1997 GMC Jimmy oil pressure problems

Tiny
GMMAN00
  • MEMBER
  • 1997 GMC JIMMY
  • 6 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 185,000 MILES
I have a 1997 jimmy when I start it the oil pressure is around 40-45 and drops to 30 or 35 when is warm, and goes back to 40 or just above when I am driving. After driving for a long time or after driving on the highway and stopping the oil pressure drops to around 20 at idle and I can feel a slight vibration. When I bought it a few years ago the oil pressure was always at 40 it has been doing this for a year or more now since I let it get low on oil 1 time last year. Is the oil pump going out or is this something I dont need to worry about.
Monday, November 8th, 2010 AT 7:28 PM

6 Replies

Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,757 POSTS
A few different things could be happening. It could be the brand of oil that your using. It could be a bad oil pressure sender or it could actually be getting lower pressure due to engine or oil pump wear. It's going to take some experimenting to determine which.
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Monday, November 8th, 2010 AT 7:40 PM
Tiny
GMMAN00
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  • 8 POSTS
I used to not really pay attention to what oil I used. Now the last sevral oil changes I have used pennzoil platinum with fram extra guard filter the better oil seems to help but not much. Is this something that will cause further harm if I keep driving it like this?
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Monday, November 8th, 2010 AT 9:05 PM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
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You'd have to find out what the actual problem is before anybody can answer that. Right now you don't even know if the reading is accurate or not.
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Monday, November 8th, 2010 AT 9:07 PM
Tiny
GMMAN00
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Ok thanks for the help
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Monday, November 8th, 2010 AT 9:13 PM
Tiny
GMMAN00
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  • 8 POSTS
After I check with a mechanical gauge if the pressure reading is accurate where is the oil pressure sender located at?
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Monday, November 8th, 2010 AT 9:46 PM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,757 POSTS
Rear of engine near distributor
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+1
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010 AT 4:20 AM

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