Why does my Oil Pressure Gauge sometimes read zero even when I'm running at 60 mph. Shouldn't it read about 60-70 psi. If I push in the clutch and rev the engine while Im going, then it goes up to about 60 or so. Is this a common problem...I heard that it is. And if so, how do I go about fixing it?

Thanks

 

I just had that problem. In my case it was the Oil Pressure Sending unit that was bad. Not sure if that's the same problem you have or not.

 

Most common cause is bad connection at the sender due to oil and dirt on the connector. Try to clean it off with steel wool and see if it helps. Otherwise the sensor is probably bad.

-MP

 

i think it's a fairly common problem. mine was like that from the beginning. i went through several oil pressure sending units & even an oil pressure gauge (all warranty work, of course ) but like wasabi said, probably a bad connection. clean it off & see if that works.

mine, i've always suspected, stemmed from this crappy aftermarket-dealer-installed ignition kill system (Pro-Lock). they wanted an extra $300 for it, but i figured WHY, it's already got a stock alarm, and this thing was merely a resistor-based key placed inline with the ignition wiring (no rocket science involved with that -- a simple jumper wire & that's by-passed!!!!). so needless to say, i didn't get it, and instead of pulling that crappy thing out, the dealer just put in a "dummy-chip" (pretty much the resistor key, just without the handle on it for me to remove it). after going thru a battery about every year and a couple of OP sending units and one OP gauge, i decided to inspect this crappy Pro-Lock. as it turns out, it was grounded to a screw on the bottom left corner of the lower plastic cover (underneath the steering column). the ring was screwed up against the plastic side of the cover, and i didn't even think that would work, but it apparently was getting grounded thru the limited contact with the screw. each time they replaced the OP sending unit or gauge, it would fix the problem for a few weeks/months, but it would eventually come back. just before the warranty ended, i had them replace the OP sending unit one last time under warranty and also remove that crappy Pro-Lock. i haven't seen a low OP since then -- probably almost 3-yrs now....and had the same battery now (after replacing it just after the Pro-Lock was removed) for about 2.5-yrs.

sorry for venting, but the whole situation still pisses me off whenever i think about it. when you only have to replace one sending unit then you've probably fixed the problem (defective sending unit), but when you're doing it over & over, doesn't it make you think "what's causing the sending units to go bad????". that's what i was thinking. the sorry-*** dealer was only willing to troubleshoot to the closest/easiest "band-aid" fix, rather than finding the root of the problem.

so the moral of that story is if after replacing the sending unit, the problem re-appears, check for any aftermarket-dealer-installed crap.

 

At least it was warranty work, but still shitty. I hated having my car in the shop. Whenever I went to see it, I got pissed that I wasn't driving it.

 

I would sell you a good oil pressure sending unit, but Greg Coe purchased one from me and never paid for it.

 

Common problem. Sending unit is directly under the oil filter so usually when changing the oil, it drips on the connector. Just use some steel wool or something to clean the contacts.

-Mark