So my dash oil pressure gauge is dropping to zero once the motor is hot. Sometimes revving the motor pumps the pressure back up, sometimes the pressure drops at idle, and sometimes it drops under partial load. I just got my mechanical oil pressure gauge, and I'll be checking to make sure it's a pump and/or main seal problem in the next few days.

If it is the pump/main seal, I need to pull the pan, and my pan is pretty corroded, so I may as well replace it. So my question is, why are some pans around $50, while others are closer to $150? With suspension parts, I know that price often correlates with quality, and being cheap is often regrettable, but an oil pan is a pretty simple stamped piece of metal, what can cause a near 3x jump in price?

Oh, and I hear that the drain nut is actually elevated into the pan, thereby causing sludge to build up over time as the oil never fully drains, leaving the sludgiest at the bottom of the pan. Has anyone fixed this by cutting the nut out, and welding one in flush to the bottom of the pan? If I need a new oil pan, and if the new oil pan has a nut raised into the oil pan, this seems like a no brainer to modify, right?

Here are the pans I've found:

OEM part
http://www.moparpartsamerica.com/par...gramCallOut=12

Spectra
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sg...FSIV7AodF3UAsg

Dorman
http://www.stockwiseauto.com/product...FS1p7Aod_0wAfA

 

Anyone?

I'm still curious, and I plan to replace my pan sooner or later, esp if I ever have to pull it, but I've got good news (I think): I put the mechanical gauge on, and it read about 65psi at all rpms cold, dropped to a bit over 50psi with 1/4 throttle and stayed there through most of the rpm range. It went up a bit when hammering it. It idled at 25, and never dropped below ~22psi. I shot some carb cleaner in the sending unit and used electric contact cleaner for the plug. Once reinstalled, the dash gauge did dip once on a ~5mile test ride, but that's it. Seems like it just got gunked up. My Haynes manual says 30-75psi at 3k rpm is within spec (seems broad?), but I didn't see a spec for idle. Are 25/65 idle/under load good numbers?