Just for refrence, 35-80 PSI is normal for these engines (According to the service manual).

 

That is at 3000 rpm though. Hot my truck runs about 5-7 at idle about 15-20 cruising down the highway and about 40 at 3000 rpm.

 

Really, its that low? I'm between 40 and 60 all the time. 179,000 miles.

 

Yeah, I have a mechanical oil pressure gauge though. It shows the exact oil pressure. The electrical ones are goofy and don't show actual. My 360 isn't in great shape but its only got 103K on it. I bet if you hooked a mechanical gauge up to your truck you would get similar numbers. My service manual states 35-80 psi at 3000 like you said but it also says that 7 is minimum for curb idle. I was really suprised when I hooked a mechanical gauge to my old 318 (179K) and it showed so low. The idiot light comes on at about 5 psi regardless of rpm when the electric gauge is in. Ironically with no oil pressure sending unit in the idiot light doesnt come on. Every vehicle that I own from now on will get a mechanical oil pressure gauge unless it will mess with the computer. I just like knowing what is really going on.

 

Really, I dont recall reading that in my service manual. I'll go read it.

I was thinking about putting in a new oil psi gauge. Mine just oddly stays stationary at whatever RPM the motor is at.

 

I have a sunpro mechanical full sweep I got at autozone for about $15. It isn't the highest quality but I have absolutely no complaints about it. My electrical was always stationary then one day it dipped down a bit. A little while later the main bearings got F***ed up and the electrical would dip way down then climb back up when you touched the throttle.

 

When I originally got my truck, the oil pressure stayed fairly consistently around 40. About 2 weeks later, the truck started to wait til around 3000 rpm and higher to shift, and when moving, the oil pressure would jump to near 80. I checked the trans fluid, which was low, and put some transmission stop leak and fluid into it. This not only stopped the rough shifting, but also caused the oil pressure to stay consistently around 40 again. However, now it is shifting right, but the oil pressure is jumping when I move from idle to speeds above 30mph. Any ideas why?

 

Oil pressure and the trans are completely unrelated.

If your oil pressure is doing funny things, first step is to verify what is going on with a mechanical gauge. If the mech gauge says you have good pressure, and it is not doing anything odd, replace the sending unit for the in-dash gauge.

 

Kinder a little late now but it ended up being the oil pressure sensor i changed that and ever since its been back to the way it was always at 40 and then a little over 40 when driving. Has over 40 at all times and has over 175k and still running strong

 

Any update is appreciated.