I posted a while back about my truck having low oil pressure with low RPMs after the engine warms up (basically, if I wasn't giving it gas, the oil pressure would drop). It had been smoking and seemed to be burning oil. Lots of people figured the engine needed to be rebuilt or replaced.

Well, I bought some oil leak fluid just for the hell of it (I can't remember the name of it, but it's the kind with 2 different fluids that mix when you dump it in). I added more oil and drove home and let the truck sit for a week or two because I didn't want to drive it until I fixed it.

I decided a few days ago to give it another shot and drove around for a while. The oil pressure issue still persists, but in the 50 or so miles I've put on it, it hasn't smoked, or leaked, or burned any oil.

My truck idles around 750 RPM, while the pressure on the dash gauge drops to 0. The mechanical gauge shows around 7 psi at idle (when warm). From what I've read, a truck needs 10 psi per 1k RPMs, so it doesn't seem like anything to worry about. However, I've also read a lot of people saying that their idle pressure is much, much higher than mine.

So.... here are the a few possibilities. I need to know which one to go with, if any of them.

1. Just sell the truck, because I can't afford to rebuild or replace the engine.
2. Just drive it like it is. The oil pressure may be adequate.
3. Check the oil screen and replace the oil pump.
4. Replace the oil pump with a high-capacity pump (not sure what the difference would really be).
5. Simply switch to a higher viscosity oil - some people seem to think that it's perfectly fine to do on an older truck, while others seem to think that it's horrible for the engine.

So.... help??

 

Changing to a high volume pump may or may not help. Putting in a high PRESSURE pump may or may not help..... Either way, you have to drop the oil pan. While you are in there, might just as well have a look at bearings, and maybe plasti-gage one or two, and see what your clearances are like. (mains being the most likely culprit for low pressure when warm)

Thicker oil just makes it harder to pump..... not as much of an issue for you being down south..... (as you don't get the really cold weather... right?)

Other options would be:
Rebuild
Motor Swap.
New motor....

You can get long blocks for as little as 1200 bucks.... I don't know what kind of quality they would be though.

My truck does pretty much the same thing.... though it IS temp dependent.. When it is cold outside, not a problem. When it is warm (above freezing....) once the engine is up to temp, oil light will flicker, or come on nice and solid at idle, in gear. High volume oil pump didn't fix it either.....

 

Yeah, during the summer it rarely goes below 70 degrees in the night, and much hotter during the days.
So.. now that I'm thinking about it, it shouldn't be a pump issue because I'd have problems right when I started the truck - right??

I don't have near $1,200 to spend on a motor, so... it seems like my best options are to try a thicker oil or to just sell it to someone with time and money for a fix.

 

Used motors can be had for cheap.....

 

You'd get more for it if fixed as well.