oil pressure gauge?

[Mattcusdav]

the past couple of days, i have noticed my oil pressure gauge will 'twitch' just a little while still giving me the usual pressure for driving. i didn't think much of it but then today my oil pressure completely dropped. it almost hit zero so i got out to see if i was leaking and there was nothing. it was running fine, no smoke or noises or anything. could this just be the pressure gauge going out on me?

[t.mcginley.jr]

Probably not the gauge so much as the oil pressure sensor. It's common for the oil sensor to crap out after a while and throw all kinds of funny readings on the gauge. It's pretty cheap to replace... pop a new on in and see what the gauge reading looks like.

[Mattcusdav]

is there a chance it could also be the oil pump? i didn't think about it at the time. I haven't driven it since it acted up. thanks for the tip.

[t.mcginley.jr]

yes there is a chance it's the oil pump crapping out... is it the stock one? get a mechanical oil pressure gauge, unscrew the stock oil pressure sender unit, screw in the mechanical gauge and see what the pressure is when you start it up. If the pressure reads normal, then you know its the sensor. If its still a bad reading, then your pump could be shot or you have some kind of crazy blockage (but most likely the pump).

[nissanfreak12]

Oil pump do not normally crap out, just the way they are designed. I could see if you have a ton of miles. I would just replace the sending unit as t.mcginley said, they are known to go out. It doesn't take much for them to "not read". They are cheap and very easy to replace.

If your oil pump did actually have zero pressure, you would know right away, it wouldn't run smooth at all, you would have knock issues, loud tapping, all kinds of trouble.

[Mattcusdav]

thanks a lot guys. I'm active duty so i don't really have much time.. i just want to be sure but even if the sensor is out, should it affect anything else and be ok to drive to the shop?

[nissanfreak12]

If its just the sensor, yeah no issues. My gauge has not worked for quite some time, no issues. Just if it runs odd, makes weird sounds, or does anything strange. Stop the car, get it towed, but honestly, it will take less time than changing the oil in your car.

[t.mcginley.jr]

^^ what he said