no oil pressure indication, should I still drive it

[1phrogguy]

Cruising along in a neighborhood taking a drive, I look down to check the gauges and Oh Sh!t, no oil pressure. Pulled over, took a look for a broken wire or some other obvious indication and found nothing. Drove it home after I was convinced it was a gauge prob. On the way home the oil press showed back up on the gauge then dropped off again.

I changed the oil press sending unit, thinking that was it. no luck. Checked the wire to the gauge, good to go. I am guessing it is the gauge.

Should I still drive it without having an anxiety attack about siezing the engine, I can hear the oil draining back into the pan after I shut it off and everything else is normal, temp, sound, power, etc. how the hell do I fix this? New gauge, aftermarket gauge?

Could it be something else that I don't know about?

It sits for now until I get this resolved, just not too comfortable driving with no oil press indicated. Please Help

 

[gladly]

aftermarket mechanical guage, eliminates the possible electrical gremlins, and is pretty cheap and easy

 

[brian]

it would'nt take long just idling with no OP to start hearing bad things, let alone actually driving it with no OP .

my bet is on the gauge.


when it's cold out, my gauge sticks at "0", once the gauge warms up i get OP.
bugged the hell outta me when it first started doing it a few years ago, now i hardly notice it.
over the summer it does'nt stick.

 

[Mr. Toad]

Could it be something else that I don't know about?

Uhh . . . low oil pressure? Low oil level?

The FJ40 dash gauges are not known for extreme accuracy, but they're pretty good as trouble indicators. If yours reads low (or no), I'd confirm the problem before driving it. The body & chassis FSM has good diagnostics for the gauge itself (I think the Haynes manual does too, under electrical).

 

[1phrogguy]

Mr. Toad,

I have both of those manuals (FSM and Haynes), but not a 3.4 watt bulb. So I can not be absolutly sure it is the gauge. Oil Level is good, just changed about 200 miles ago.

Gauge reads 0 oil press all the time now, looks just like it does when its not running.

 

[krzyabncanuck]

I would go down to the parts store and get a mechanical one and try it or go on post to the craft shop and see if they have one you can use. They should have one and someone there that can hook it up for you.

 

[Mr. Toad]

I have both of those manuals (FSM and Haynes), but not a 3.4 watt bulb. So I can not be absolutly sure it is the gauge. Oil Level is good, just changed about 200 miles ago.

Gauge reads 0 oil press all the time now, looks just like it does when its not running.

Damn. Well, I suppose you could try to check for 44 Ohm resistance across the terminals at the back of the gauge.

You could watch the rockers for oiling while the engine is running. Take off the valve cover and start it up. If they're oiling (don't expect to see twelve summertime lawn sprinklers spraying or anything), then you're getting adequate oil flow to the top of the engine--farthest from the oil pump. That would be a good thing.

Good Luck

 

[1phrogguy]

You could watch the rockers for oiling while the engine is running. Take off the valve cover and start it up. If they're oiling (don't expect to see twelve summertime lawn sprinklers spraying or anything), then you're getting adequate oil flow to the top of the engine--farthest from the oil pump. That would be a good thing.

Good Luck

Thats the stuff I am looking for, I took off the oil cap but really didn't know what to look for besides there being some oil up there, the whole valve cover you say huh?

I think I'll try the aftermarket gauge first before I go that route. after I check for the 44 Ohm resistance first of course.

Thanks for the input