oil pressure gauge
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1st Gear
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oil pressure gauge
At low speeds my oil pressure gauge moves around excessively,but when I get up to speed it pegs off the scale . Any ideas why ? And no there is not too much oil in the motor . Oil level on the dipstick is right it should be.
Last edited by My first C4; Oct 12, 2020 at 09:11 PM.
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Joined: May 2001
Posts: 4,759
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From: Fairfax Virginia
Welcome to the Corvette Forum, "My first C4"!!
For us to help you we need to have some base information.The year or your Corvette and body style and any other pertinent information. This is to help others diagnose your "Issue of whether the oil pressure was too Low at lowerengine speeds". The more information you put out there the more detailed solutions can be found. Is it a L98 or the LT1 version? Mileage of vehicle, manual transmission, 4+3 or 6 speed or Automatic 700R4, rear end ratio, any options
As jv9999 mentioned it could be a "loose connection or bad sender most likely". That is frequently what causes the problem. A lot of older higher mileage engines do what you are describing as they do make lower oil pressures at idle speed than they did new. I have seen engines where they sped up the idle to make the extra oil pressure on the engines, otherwise at idle you would get a low oil pressure reading. I have seen lots of vehicles that tickle the oil pressure switch making the low oil light trigger but they frequently have high mileage
It might be as simple as a oil change with the High Mileage Synthetic oil. That is one of the first things I do when I buy a vehicle is Oil Change
For us to help you we need to have some base information.The year or your Corvette and body style and any other pertinent information. This is to help others diagnose your "Issue of whether the oil pressure was too Low at lowerengine speeds". The more information you put out there the more detailed solutions can be found. Is it a L98 or the LT1 version? Mileage of vehicle, manual transmission, 4+3 or 6 speed or Automatic 700R4, rear end ratio, any options
As jv9999 mentioned it could be a "loose connection or bad sender most likely". That is frequently what causes the problem. A lot of older higher mileage engines do what you are describing as they do make lower oil pressures at idle speed than they did new. I have seen engines where they sped up the idle to make the extra oil pressure on the engines, otherwise at idle you would get a low oil pressure reading. I have seen lots of vehicles that tickle the oil pressure switch making the low oil light trigger but they frequently have high mileage
It might be as simple as a oil change with the High Mileage Synthetic oil. That is one of the first things I do when I buy a vehicle is Oil Change
Last edited by ctmccloskey; Oct 13, 2020 at 12:43 PM.
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Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 55
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From: Toms River, NJ
Since you said the gauge is "pegged", I assume you have a 1990-96, since the oil pressure gauge was analog. The L98 (90-91) and LT1 (92-96) used the same oil pressure sender.
I'd first check the connection. It's attached to a "T" at the rear of the intake (on both engines.) The taller sensor is the oil pressure sender. If that seems OK, then I'd go and replace the sender. They can leak if they go bad, and from personal experience, can get pretty messy.
Here's a how-to guide to replacing the sensor - https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ding-unit.html
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 4,759
Likes: 1,647
From: Fairfax Virginia
When in doubt, verify. I have a small kit I bought at harbor freight that measures Oil Pressure and has every known attachment with it so you can use it with whatever kind of engine you have. I have hooked it up to verify that the gauge was correct on a Corvette. Very handy tool to have in your box.
Don't forget that a lot of oil pressure senders are just for on/off idiot lights. They also make sensors that work with a gauge showing pressure. The two types of sending units are the same on the outside but do completely different jobs. I had a Boat with a Chrysler engine and they could not understand that I had a gauge and not just an idiot light.
Don't forget that a lot of oil pressure senders are just for on/off idiot lights. They also make sensors that work with a gauge showing pressure. The two types of sending units are the same on the outside but do completely different jobs. I had a Boat with a Chrysler engine and they could not understand that I had a gauge and not just an idiot light.
