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Low oil pressure and light at idle. PLEASE HELP

26K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  spider9303_7542  
#1 ·
Hey Folks,

So a few days ago I noticed that my oil pressure gauge in my 03' 350z was staying above 120 psi while driving. After doing some research on this site, I found out it was due to a bad oil pressure sending unit. So on Friday I replaced my sending unit, filter, and oil. It seemed to fix the problem, except now when fully warmed up, my oil pressure gauge reads maybe 2-3 psi (just a hair above the 0 line) and my low oil light comes on. If i give it a little rev the light turns off and gauge goes up, but when back at idle, the light comes back on. The pressure is also lower while driving then it was before all this started. My oil level is solid, motor sounds good, no oil leaks, etc. I stopped by my local Nissan dealer, and they want $180 bucks just to look at it. So here I am, hoping some of you may have some wisdom on why this may be happening. Any advice is appreciated!

James
 
#2 ·
Welcome- low oil pressure is a bit like a heart attack waiting to happen, and you must take it seriously. You don't mention how many miles are on your Z, but oil pressure obviously increases as revs increase. The only way to know for sure would be to remove your oil pressure sending unit at the block and insert a known manual pressure gauge to check for problems. Together with a CONSULT 3 unit, you can verify whether there's truly a problem.


Unless you have the tools on hand to do all this, there's not much else a DIYer can do. Where are you located? Maybe there's other members on this board who can help.
 
#3 ·
I agree with dk.Get a correct reading with a manual gauge.
Also,I have a 03,I have replaced my sending unit awhile back.
However,the gauge itself sticks at times. I tap it on the side and
it gives a correct reading. I've talked to other Z owners of 03-04
cars and some have reported similar problems with the gauge.

How many miles on your car? THe sticking gauge problem on my car started around
75-80k miles. It now has 96k miles.
Uses zero oil between changes!
 
#5 ·
I need help with my Z guys. I have an 05 with 138k miles. It reads 0-1psi at idle and oil light stays on until I rev it up to around 5-6k Rpm and oil pressure moves up to about 5-10psi. Oil pressure was checked manually and it reads around 60psi at idle which it always has after a new oil change. I've changed oil pressure sending unit/oil pressure sensor and it's still doing this... what should I do now?