Yesterday when i started up my 2001 GT i noticed the oil pressure gauge read low. I gave it a little gas and it went back up to normal, but at idle it went back to low. I drove it a little ways and it stopped fluctuating completely and read normal once again. Today I started it up again and it is still reading normal. What could have caused it to fluctuate?
WannaBeGearHead
11-23-2009 10:40 AM
Could be your oil pressure sender that is going bad. If that is your problem, they can be bought for ~$9 and is a very easy fix.
vanquish
11-23-2009 11:30 AM
+1 my car does the same thing I need to fix that too.
Z28KLR
11-23-2009 04:10 PM
I honestly wonder about the accuracy/sensitivity of the oil pressure gauges in our cars. I'm almost convinced that it's a glorified "idiot light". Hopefully I never find out the hard way, but if my car were 2qt. low would the gauge reading actually reflect that? Mine always sits dead center of "Normal", whether at idle or at wot. I've been in cars by other makes where the oil pressure gauge actually fluctuates depending on throttle.
Tim99GT
11-23-2009 04:45 PM
^^ its just a idiot gauge... Doesnt really do much of anything..
cliffyk
11-23-2009 09:58 PM
It is an idiot "gauge", the "sensor" is a pressure switch set at 6 psi-- anything more than 6 psi will display as normal (mid range or so), less than 6 psi is no pressure...
Ogre
11-24-2009 01:28 PM
oil pump/sending unit issues
Originally Posted by hngrant
(Post 6650623)
Yesterday when i started up my 2001 GT i noticed the oil pressure gauge read low. I gave it a little gas and it went back up to normal, but at idle it went back to low. I drove it a little ways and it stopped fluctuating completely and read normal once again. Today I started it up again and it is still reading normal. What could have caused it to fluctuate?
Since I got back from Afghanistan, I had a similar problem with my '00 GT. Started out like you. I would start the car in the morning, and the oil pressure gauge wouldn't move. A simple blip of the throttle and the gauge would jump up to normal. Couple weeks later, the gauge wouldn't come up although engine seemed to run and sound fine. I would start driving, and the oil pressure would come up a few blocks from my house. I suspected the common oil pressure sending unit issue, so continued driving the car.
Couple weeks later, while coming back home from work, the engine started ticking pretty bad a few blocks from my house and would not stop. Opened the oil cap and there was no oil getting to the cam/lifters/top of cyl head. Oil level was full. Figured the oil pump finally went south.
Ordered new high volume oil pump and proceeded to change it out. When I removed my oil pickup tube from the oil pan, you would not believe all the crap stuck in the pickup screen. Now, I am not sure if the oil pump was bad, but I changed it anyway cause I was there and is a little insurance.
The car has 135K miles and I haven't had it that long. There were little pieces of the timing chain guides in the oil pickup where it had obviously broke before, plus little shavings of something that I am assuming to be fine shavings from the guides or tensioner arms. There was so much stuff jammed in there, I had to use a dental tool to get it all out. I am sure that it was restricting the oil flow!
Anyway, almost back together. I plan on finishing it tonight. Ever wonder why so many stangs have ticking sounds? This might be the answer why.
hngrant
11-25-2009 10:41 AM
hmmm sounds exactly like what happened to me. im going to take a look at that
