Hi All! My bone stock '86GXL(72K miles) just started doing this today. I always keep an eye on my oil pressure and change oil and oil filter every season. While I was driving to work the oil pressure gauge dropped to zero!!! Revving the engine had no effect, but after a few minutes the pressure came back up, then went back down later and came back up again. I checked the oil level on the dipstick and it was fine. I only get the usual smells(leaky clutch hydraulics, etc.) and no idiot lights or buzzers and the temp seems normal. My initial guesses include: failing oil pump, bad sensor, bad gauge, or electrical problems. When the gauge drops, it goes down slowly and then rises back up slowly. Any expert opinions? Anybody experience this before?

 

You almost certainly have a loose and/or dirty connection at the oil pressure sender. Cleaning it up and securely clipping it back on should fix the problem.

 

Many, many thanks NZconvertible. My nerves are a little better now since I couldn't just take the car out of service for repair quite yet. BTW, what is it with you New Zealanders. You guys seem to be way ahead of the curve. I have the shop manual and didn't see that diagram. And, my user name is derived from my interest in off-roading Suzuki Samurai's. The built up Sammies I've seen from New Zealand make most of our Zuks look like cheap toys. Anyway, Thanks again!!!!!