Oil pressure dropping

SOURCE: I recently replaced head gaskets

Bill,
Generally when this condition occurs, there is a leak in the oiling system. The most likely cause is a bearing the has excessive clearence. Look up into the block with the pan off and see if one of the cam bearings are spun. This will cause a loss of oil pressure with no knock. This can occur if the engine overheats which I will assume is why you replaced the head gaskets.

SOURCE: Oil pressure dropping to 0 after running for a few minutes

Locate your oil pressure sending sensor... generally near the oil filter intake but not always... give it a spray of WD40 to repel any water on it. next have the oil pressure tested just to be certain. the relay for the sending unit may need to be replaced as well... it's located likely in the fuse box in the engine compartment near the battery.

Robert

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SOURCE: 360 motor losing oil pressure after15min of running

Try hooking up a mechanical gauge to make sure you have a problem.

SOURCE: changed oil recently on 96 dodge dakota, 3.9l. now

Hello, please let me give you some info that will be useful to you. The engine that you speak of is notorious for developing sludge and carbon buildup. These particles are gathered up at the pickup tube screen. This is why te pressure changes, the screen gets clogged, and, when the engine is turned off, the particle fall to the bottom of the pan.

What I would do: Raise the vehicle, and make sure that the vehicle is secure. Be real careful. Next, drain the oil. Then, remove the oil pan. Inspect the pan for debris, and the pickup screen for clogs, or blockages.

I recently had one of these vehicles in for service, and I cleaned the pan 3 times, and the issue reappeared each time... then, the owner got fed up with the debris issue, and traded it in.

Thanks for visiting FixYa!

Sean Piquet

• 1867 Answers
• Posted on Jan 02, 2010

SOURCE: oil pressure drops and check engine ligth comes.

I assume there are no oil leaks on the motor that could be contributing to loss of oil pressure.

I would have the engine oil pressure checked by a mechanic with an independent oil pressure gauge to see what might be going on. I would want to do this on a cold engine and also after the motor has been operating for a while and the oil is quite hot.
( I would also immediately be replacing the oil filter in case there is some blockage problem there. I very much doubt it but I would be doing that anyway just to be sure as it is simple and cheap to do. You say the oil level in the motor is correct and that it has been recently changed).

If there was a problem with the oil pressure sender unit I suspect you would have more frequent symptoms than you have indicated.

If the oil pump was faulty I believe you should also be getting more frequent symptoms.

It could be that the oil pressure relief valve is intermittently temporarily sticking in the open position and the pressure then being generated by the oil pump is insufficient to reach the minimum level. The warning light then illuminates.

Sean