ok here's the situation. my buddy just bought a 97 TA with 106K miles on it. I think the oil sending unit sensor is bad because when he slows down the oil pressure guage suddenly drops to zero or close to zero and then rises again. The car doesn't leak or burn oil. it could also use a set of plugs and wires (plan on changing them this thursday) but other than that the car is is great shape. today we were comming to a red light and we weren't even on it or had been on it. we were cruzin at about 35 mph and slowing for the light when all of a sudden the car died. he tried to start it and the motor held at 500 rpm for a couple of seconds while it sounded like it was tryin to kick over but couldn't hit that 1000 rpm to start it. the car turns over and you can hear the fuel pump come on and we have no clue what the hell happened to the car. we had to call a wrecker to tow us to his dad's shop and needless to say my friend is pissed he has had the car less then a week. any ideas on what we might check for tomorrow to fix this problem? i know my buddy would greatly appricate it.

 

Not exactly sure but my first kick is it sounds like there is a fuel delivery and/or oil pressure issue.

Assuming the battery is good, because you said the car turns over, the fuel may not be reaching the injectors due to clogged fuel line, filter or bad pump.

The fluctuating oil pressure could be due to clogged oil filter, incorrect oil viscosity or bad oil pump.

The spark plug, wires and oil change wouldn't be a bad idea either especially since it was pre-owned.

 

The oil pressure issue is caused by the oil pump pickup tube falling off the pump - happens a lot with the LT1. You need to drop the oil pan and get it brazed back on asap.

Greg