After reading mmstar23's post on engine sludging, I figured I had the same issue. However after making arrangements to correct this problem, I'm now wondering if it is my issue at all. In his post, his pressure would drop when he accelerated. My problem is a little different. Only after my engine is warm as soon as i come to a stop my pressure falls, I have to keep my foot on the gas about 1000rpm to prevent it from happening.

If it is indeed the oil pump, is this something I could easily do while cleaning out possible sludge?

Thanks in advance

 

Also if it helps...

This problem started a while ago, I took it to a shop and the mechanic said it was the oil pressure switch without even looking at the truck. He said it was a common problem. After he replaced that, the truck was ok for about a couple of months.

When it happened brefore it was really intermidant. Now that I am due for an oil change, it happens every time i stop and that is the other thing, it gets worse the older my oil gets. If i changed the oil today, it would be ok for a month and then start randomly happening and then end up like it is now....

The reason I am trying to get opinions weather you think its sludge or and oil pump is because the pump is $160 and if I don't need it, I'd rather not spend the money since I'm pretty broke these days!!!

 

throw a quart of Marvel Mystery oil in there. That will break free any sludge build-up. Run it like that for a couple hundred miles and drain the oil. When you put new oil in, pour another quart of Marvel Mystery oil with that oil change and run the full 3kmi. This is a safe and effective way to clean the inside of your engine. I have been doing this for all the used cars i buy for the past 15years. The oil is super clean afterwards and engine breathes and oils freely.

 

+1^^^ that would be worth a try before changing the oil pump.

 

I was going to throw a can of seafoam in and run it for a couple hundred miles and then drop the pan and see what the sludge situation is., But i suppose if im already that far i might as well change the pump since the oil pan is a pita to remove.

that marvel stuff you speak of, whats the deal with it? Any good?

 

Uhhhhm,

You may want to fab a Tee into the oil pressure tap hole and install a 0-100 psi guage along with the sending unit to verify if it is indeed the sending unit, or a true sludging problem. If it is sludging, the best bet is to pull the pan and oil pickup from the pump and thoughly clean them, then run all the cleaners through the engine after the bulk of the crud has been removed. MMstar had to actually pressure blast the pickup tube and screen in order to clear them, after that, all was well again.