Oil pressure gauge reading question 89 Gr Caravan 3.0

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Ric, Nov 20, 2003.

  1. Ric

    Ric Guest

    I have noticed that the oil pressure gauge in the dash is reading about 3/4
    of the way to the max on startup. After the engine is warm the gauge will
    dip down to about 1/4 when I come to a stop and idle. This is not typical of
    my van (it used to read 3/4 all the time) and only started doing this after
    I had replaced the front oil seal a couple days ago. I havn't done any other
    work to the engine. Everything else seems to be working well and the
    pressure gauge doesn't get lower than 1/4.

    Is there something I negelected to do to the oil pump (prime it, clean it,
    pray to the oil pump gods...)? The crappy haynes manual doesn't mention
    anything needed to re-install it. The manual did say I had to remove the
    pump in order to get the seal off, but did not say any extra steps were
    needed to put back on. Next, is this a sign that I'll want/need to replace
    the pump? I'd rather do it sooner than later if I have to.

    If someone can tell me the error of my ways in re-installing the pump, I'd
    be able to save the cash on a replacement. A replacement pump surely won't
    fit into my budget, but if I must, let me know that too!

    Ric
     
    Ric, Nov 20, 2003
    #1
  2. I've never seen a "true" OP gauge that read 3/4 all the time. What you
    have now with variable readings based on temperature and RPM is more
    typical. Possibly the sender had a bad ground before, and was corrected
    when you changed out the oil pump.
     
    Sharon K. Cooke, Nov 20, 2003
    #2
  3. Ric

    Ken Pisichko Guest

    I noticed my '84 was having a lower than normal and then erratic reading. Turned
    out that the push-on connector (Female) was not a snug fit on the male end of
    the sending unit. Gently squeezing with a tool in my tool box fixed that
    problem. Be careful you don't squeeze too much otherwise you will need a screw
    driver or other tool to open it up a bit.

    Make sure there is no oil dripping from the sending unit - that means a
    replacement is needed.

    Ken
     
    Ken Pisichko, Nov 20, 2003
    #3
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