At idle, after the car is warmed up, my oil pressure is just slightly in the red and the check gauges light comes on. The idle is right around 600-700 rpms. The car is a 96 v6 with a 94 z28 transplant. Mail order tune(that i am not happy with) and I am running a duralast oil pressure switch. I have only driven it twice after swapping the engine, having it tuned and replacing the sensor. Is it a problem or maybe just an inaccurate sensor?

 

After changing the oil sending unit on mine and total rebuild I had the same issue with mine. Hook a manual gauge up and c what it is then mine idles around 19 or 20 psi on the manual gauge and almost in the red in the gauge in the dash

 

Put a mechanical gauge on it to verify pressure reading.

 

should i put the mechanical gauge on in place of the electronic gauge?

 

There's a port above the oil filter that you can use for diagnostic purposes.

 

Thanks fellas

 

well, I got the mechanical gauge hooked up and it looks like the electric gauge is off a little but the pressure still gets very low at hot idle. Would running a thicker oil help? I am pretty sure the engine is tired, the odometer reads 215xxx miles. I just don't have the funds right now to tear it down and rebuild it (recently graduated college and can't find any work)

 

What is "low?"

 

Yes thicker oil will bring it up a little and buy you a little more time before the likely rebuild.
How low is low?

 

Low as in maybe 3 or 4 psi at hot idle. I noticed a sound today while driving it...its knocking now probably gonna push my luck and keep driving it. I am trying to find a job so hopefully this thing will last long enough for me to find a job and get a beater car.

 

Time for a rebuild. Probably gonna spin a bearing.

 

I can't afford a rebuild, student loan payments eat up my funds. Looks like my camaro will be parked for a while

 

Whats the oil pressure at 2000 rpm hot?

 

The oil pressure responds well to rpms. At 2000 it is right around 20 psi. Throughout the rpm range it is good but at idle it is terrible. And i can definitely hear a rod knock.

 

Well I would pull the plug before you get destruction, replacing one rod is better than replacing a block.

 

yeah, I am gonna pull the engine this week. It sucks because i recently swapped this engine from my 94 z28 into the v6 body its in now and have barely driven it. On the bright side of things everything should be loose and easy to get apart.