Went for a hard drive today around some twisties in the mountains

On my way back, I was cruising on the Interstate when I notice my coolant temp starting to rise.

Pull over, top off the fluid (which was about half a gallon low) and continue

Ten minutes later, the dash lights up, LOW OIL PRESSURE

I start to pull over, and then bam the coolant over heats again

I shut the motor off and coast into a gas station

Coolant level is fine. Oil level is fine. No milky oil, nothing

I decide to start the car once it cools off, and still no oil pressure

But no weird noises. No ticking. No bearings shredding themselves to pieces. I rev the motor and it builds pressure to 25 PSI at 2500rpm

I decide to drive it home rather than spend $300 on a tow truck

Car does fine on the way home (all highway) and when I pull into the shop, I let the car idle and of course, 2 PSI oil

I changed the oil and there's no metal shavings or metallic glitter in the oil. I put in 20w50 to see if I can get some better pressure

With the 20w50 I get 10psi on idle and 40psi at 2500rpm

The gauge doesn't fluctuate and it's not erratic, so I don't think the sender is bad. There's no strange ticking noises or anything horrid out of the motor. I pulled the valve covers and no broken springs. I decided to take a drive, and the car doesn't miss or seem down on power.

If there truly was no oil pressure, wouldn't I be hearing my motor tearing itself apart??

The only thing I haven't done is check the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge, which is my next step. I've just been avoiding it because it doesn't look like much fun

Thoughts? Suggestions? What else should I check?

Thanks!!!

 

Checking with a mechanical guage is a must. You say when reved to 2500 rpm you are getting 25 psi, that is way too low. Mine at 2500 rpm will be between 40 - 60 psi. Sounds like something is going on in their that should not be.

 

So if there's no pressure before the filter it's going to be a pump issue

What is there IS a solid pressure?

 

Haha sorry, I thought it was a given that the filter is changed every time the oil is changed

Changed oil AND filter*

The OPS doesn't make and erratic movements and it doesn't suddenly go from high to low at all

It's very smooth reading. It only reads low at idle, and even then it's still 10 psi

When I rev the motor, it climbs smooth to 40ish

 

It doesn't matter how nicely the gauge is responding, it's still electric and something could have failed with the sensor being the most likely culprit. Check pressure with a direct mechanical gauge if you really want to know.