's something inexpensive.

[jackiegeorge]

Re: low oil pressure problem still!!!! help!

my oil pressure was low mine is a 96 3800 we are in the process of replacing the lower intake gaskets and we believe that will bring the oil pressure back up. my oil had about 3-4 quarts of antifreeze in it. just changed it 230 miles ago with synthetic that saved my engine. steve

[alexhoughton]

Re: low oil pressure problem still!!!! help!

if your oil has antifreeze in it you have a bigger problem than you think-sounds like a blown head gasket. oh and i ended up finding out it was my oil pressure sending unit that caused my gauge to wack out. thanks for the help guys!

[nascar24jd]

Re: low oil pressure problem still!!!! help!

if your oil has antifreeze in it you have a bigger problem than you think-sounds like a blown head gasket. oh and i ended up finding out it was my oil pressure sending unit that caused my gauge to wack out. thanks for the help guys!

You're welcome...

[Vanquish]

Re: low oil pressure problem still!!!! help!

Now that you have changed your sending unit, I would sea-foam the crankcase, because I would be almost positive that gunk has built up due to it not being able to send the proper amount of oil through, and thus causing back pressure. So due to that , you are probably loosing a few hp and causing wear on your crank case.

[alexhoughton]

Re: low oil pressure problem still!!!! help!

um the oil pressure sending unit just sends a signal to my gauge right? so why would the oil not be getting to the motor. that doesnt make sense dude

[Vanquish]

Re: low oil pressure problem still!!!! help!

Because sea-foam is the answer to all. That's why it makes sense.

I know enough about cars to know what the sending unit does, you don't need to explain it to me. But if your car has over 30k on it, it still wouldn't be a bad idea to go ahead and seafoam your crankcase and possibly even putting some in your gas tank. I don't believe in putting the seafoam through a vacuum hose anymore because after I did it to an 03 Malibu it would sputter at about 3400 rpms.

[jackiegeorge]

Re: low oil pressure problem still!!!! help!

well my lower and upper intake gaskets did not solve my oil pressure problem. guess i drove it a little to long with a leaking lower intake gasket. oil pressure is at about 15 to 20psi at warm idle 45 to 50 cruising down the highway. it hasent made any noises untill this morning when i startrd it up i heard a little tapping but it went away very quick. guess its time for main and crank bearings. the car has just turned 99,200 miles on it. steve i run full synthetic 10w30 oil in it but i am going to bump up the weight next time to 10w40 or 20w50 and see what that does.

[black-dragon]

Re: low oil pressure problem still!!!! help!

I have a 95 3.4 and i also have problems with the oil pressure bottoming out when the engine is hot. Also i hear a clicking sound when the engine is running, like your tapping a pen on a desk. I've looked at my oil pan and it's dented in a good deal (if you want to move to weatherford, tx dont drive your camaro/firebird) and i was thinkin it could have messed my oil pump up. Any in put would be great.