Low Oil Pressure

Hi guys my 97' 2.7L has low oil pressure. The light came on recently so I hooked up a gauge and it starts from cold at around 40psi which seems normal. As it warms up idling I watched it drop to almost 0 before I just shut the truck off. Anyone face anything similar and have ideas before I waste my time trying to diagnose it blindly? 150k miles on it. Any feedback is appreciated thanks.

 

Seen this a few times on here, the no-diag guess-a-tronic usually its caused by a plugged oil pickup screen inside the oil pan.

 

As much as I would like this to be the issue, wouldn't that cause low pressure on startup also? Assuming its clogged I wouldn't think it would even be able to reach 40psi on a cold start. I could be thinking about this wrong.

 

I should probably check it out regardless as it is definitely possible. Unfortunately I have a 4x4 and have to drop the diff. I saw you comment in another thread saying "I drop diffs quickly now, so its always my go to solution. That said its a bitch at home." Have you seen this video in that same thread? Was thinking of following it https://youtu.be/w_gPiDvh9v4?si=VqTfrgzH-COArAvS

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/low-oil-pressure-light-at-idle.859818/
She had a very similar problem and it happened at idle. It was a clogged up screen. The screen is the first thing in line to stop larger debris before going through the oil pump, then your oil filter gets the smaller stuff

 

It will happen while not idling as well. It will fully die while driving somewhere around 2-3k rmps (no tach so idk exactly)

 

what do you mean by die? I assume your oil isn't low, do you have any oil leaks that you know of? How old is your oil and is it manufacturer recommended weight? Lets get those basic answers out of the way to leave out any assumptions.

 

It will just completely shut off. My oil is like a month old (changed right after buying truck) and no oil leaks that I can see. I am in this situation because I test drove the truck for like 30 minutes, and then on the way home after purchasing it the oil light came on and then the car shut off.

 

and its 5w30

 

check oil sending unit/oil pressure sensor for faulty connection etc

 

I feel like that is ruled out because I read the oil pressure with an actual gauge. I think im gonna go ahead and take off the oil pan and look at the pickup regardless. Just gotta get that diff out of the way.

 

Do you have any type of service history from the seller? Did the first oil drain you did show any bad signs? It's an old truck, maybe it sat for a while at one point with more than used oil sitting in the pan. Its a good place to start getting answers, wish it was easier to drop the pan.

 

Yeah it sat for quite some time, like 5 or 6 years. Oil was very thin when I drained it after getting the truck. I am assuming the oil I drained was at a minimum 5 years old.

 

not too bad labor time


i had to replace T cover gaskets on my 2.4L
book time was 9.8hrs (have to take off oil pan to get to T cover off)
took me 4 days but ZERO oil leaks now

just alot of bolts brackets.....make sure you bag and tag!