Bad oil pressure in my 94 lt1 Need Help please!?!?

[white97z28]

Alright guys i have a 94 z28 with an lt1. For a while now my oil pressure drops way down on the gauge when the car warms up past 180 degrees and i feels like the car isn't very responsive and sluggish like it wants to stall when idling. So a few people i have talked to say its my oil pressure sending unit which i believe with these cars is on the back of the motor which means i have to pull the motor to replace a $20 sensor. But also a few other people said it could also be my oil pump is going out. So before i start pulling my motor i thought i would ask on here since theres more of a likely chance you guys would be a better help then people in saginaw that dont even own an f-body. And for all i know there could be a million other things causing my problem. So any help is apriciated.

Thanks,
Nick

[JoeliusZ28]

does braking effect your oil pressure at all? the pickup tube is known to come loose and fall off on these engines.

[white97z28]

does braking effect your oil pressure at all? the pickup tube is known to come loose and fall off on these engines.

you know i have not noticed specifically braking but if your not on the gas it drops down fast. Just in case where do i find the pick up line to check it?

[81DaytonaPaceCar]

does braking effect your oil pressure at all? the pickup tube is known to come loose and fall off on these engines.

True, but that wouldn't be temperature dependent, would it?

Nor would the sensor, I wouldn't think.

I'm betting the pump itself...and the sluggishness and wanting to stall at idle is disturbing...that could be an indicator that you're getting near zero pressure...

[81DaytonaPaceCar]

you know i have not noticed specifically braking but if your not on the gas it drops down fast. Just in case where do i find the pick up line to check it?

Pull the oil pan...and replace the pump while you're there...lol...

[white97z28]

Pull the oil pan...and replace the pump while you're there...lol...

yea i was thinking about taking the motor out to do the pump and while im in the process put a mild cam and upgrade the valve springs. i just need to do something to it soon my buddy's grand prix gtp pulls a car and a half on me and hes thinking about doing a cam on his soon to.

is it possible to pull the pan off the car with the motor in and still have enough room to get it all the way off to get at the pump?

[meissen]

Do you have any actual oil readings that you can give us? When you're idling and the car has warmed up - what's the oil psi at? Cold start? Etc. The guy that said it's the sensor didn't really think it through - a faulty oil pressure sensor is not going to cause your car to malfunction unless the sensor is leaking all over the place.

[.DetroitKing.]

You can probably do it while still in the car, i would undo the motor mounts and try to pickup the motor a little bit though to make sure it clears.

[81DaytonaPaceCar]

yea i was thinking about taking the motor out to do the pump and while im in the process put a mild cam and upgrade the valve springs. i just need to do something to it soon my buddy's grand prix gtp pulls a car and a half on me and hes thinking about doing a cam on his soon to.

is it possible to pull the pan off the car with the motor in and still have enough room to get it all the way off to get at the pump?

If I recall correctly, Joel changed his out with the motor still in the car...but I'm not sure I'd be driving it at all (let alone racing it) until you get this issue figured out...

[JoeliusZ28]

Yes I did but it wasnt fun.

[white97z28]

So just to be safe should i just pull the motor and replace the pump? I have an extra car laying around that i can drive for the time being.

[meissen]

What's the oil gauge read? How low does it actually go? Are we talking it goes from 60 down to 40 or are we talking from 60 down to 10?

[white97z28]

well on the stock gauge on could start until it warms up past 180 the gauge reads 60 psi but past 180 it goes down to 40 when cruising around but when sitting at a light or just at idle when its hotter than 180 the gauge will read anywhere from 17-22 psi.

[nascarnate326]

Any pictures of your car? I <3 purple.

[white97z28]

Any pictures of your car? I <3 purple.

I haven't gotten a chance to take any good pictures when i do though ill post them up. Yea i like the color to.