This week the oil pressure gage on my 86 chevy pickup w/305 V8 suddenly started
reading
real low. The peculiar thing was that it had a high frequency oscillation on
the
needle...not just low...that makes me suspicious that it may be on the sensor
side
instead of real pressure side. This happened on my wife's Jeep and it did
actually turn
out to be the sending unit.
The oil level was full. Hmmm...
* gas in oil from a carb problem thinning it out?
* bad oil pressure sending unit, wire, or gage? (It does also have an oil
pressure
light and that has not come on.)
* bad oil pump?
* engine just too loose? Gee, I don't know how it could be that; after all it
only has
231Kmiles on it.
It was due for an oil change anyway so I changed that out and used 20W-50 since
it is an
older looser engine...and bought an oil pressure sending unit while I was at
it.
Changing oil raised the gage value some but not alot..and maybe that was just
wishful
thinking. I have not yet changed out the oil pressure sending unit because it
is
located behind the distributer and it looks like the distrib has to come out to
make
that swap...gee thanks, GM. I've timed distributers before but would rather
not have to
go thru that process for something this minor.
Any suggestions as to statistically what this problem may be? Am I only
dreaming to
hope that it is just the sending unit?
If I have to do the oil pump, there are so many other things that I should also
to do
when I get in there that this could turn into a major project...something I
don't have
time for right now.
Any suggestions about getting to the oil pressure sending unit w/o taking the
distrib
out? I can't see how to reach it otherwise.
Thanks,
Mark Noakes
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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