1996 Land Cruiser Oil Pressure Gauge

[php74]

Just bought a 1996 LC with 168K on it. Drove is home 3 hour trip and it did great, engine quiet, good temp, etc. But....slowly the oil pressure gauge would drop from the high middle line to the low middle line. It'd take about an hour. I pulled off and checked oil, added a half qt, and started off again. It was back up to the higher line, then slowly about another hour would drop to the other line. So I pulled off and just shut it down for a minute and started back up again and it was back to the high line. By the time I got home it was reaching the lower line again.
Shut it down when I got home for a minute and started it back up and drove.......back to the higher line.......Any thoughts?

 

[Corbet]

Probably fine, mine reads low all the time too.

best thing to do would be to have it tested with a mechanical gauge to make sure its within spec. Mine is even though it reads low on the dash.

It its not within spec there is a rebuild kit for the oil pump. I'd start there.

 

[Ebag333]

My oil pressure gauge is in the range it's supposed to be (as marked on the gauge) only when using 10w-40 or 15w-40. Anything lighter than that reads low.

Sounds normal to me.

 

[sterling]

My needle when driving sits at 3/4

At idle when warm and in gear the needle is a tick below the low line on the gauge

What ebag said, normal.I was concerned like you when I first got mine too.

 

[MojoRisen81]

I have a 96 as well and mine is always just below the top line. Been like that since I drove it home and I have checked the oil level and it is fine so I just thought it was the gauge. anyone else have one that runs high like that.

 

[robertaleon]

Just below the top line usually, may drop or hit the top line during operation/idle. I run 5W-30 with small filter. I didn't notice a difference running Mobile1 10W-40 with big filter either.

Been like that for over a year now.

 

[doc W]

As engine gets hotter pressure will drop. This may be what is happening with your LC.

I believe FSM spec is 60 lbs. pressure at 3,000 rpm. As noted above your oil type makes a difference. I run Delo 15-40 in summer an it keeps the pressure at or above top tick on the OP gauge when on the freeway.

The OP sensor can sometimes go south and give inaccurate reading.

 

[php74]

Thanks. Just had my mechanic check it all out. He said all is well. Definitely needed an oil change though. I'll see how it runs from here with fresh oil and filter. Thanks for all the input everyone!

 

[ajax1]

prop need oil pressure sender , that was my prop bought it from cdan for round 50 bucks i think it was super easy to change on pass side of the engine looks like a bell, get the yota one not one from napa or somewhere else the yota was cheaper then napa from cdan, my guage would do the same thing now it works right or hook up mech guage

 

[Kaveeks]

I have a 96 as well and mine is always just below the top line. Been like that since I drove it home and I have checked the oil level and it is fine so I just thought it was the gauge. anyone else have one that runs high like that.

Mines like this as well. I run rotella 15W-40. It'll start out just below the top line and will slowly go down a little while being driven for awhile. It'll never go half-way or below.