We bought our 97 Dakota new. after a few weeks the oil pressure guage began to fluctuate
from high to low but stayed within the white limit marks. the wife took it to the dealer and the sending unit was replaced. It cured the problem for a while then out of the blue the needle shot up to the 100psi mark. I figured that the preassure relief valve in the pump got stuck and I replaced the oil pump. The guage still fluctuated but the engine seems to run fine other than the normal rattle that the engine has had since we bought the truck. Today the wife said it shot to the low side stayed there for a bit then went to the high side. she stoped and checked the oil it was ok and the truck sounded normal. It didn't throw a check engine light or anything but the fluctuating has her bugged. any suggestions? I am thinking the bottom end may be going bad. thanks for any help

 

I've talked to a couple other guys who wondered about it. Mine goes up and down. WHen you're on the gas it goes up and down when you off. It seems that a lot of them do. I 've never had a problem with it. It might just be the same thing.

 

The higher the engine rpm, the more pressure it will make. As long as its within the norms, you are fine.

 

My 96' does the exact same thing. It runs just fine. My brothers old Wrangler used to do the same thing. I Love Mopar.