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Low Oil Pressure

this last few days have been noticing the oil pressure dropping to the lowest point on the dash gauge. The oil level is at maximum and there are no leaks. Sometimes the indicator will go up past the middle and then drop right down to nothing at all. Then there are times that it seems the gauge is not working at all. The vehicle is a '90 4runner V6 with 357K. Tried to fit an aftermarket oil pressure gauge, but the fittings did not match the thread on where the sending unit plugs in. Think the thread on the unit is metric, and I drew a blank trying to find a fitting to adapt. I'm not sure if there is a problem with the gauge/sending unit or with the oil pump itself. A sending unit from Lordco costs $70 Cdn, don't want to spend the bucks and find out the old one is ok. Any advice or insight would be appreciated. TIA

Reply to
PJ
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Drain your oil. Remove the oil filter. Cut oil filter open with a hack saw. Look for fine metal shavings in paper filter. Cut paper filter out and squeeze oil out it in a vise. Metal shavings should then be visible if they exist. A magnet may help determine the type of metal.

Reply to
ag2

righto, will do that tomorrow... if there are metal shavings, what does it signify? Excessive wear in the bearings or cylinders?

Reply to
PJ

No, excess cuttings from the hacksaw blade... D'OH!!! ;-)

The way to open an oil filter can and not contaminate it with the shavings from the process of cutting it open is to start the cut with a sharp chisel, and complete it with aircraft snips.

If you are worried about damage, don't fight with looking for shavings in the oil filter. You take a sample of the oil and send it to a laboratory for analysis. They can tell you a lot about what is going on in there.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Hello, used a chisel and just took apart the oil filter, but did not see any shavings at all. Sort of think it might be an electrical connection at the sender end. Since I took it off yesterday and put it back on, the gauge has been functioning fine. The oil was not black, but browny/gold if that means anyhting. Thanks for the input!

Reply to
PJ

Bruce is right. Have your oil analyzed! I forgot that service is available to anyone and not too expensive. How's your coolant level? What kind of mileage are you getting?

Reply to
ag2

think I will do just that...

the coolant level is the same it has always been, which is close to the top the mileage i get is around 400km per tank, which also is unchanged

PJ

Reply to
PJ

Autozone has the metric adapters. Under $5. That's what I had to do when I had a high oil pressure problem. I didn't go as far as mounting a gauge. I just had one on long enough to verify the pressure, then went back to the factory *idiot gauge*.

Reply to
chuck

I save the oil analysis for confirming your suspicions about what is causing car problems - I run synthetic in my car and I'd delay my oil changes depending on the lab results, but even the 8.5 quarts of Mobil1 and a filter for a LandCruiser costs less than the lab fee (plus postage and hassle) for the oil analysis. And with only 4 to 5 quarts in most cars, it's a no-brainer to just change the oil on time/mileage rather than try to stretch it out.

Where having regular oil analysis done pays off bigtime is for heavy trucks and industrial engines, where they take 10, 20, 50 gallons of oil (or more) and a lot of field-service labor for an oil change. And can cost $10,000 or more (sometimes a LOT more) to repair if they blow up - not counting downtime and temporary replacement costs...

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

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