So I was driving home and I stopped at a light and noticed my oil pressure lower than normal and bouncing around a little. Could my oil pump be going bad?

I know the gauges aren't the best, but it was totally normal earlier and everything was working fine.

At one point before the video, the pressure was down to the 20psi line.

Oil level is good. What do you guys think??? Should I be worried? Do I need to replace my oil pump? If so, with which pump?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAAOqUtUF4g

 

quite possibly a broken oil pressure sending unit. They are very fragile and if you look at them wrong they will break. My gauge was doing the same thing so i got worried my pump was going out, put on a new sending unit and all is well. Good luck to ya.

 

Do the Cheap and eazy first Change out the OP Sender, I had the same prob. on my 5.0 Cougar last mo. and since the OP sender only had 1 yr on it I started reading up on removing the oil pan, but I went ahead and changed out the OP Sender=prob solved. From what I've seen with the LSx if nothing has been done to the motor that might effect OP-if the oil pump goes, it's right now and since your OP is still consistant with its rpm rise and fall just lower than usuall I would bet its the sender.

 

Mine is doing the exact same thing. Mine bounces at idle in the 25-35ish psi area. It seemed like it started at the same time I put in a used sending unit I got from a friend. Mine has been like this for a while by the way and the motor is doing fine.

Has anyone else fixed a bouncing gauge by replacing the sending unit?

 

Oil pickup tube loose????

 

the bouncing part is might be the gauge itself sticking and not reading the pressure right. i had the same problem, went through 3 sensors before i swapped the gauge, and the gauge swap fixed it. it could still be the presure sensor, so i would ensure that it is on there tight, replace it if you want but they cost $50 (for the good AC Delco ones, OEM for GM) and you need a special socket at around $10.

also your idle is way to low. it appears to be it is about 600 in park/neutral and under 500 in drive. it should be between 700-750rpm's. the idle being correct will also help with the oil psi. your pressure appears normal for a stock pump with some miles on it, but if is was a sudden drop, i would change your oil. sudden drops usually mean clogged filter or blockage (assuming that the rest of your motor is good).

first i would fix the idle issue, as this can lead to low oil pressure. for example, my car will idle at 800rpm with 50psi oil pressure@200*, but if it drops to 500 or so, pressure will only be 30 psi@200*. notice the 10psi drop you get when going from Park to gear, as you idle drops from 600 to just below 500rpms. it makes a big difference with just a few hundred rpms at idle. best set idle for these cars (in my opinion, from experience and what i have seen) is 750-800 for a stock motor and 800-950 (depending on cam and mods) with a cammed motor.


another thing, your ABS module has gone bad, that is why your service vehicle, ABS inop, tcs off light are on. usually you can just swap the electrical part of the unit out without having to drain the brake fluid. that is how i did mine. you require a 4 channel abs unit with 6 lines (4 on top 2 in back) coming out of it.

 

Thanks.

The ASR, ABS inop and Brake light are on because I put new wheels on yesterday. I wen't from stock 16's to Z06 18's in the back and 17's in the front. It was fine up until I changed the wheels.

 

that will do it! now i believe you can still run different size rims as long as the tire diameter is the same, not totally sure, but if so i would look into that. contact the guys at OE wheels (sponsor on here) and ask them, they sell plenty of corvette wheels to f-body guys. they might know a thing or two on how to fix that.

 

Dont trust the electric sender. Put a mechanical gauge on it and test the pressure to be sure.

 

Ok, thanks guys.

I'm pretty sure it's like you guys said, the sender or gauge. I went to get my food a little bit ago and the pressure was fine and wasn't bouncing or low. Just a glitchy sender I guess.

 

If it's bouncy I would check that sender. Like said before attach a mechanical Gauge and check. As long as u aren't going down below 20 psi and keeps dropping I say u are ok. Mine is a little bouncy and is steady at 22psi at idle. Haven't checked but some pressure is better then none at all.

 

good point, almost forgot, make sure the connector on the sending unit is seated good and not contaminated with oil or corrosion. a gob of electrical grease will make a nice and tight connection

 

cut the oil filter open that will tell you everything.