Hi there--

I've been having problems with the GT using oil. I know I have one, possibly two bad rings. Ok, the latest is that at a constant speed, the oil pressure will drop from 3/4 across the gauge where it usually rides to between 1/4 and 1/3 across the gauge. Just changed the oil yesterday with 10/40. The waggling pressure makes me nervous.

Ok, as I see it, it could be

• Bad Sender
• Bad Gauge
• Bad Wiring
• Bad Instrument Panel Voltage Regulator
• Dying Engine (I don't want to think about this one.)

What order would you tackle these? I'm thinking of checking the wiring, getting a new sender and see what that does. Then the Volt. Regulator. Then getting an aftermarket gauge to see if mine is bad.

If I get an aftermarket gauge, electrical or mechanical? I'm no wiring ninja, so it'd need to be simple.

How would you attack this? (Yes, I know I need to rebuild, but with a 2 year old, that isn't in the cards yet.)

--Paul

 

UPDATE: Wiring seems ok. Put in a new sender and now, at hot idle, the needle stays at between 1/3 and 1/2 across the dial. Am going to take it for a drive and see how she does.

Sheesh. Sometimes I wish I had idiot lights!

--P

 

UPDATED UPDATE: The pressure held mostly solid at about 1/3 to, occasionally, 1/2 of the sweep of the needle. (I'm taking this as a bad sender.) I noticed that the oil pressure gauge and the fuel gauge--which reads 1/8 of a tank low--wiggle a tad in unision. This, I'm guessing, is a bad Instrument Panel Regulator.

I gonna order a new one and rebuild the dash cluster while I have it out. Might was well. Maybe I can solve the riddle of the never moving volt-meter in my cluster!