any input is appreciated.
i have a 99 camaro v6 automatic with 117K
last oil change was 2,000 miles ago
about 8 months ago i had the oil pressure sending unit replaced
i just had my car in the shop on Tuesday and they did the standard check and checked the pressure with their professional machine and it read fine
last night i was driving and everything was fine.. my %26quot;dummy%26quot; pressure gauge read normal but this morning (on cold start) it had a very loud tick from the lifters (which happens occasionally on cold starts) and no oil pressure... it was all the way at the bottom almost as if the gauge didnt work (like it did when the gauge went out months ago and i replaced it) it was running fine, felt normal. there was no knock or any strange noise at all (besides the tick of the lifters)
so i stopped, checked the oil level and it was fine and full.
then i decided to wait a couple hours and start it and and WaaaLaaa!!! the gauge read its normal pressure so i thought maybe it wasnt reading it correctly or something.
so i felt like it was safe to drive home... so i drove it and it was fine, gauge read normal, felt great and everything then i got off the freeway and i noticed a few minutes later when i stopped at a red light the gauge jumped around too slightly low, then normal, then suddenly down to zero. so i put it in Neutral and gave it a quick rev....and it put it back up to normal. (engine sounded fine, ran great, no knock and no ticking this time) then as i continued driving it continued to jump around... when i was accelerating it was normal but as i stopped and was idling it dropped back down.
please help
could it be my sending unit?
if they read the pressure using their gauge at the shop 2 days ago and it was perfect, could it really be low now?
why would it not be okay then a couple hours later its fine..?
i do have some sludge that i need to get flushed out with this upcoming oil change.. could that be part of my problem???
also, if its possible that it could be my oil pump, how difficult is that to replace? what is the average cost that a shop would charge?
thank you!!!! i know it was very detailed but as i found with doing the Q %26amp; A sites you have to be as detailed as possible.
Thanks!!!!!!Low oil pressure, loud ticking randomly. Suddenly oil pressure gauge needle jumping?
Could be anything from fuses, to a bad ticker. Such as if a pistons acts up from time to time when you take it to the mechanic it might act fine but still be going out. I think it is the start of a bigger problerm. Try the oil pump.Low oil pressure, loud ticking randomly. Suddenly oil pressure gauge needle jumping?
i didnt read all that stuff but low oil, loud ticking equals engine bad!
something obviously broke or is breaking cause of no oil, so all that friction of all the metals in the engine... bad....Low oil pressure, loud ticking randomly. Suddenly oil pressure gauge needle jumping?
I guarantee you the loud ticking is from the valve lifters not getting any oil/enough oil. This could easily kill your engine very soon, if the problem is not fixed. Get your oil pump checked. Get an engine flush because on cars with timing chains you can get erosion buildup from the plastic internal tensioners (although i am not sure if your car has it)Low oil pressure, loud ticking randomly. Suddenly oil pressure gauge needle jumping?
Your lifters could be bleeding down overnite (or sooner) which they should not do. I am concerned about the low oil pressure at times which might indicate that the bearings or oil pump could be worn out but most likely the bearings. Don't worry yourself about the sending unit or gauge being bad that is not your problem. You might have a shop put in a new oil pump but since you have been having problems with the low oil pressure I would lean towards am engine overhaul. Sorry I cannot help you on the cost as that varies from place to place. Thanks for all the detailed info. It really helps!
Good Luck!
