OK, this girl I'm starting to talk to/date has a 91 Z, i think it's a 305, and she noticed yesterday that her oil pressure guage is reading just above the warning level. she tried changing the oil since it was time to do that anyway, and it still did it. I told her that hers is alot easier to work on than my 97 Z, so i'll see what I can do this weekend.
Anyway, on to the question. The pressure guage reads, but it's reading very low. Does this sound more like oil sending unit, or the pump going bad? The car has 122,000 miles on it, and she doesn't know whether either have been replaced since she has only owned it for about 10,000 miles or so.
How can i check the sending unit to make sure it's not bad before i go after the motor mounts and oil pan? Thanks for the help.

 

does the car have a problem runnin? cuz my IROC with the 305 tpi wouldnt run properly with the bad oil press sending unit. but i would be willing to bet that it is the oil pump because of the mileage and if it runs fine just really low press. well it might be time for a refreshment on the motor. all my motors got refreshed after 100,000 miles but if it isnt the sending unit(go ahead and get one) it is probably the oil pump but make sure to check the wires and they are properly connected

 

When I bought my 91 RS, my oil pressure gauge read just above the warning level too. Stayed the same after an oil change so my dad said that it was the oil sending unit, we replaced it and it reads just fine now. Those stock sending units suck. I think alot of daily driven third gens have that problem. Hope that helps.

 

It's probably the sending unit. Factory oil pumps are extremely reliable, and the only other few causes of low oil pressure are unlikely if the motor is original and untouched. Sending units are inexpensive, available pretty much anywhere and are easy to swap.

94z'sson - low oil pressure can affect fuel pump operation on FI cars... That was probably the cause of your running problems.

 

Ditto. Had a 1991 V6 and a late 80s 305 V8 that both had their senders go bad.

Trust me, if you were running around just above the warning line all the time it would be making death noises in short order.

 

Yeah, that's kinda what i was thinking, and i figured that would be a good, cheap place to start. I hope that's all it is, cuz if so, it's going to make me look very good to her. God bless the internet, and CamaroZ28.com. Thanks alot guys

 

The only accurate way to verify your oil pressure readings is to install a mechanical test gauge and see what your actual readings are at idle and at 2500 rpm.........