Question about oil pressure gauge

[sloth]

Hello everyone, This is my first time posting. I am presently down in mexico with my recently aquired '91 dodge cummins diesel pickup. The truck has close to 120,000 miles and is in excellent condition but on my way down I noticed the oil pressure gauge behaving strangely, moving around from its normal position just past midway to all the way over to the low mark and back repeatedly. Sometimes it seems to respond to acceleration and deceleration and at idle it just sits there in the normal spot. If anyone has seen this before and has an idea if it might just be a sensor problem or if I should get it checked out I would greatly much appreciate any input and advice. The motor seems to run and sound normal and has plenty of oil . Sorry for the lengthy thread. This site is a great resource. Sloth

 

[91W350]

Auto Zone stocks the oil pressure sending unit. A whopping twelve dollars. I had to replace both of mine. The 91 read low all the time and the oil pressure light kept coming on. The 93 would dance all across the gauge, but the light never came on. Sometimes the 93 would just fall to the bottom of the scale and sit there. That makes your heart sink the first time you catch it. Glen

 

[sdstriper]

I would get a sending unit asap, mine was acting up in a similar way before it sprung a leak. The first time that dummy light comes on is a pucker factor moment...

 

[dpuckett]

Bienvenidos al TDR!!! (Welcome to the TDR). I second the oil pressure gague sending unit- they arent real dependable after 12-17 years. I bought a cheapo oil pressure gauge, and hooked it up to the oil filter outlet (where they ahve a 1/8NPT outlet for twins . ), and it was just fine.



You are correct, my friend, this is a great resource.



Daniel

 

[sloth]

thanks for the info. You guys are great. I suspected a sensor since everything else seems normal . Its sure good to hear that others have seen similar quirkiness in oil pressure gauges. I'll replace it soon as I hit the border. Best $35 bucks I ever spent.

Shawn.