MurCurY

I have an 86 Camaro Berlinetta w/ 305 and 4 barrel carb. Last week I blew the hose that goes from the heater core to the water pump. 2 days ago the other hose (the one from the heater core to the block) blew. Now I'm having a problem with the oil pressure guage. When I'm driving....it stays around 30. When I come to a stop it drops down to 0. If i put it in neutral it goes back to around 30...but only till i come to a stop and it goes back to 0. NOW...it is staying at 0.....and I checked the oil level and the dipstick shows that it is full...I did put in a quart of oil about 3 days ago cause it was low. Can someone give me some things to look at or check? Thanks.

demonchild

well, it sounds like two different problems, both stemming from lack of maintance on the car.

the hoses: if they are blowing, replace all of them, sounds like they are too old.

oil pressure: at least you did not post "i have no idea why i have no oil pressure..." and get 15 resonpses telling you to check your oil level. when i had a pressure problem on my stang, i replaced the sending unit and the guage came back to life. however, that may not work for you. this is what should be done before you go through the whole ordeal of lifting the engine to replace the pump.

1)replace the sending unit. it is located on the drivers side of the block next to the disributor; at least it is on mine. i think if your engine is 89 or up, there is two sending units. however, since you car isnt, i wouldnt worry about that. this is easy and cheap. dont waste money on a stand alone tester just yet.

2)if the gauge again shows poor readings confirm they are in fact a problem with the oil pressure in the engine. get a stand aloneoil presure tester that plugs directly into the block. if it shows poor pressure at idle, then it is time to replace the pump.

3) if you are getting 0 at idle, and still dont want to have to replace the oil pump, you can try to clean any sludge build up that may be restricting the pick up and run the auto tranny fluid trick (search how to do it, it has been beaten to deeath already). however, in the mean time, the restriction of oil to the bearing can spin one.

ede

does the engine run hot? if so you might want to trouble shoot that problem. for the oil preasure i'd screw a mechanical gauge in the block and see what i really have and go from there.

demonchild

ede, do you usually tell people to try the mechanical guage first or replace the sending unit? those mechanical guages are expensive...

SSC

No there not. You can pick up a mechanical guage at walmart for $8. Nice for DIY testing where you dont need a $100+ mac or snap off kit that has quick connectors for every engine.

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

At a quick guess I'd say when you blew the heater core hose, all that coolant could've fried the oil pressure sending unit since it sits behind the distributor towards the passenger side of the motor near the hose that just blew, so I'd start with replacing that. They're fairly cheap anyways. Besides that, if you truly had 0 oil pressure when idling, you'd very likely have a serious rod knock by now!

MurCurY

ok...so if the sending unit is dead....what will this mean for the car? Can i still drive it like that? I just priced an oil sending unit....which one do I want? They have with guages or with lights...and...with guages come in "60psi or 80psi" and with lights has "2 terminals or 1 terminal". Thanks for the help guys.

onebinky

iTrader: (1)

You can drive it, but you will have no idea whether you have good oil pressure.

To answer the other questions,

Do you have the oil pressure gauge on the dash, or a dummy light?

If you have the gauge, does it read to 60 or 80 pounds?

If you have the dummy light, is there one terminal or two on the sending unit.

Like the other guys said, if you truely have 0 pounds oil pressure at idle, you'd have developed knock and then shortly after welded your internals together.

If it's fluctuating like you say it is between 0-30, it's probably the bad sending unit.

ede

demonchild if you call 5 dollars expensive yeah i do. actually if you call 5 dollars cheap i still do. i got mine from hardwear store with the well pump stuff and added a piece of hydrolic hose to it. guess if i had the hydrolic hose made up it would of added 30 dollars or so to the cost but i had a bunch laying around i got from a flea market i had bought mostly for the ends.