well i have a dodge ram 1500 quad cab 1996. when ever the truck is idling the oil pressure gauge go wacky and shoots down to 0 then the oil light pops on but if i give a tiny bit of gas it pops right back up. any clus on what to do? also about how much would cost. also i have a a keyless entry on truck and the auto lock button works but the switchs on the door don't. either side, but if i use the remote both work.

 

you may want to pull your oil pan and check the oil pump pickup and see if its clogged and since you got the pan off just go ahead and throw a hi volume oil pump in it .and if your really ambitious throw some bearings in it if its got high mileage .cant help you with the lock issue.

 

Screw a mechanical gauge in there first, and see if the pressure really does go to zero. The sending units for the in dash gauge are not the most reliable, nor the most accurate.

 

that would be a lot less work i agree check 1st

 

well i just took to a local shop that has told me that my bearings are just letting the oil past, and that at this poin buying a newer engine would be best option but i don't have 2 thousand for engine and another 2 million for their labor, what can i do?

 

The symptoms you are describing are EXACTLY what I expect from a failing Oil Pressure Sensor. Go to your local auto parts store, buy a 20 dollar mechanical gauge, (the kind that normally installs in the dash, or a gauge pod) Install the gauge in PLACE OF the electric sensor. Only needs to be temporary. Start the engine, see what the gauge says.

My electric gauge would drop to zero when I STEPPED on the gas..... (suspicious circumstances abound, but, not relevant here.) Screwed in a mechanical gauge, and yep, it was telling the truth. (though, not quite as bad as the elec gauge made it out to be....) Dropped the pan, and had a look. The pickup tube was choked with what looked to be a rag that had an extremely bad experience with the crankshaft...... Replaced pump, and when I started the engine to check it, I had 85 pounds of pressure, on a 165000 mile motor. (but, when hooked back up, the electric gauge would still barely hit 60 pounds...... LIAR! )

Check it yourself. The garage is not really interested in doing a bunch of work to diagnose the problem, only to have it be a meazely couple hundred bucks to fix. They make a LOT more money selling you an engine.

When I had mine apart, my main bearings (I also replaced the rear main seal) looked almost brand new. Some very minor scuffing, and that was it.

 

I'm thinking that shop, thinks king_moaoe is an easy target! Take it to a different shop and ask them to replace the factory oil pressure switch. Then go from there.

 

one shop told me to just next oil change put a thicker oil and that would fix it

 

Don't do that. Stop going to shops. Grab a mechanical gauge, and check the pressure. Anything else is guesswork, or a bandaid. Do you really want to buy a new motor?? If not, then you NEED to figger out what is REALLY going on.

 

It does not sound like he can do that himself. That's why I suggested just replacing the factory unit.