Hello everyone. So my '95 Dakota V8 ext. cab, 200,000 miles, automatic has had a flickering oil pressure light at stop or low idle since I bought it six months ago. It is my daily driver and I regularly drive it for long trips here in Alaska to the beach. The truck has always run great.

I changed the oil pressure switch/sensor awhile ago and that still did not solve the problem. I was not getting any indications something serious was wrong so I just kept an eye on the oil level and drove it as normal.

Yesterday I was driving down the road and the engine stopped running with no warning signs and the oil pressure light immediately came on.

I got no smoke, no loud noises, no indications the engine was overheated, no clanking and there was plenty of oil on the dipstick.

I pushed it to the side of the road and let it sit for a bit, then it fired right back up and ran for about 5 minutes until the same thing happened.

I had it towed to my house and as it sits now in the drive way it will start and idle fine with no warning lights sitting right there in the driveway.

Is it fair to say that the oil pump is the problem and it is on its way out? Or does anyone have any other thoughts. Thanks!

 

Seems probable. I would check the codes, if you don't have a scanner use the key turn method on the FAQ page. Read over the whole page there is some stuff about wiring that may apply to your situation. The Oil light might just be a coincidence.

 

Well first off, when the truck shuts off and the ignition key is still on, the oil light will come on. That's normal. The Oil light 12VDC is fed by the ignition circuit, and the ground for the light comes from the pressure switch. The pressure switch is normally closed contact so when the ignition switch is on and the engine isn't turning, the switch is closed and the light is on. When the engine and thereby the oil pump is turning, pressure builds, the switch opens up and removes the ground, and the light goes out. You'll notice the light comes on everytime you crank the truck, because as soon as you turn the key on, it comes on.

So, if the light was flickering my bet would be on a ground short to that wire somewhere that's gotten worse and now it's grounding something else that keeps the truck from running. I don't think the oil pressure is going to stop the truck...something electrical is. The later ODBII trucks may have had the oil pressure switch tie into the PCM for the ignition circuit, but I don't think the 95 does. At least my 90 didn't. The oil pressure switch simply went to the light and the gauge.

 

Almost sounds like my issue...the ignition switch. Mike would die while driving, but idle no problem.

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I would check the rear main seal. My 99' Dakota sometimes will have the oil pressure gauge completely drop to nothing and the dash makes a ding once or twice then it pops back up to normal. I found the rear main had a leak and would cause the oil pressure gauge to shut of briefly. I was told that my engine was about to be shot if I didn't fix it but the fix was more than I paid for the truck so I just put some rear main stop leak in the oil and keep up with changing the oil and filter and it's been 2 years since I was told it was done for.

 

a rear main seal leak will NOT cause the oil pressure gauge to "shut off" unless/until your oil level was low enough to not allow the pump to produce enough pressure!!!!!

a rear main seal is about $10, a pan gasket is about $25. so you paid more than $50 for the truck? (including an oil filter and oil to refill it with) I doubt it.... Not a stop leak fan here. where does the excess stop leak go, and what else does it stop up? probably nothing good.

 

Good call volaredon. Stop leak sucks. It's not hard to drop a pan and replace the rear main seal, especially if it's a 2 pieces seal. If it was one piece there's a bit more work involved, gotta unbolt the torque converter, trans motor mounts etc, mive engine forward etc etc. 2 piece seals suck because of the design, but they're great when u have to replace one. Kind of a catch 22. But yeah a leaking rear main isn't gonna kill your motor unless the oil is blowing out of it so hard that you lose all oil And all pressure all at once. My 02 dakota had an issue where it would die and the oil light would come on. Thought oil pump was going out, would watch the pressure drop then poof, dead motor. Let it cool down and it would fire right up. I ended up fixing it by using motor medic motor flush...yeah I know it's garbage, but it cleaned the pump out which is what I wanted,refilled with Lucas stabilizer and royal purple plus a Mopar filter and never had the issue again