Now that its cold out i notcied something really strange and it worries me since oil pressure is important to have.

But When i first start my car in the cold i noticed the oil presure gauge shows normal and then quickly falls back to nothing and then stops for like a tenth of a sec and goes back to normal...it does this a few random times until the car is fully warmed up..

I was thinking maybe i have too thick of oil maybe so its reading weird til it warms up..i dunno if this could casue this or not..

anyone else have any ideas?


And when this is happening i don't hear any difference in the engine or drivability its jsut he gauge flying around.

 

The sender for the gauge is just a switch that closes when there is 6psi of oil pressure or more and the gauge will read normal. Possible that the sender has deposits builtup on or its going bad. What kind/weight of oil are u using? How many miles are on the car?

 

I'll ahve to get back to you on the oil i don't remeber which one i got but the car has about 125,000 miles

 

i checked looks like i have 10w30 oil in it... mobil 1 full synthetic extended performance.

 

should be ok on the oil. How is it after warm up does it drop off at a long stop light

 

no its fine once the car gets warm.

 

Better to run the 5w20. less load on pump and getting lubrication to all right places quicker on cold start.

 

At some point you may want to put a real OP guage in the car. The one from the factory is 1/2 step above an idiot light.

 

I was thinking the same thing... i am considering a real OP gauge so i can actually tell if my engine is having a problem or not.. i really hate fords dummy gauges..

You sure don't see that in GM cars..atleast none that i have drove or riden in.

 

Did you find a resolve to the problem?

 

Sort of..

I was really low on oil. So i added more and its fine now.


But the real question is... where is the oil going...doesn't seem to be dripping under the car...so i guess i'm burning oil... but my exhaust isn't blue or anything..

I wish i had the money and space to start the engine build i want to do.

The only reason i didn't check the oil earlier is i thought there would be a low oil light before anything else. maybe the mustangs don't have one

 

There is no "low oil level" light. There is usually a "low oil PRESSURE" light that will come on after a few seconds of having no oil pressure. Yours was not coming on because it never lost pressure long enough for it to come on. The 99 mustangs might not have an oil pressure light if they have a gauge, not sure.

The oil is getting burned, and it will not make your exhaust blue unless you are burning through about 1 quart every 200 miles or something like that. If it is just using some, it won't show. That is why it is important to check the oil at least every other week.

 

If its not leaking oil, its burning it. When you fire it up cold, look out the back and see if you see a small plume of smoke. If theres more than 6 psi of oil pressure, you won't get any indication that theres a problem. Im not aware of a "low oil level" light on my 01.

 

Well i do get smoke but its because its like 30-40 degrees everyday.. I'll have to see when it gets warmer.

But I don't remember getting much smoke when i bought the car back in September.

 

If the "smoke" evaporates or dissapears after a few seconds, it is just condensation from the exhaust. If it is actual "smoke", it will not evaporate or dissapear and will linger for a long time, and smell bad. If it is oil smoke it will have a blue-ish tint to it as well.

 

nah i really havn't noticed anything like that.