On the way home from work at a stop light my oil pressure just dropped to 2 PSI. Mashed the throttle right away to bring it back up. It did this at every stop all the way home. Checked oil volume & it is full. What the heck is this????????????? :confused: :confused: :confused:

 

it could be a number of things, first check your oil gauge and connections but the most likely cause is the oil pump pickup has come loose and your sucking air OR its moved to close to the oil pan floor, the first test would be to drain the oil and check for bearing glitter, then change oil filter and add 6 qts of oil, if the problem continues PULL THE OIL PAN AND CHECK THING OUT BEFORE YOU SPIN A BEARING, while your in there Id change oil pumps and pickups and make extremely sure you have the oil pump pick-up brazed so its 1/2"-3/8" off the oil pan floor!! (I always install a quality oil pump like the moroso pump, or melling oil pumps (IVE ALWAYS HAD GOOD LUCK WITH THE HIGH VOLUME STANDARD PRESSURE PUMPS) and a retainer ALSO is extra insurance
http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...60&prmenbr=361
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=548706

read the thread on how to remove your oil pan above


[Modified by grumpyvette, 12:54 AM 4/29/2003]

 

Whatever it is you can bet it won't be cheap.

 

Can the oil pan be removed while the engine is in the car?

 

yes, you can remove the oil pan with the engine in the car, read the info included above

 

Not necessarily... I had that years ago a few times when I forgot to change the oil every 3K or less miles and was still using dyno oil (Not syntec).. Once the oil started getting old when I did a sharp turn, or mashed the brakes, the pressure dropped to the low teens. very rarely under though.. Could just be crappy old oil? I hope for his sake it is..

 

Thank you GrumpyVette for all the input. Don't have the time until this weekend. I have to go back to the prison this evening. We have an execution here in the wee hours tomorrow. Again Thank You.

 

Could be the oil pressure sending unit, I had one do the same thing at idle in a grand cherokee, it's certainly worth a try.

 

GrumpyVette
Why 6 qts. of oil? Owners manual says 5 qts. with filter change. :confused:

 

sorry I did not explain that, the reason I said six quarts was to test out a second possiablity, his low oil pressure could be caused by several problems and one of the more unlikely one is that all the oil drain back holes in the heads and lifter gallery are partly plugged up, slowing the oils return to the sump. lowering the oil level in the sump enough to allow the pick-up to suck air, the extra quart is enough extra to allow the lifter gallery to remain almost full while still having a minimum acceptable amount covering the oil pump intake in the oil pan.
its been my experiance that the first test you do is check for a bad gauge or sending unit,if that checks out ok, then adding a quart will have an effect if its a drain-back problem ,but won,t have any effect if its a pick-up thats moved too close to the oil pan floor. sudden changes in oil pressure, without a knocking rod are normally gauge or sending unit problems or oil pump pick-ups that have shifted closer to the oil pan floor! btw,Ive seen more than one oil pump pick-up that had that problem (LOW OIL PRESSURE) that had gasket material,old nylon gear teeth from old timing sets, and bits of silicone gasket cement that had worked loose and partly blocked the intake. Ive also seen detonation damage to pistons load up and partly block the oil pump pick-up with aluminum piston skirt pieces from skirts that momentarily locked in the bores from heat and jamed rings. so what your trying to do is locate or limit the possiable sources of the problem without doing un necessary work. (oils cheap and its a simple way to get more info)
now if it was my engine Id do a leak-down compression test before pulling the oil pan to get more info up front also.
http://www.vmaxoutlaw.com/tech/leakdown_tester.htm


http://www.goodvibesracing.com/Leakdown%20Tester.htm


http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...76&prmenbr=361

 

GrumpyVette
Thank you for all the input. :cheers: