Can anyone help me here my oil pressure guage is all jacked uped
when i was driving today the needle shot up to the top and stayed there untill i stopped then it went to zero,as i hit the acelerator it moved up alittle then shot to the top again, I pulled in at my apt and turned it off and its at the top.What's going on here a bad guage or something seriously wrong.Oh by the way I checked the oil and its good.

 

Probably a bad oil press. sending unit. Its in back near the firewall.

 

yeah change the sender and see if it helps, cheap and easy to do. on the china wall near the distributor

 

I replaced the sending unit that did the job,thanks guys for your help.

 

I have a similar problem:
cruising: 30psi
at idle 15psi
after idling for a few seconds: 0 psi
this doesnt happen all the time though
today the needle bottomed out then at cruising only went up to 15psi then slowly walked up to 30psi
do you think this is the same or should i be concerned with my oil pump?
i have tried looking for info in my haynes manual, none.

 

you should put a mechanical oil pressure gauge on the engine and verify if that reading is correct or not, if it is, it sounds like it`s time for an engine upgrade

 

I was thinking about a mechanical guage.
the motor is running fine(i think). this has been going on for 2 weeks i think. and it is intermittent. if the pump was going bad, would it just go out or fluctuate?

 

probably would pump or not pump, but you never know.

 

well i have a mechanical lying around. just need a few fittings, or should i just try replacing the switch? or both? is there really any way to check if the pump is at fault without dropping the pan?

 

Tap into the block just above the oil filter, there is a sending unit or a pipe plug there, remove it and put the gauage in there and see what the Actual pressure is......or start replacing parts

 

well i replaced the sending unit, and now it is stable.
at idle it sits about 17psi and under load about 30.
i am going to put in the mechanical this weekend, need to find the metal tubing. i found a plugged hole at the bottom just above the oil pan it points down @ about 45* would this be acceptable location for the mechanical hookup?

 

unless you want a coolant bath, don`t pull that one. look straight up above the oil filter. I`ve never seen a oil pressure gauge that needs metal tubing, mine has a five foot rubber hose.

 

Buy a pre assembled Braided line, just for security because rubber melts and wears. summit sells them along with Jegs. Plus Many engine builders will tell you as long as you have 10-15 psi of oil pressure Per 1000 Rpm,you are ok as long as the needle dosen't jump be cause there might be a cavity in the pump or cloged screen. many will flame me for that but oh well Just my .02

 

it is just a tapped and plugged(metal plug) hole, below the oil filter just above the oil pan.
besides i already had my hot coolant bath the other day when i replaced the knock sensor. that was not fun(thank you thick skin)
two weeks ago i got my gas bath replacing the filter( forgot to open gas cap and relieve pressure). and i also knocked over the catch can with fuel in it. just about stripped my hands of all the thick callous(sp) skin they were almost baby smooth

my mechanical came with nylon tubing, but i want to use some copper tubing instead, it doesnt need it, just want it

 

I know what your saying Gas baths are the worse but that plug your talking about is a coolant drain LOOK ABOVE THE FILTER

 

Isn't the oil pressure sending unit mounted above the oil filter on an 89 TPI?

I have the same problem with the gauge and I don't want to be replacing a good unit?

RedRoc89, what is the part number for the sender????

Thanks..

 

DANIELEK,
not sure on the part # I had a local performance shop replace mine.

 

AFAIK, that origionally was used for the 'choke' light in the dash on the carbed cars but now only serves as a backup switch for the fuel pump.

 

i had this prob on my car as well the pressure was dropping and then rising back to norm...sometimes stayed at 0 for a bit them went back up...i thought it was the oil pump well maybe it was but i kept driving around with the prob...till it was time to take the engine apart(upgrading)...i was surprised what i saw when i took that intake manifold off...i dont know how to explain the fact but the oil left in there was so thick that if you stick a spoon in it will stay up...i barely reached the head bolts...no wonder my oil pressure was droping....oh and i did changed the oil regularly sometimes even too early...and the car is with 133K miles on it

 

One of you said you got a coolant bath when you changed your knock sensor. Well I replaced mine today and only got a tiny drip of coolant from the hole. Is this normal? I've been getting an code 43 from the computer and its why I changed the sensor. Let me know.

 

If there is alot of deposits in the water jacket the coolant may not drain out. Generally, though, even with the radiator drained down, there will be more then enough coolant in the block to really make a mess if your not prepared for it.

 

So I shouldnt worry that I had no coolant leaking out?