Hi all,

2002 Dakota v8 4.7
I'm having an issue with the oil pressure when the engine has warmed up. When I stop at a light the pressure drops to about 1/4 and when I give it gas it rises to 3/4. When the pressure is low I hear no noises so I guess that's a good thing. Several people are telling me to change the oil pressure sending switch, does this sound right? I hope that's all that's wrong!! Also could someone tell me where to look for the switch?

Thanks for your help!!

Matt

 

You can check your level but it actually sounds about normal to me.

 

Thanks for your response! What do you mean check your level? The oil level is fine and full.

 

The oil pressure should drop like that - your oil pump is driven with engine speed so at higher RPMs the pump is pumping more. When the oil is cold it's thicker which is why during warm up it's at 70-80psi. 20-ish psi at idle is fine, when you come up off idle is when it should start raising. Sounds like everything is working properly to me.

 

mine never goes above 40 is this bad?

 

i don't mean to be a post *****, but i wasn't clear when i drive for awhile and slow i falls out of the opperating window but accelerating i never goes above 40 that in the middle of the window the service guys said it was fine but i'm kina worried

 

40 is still plenty. What kind of oil are you using and what's the temp like in your area?

 

mobil1 10w30 cold and it never reaches 40 when i slow it falls between 0 and the first line of the window, bad pump or intake gasket? i'm gonna check the gasket tonight

 

i dont mean to sound insulting in any way, but make sure you are operating with a correct oil level. if you changed your oil recently, how many quarts did you use?

 

5 quarts