Last night I went out offroading somewhat late. While I was out I began to notice a that my oil pressure was reading different than usual. Normally my pressure sits just under 40 and increases with rpm but it has been sitting around 20 psi and doesn't move. My initial worry was that I hit a rock wrong and broke something but I decided to check the pressure without starting the vehicle this morning while it was cold and noticed it goes to 20 psi as soon as it is turned to the on position without starting. This makes me believe it could be a sending unit problem but I replaced that a year or so ago so it seems unlikely. The symptoms of that were different as well.

My current plan when I get home:
- Remove and check the sending unit to see if it's faulty
- Run for a second without the sending unit in to make sure it isn't clogged
- Change oil and filter since it wouldn't hurt anyway

Is there anything else anybody has experienced like this? The part that confuses me is the fact that there is little to no change in oil pressure unless the car is completely off.

I also began having some stumbling when under light acceleration and a couple shutoffs that got far worse last night while airing down on a slight incline but it doesn't seem to be related since it did it very rarely before. I have plans to test this but just wanted to throw it out there since its somewhat related and could be a symptom.

 

Get an oil pressure testing gauge (they're like $20 at Harbor Freight) and verify the pressure mechanically - if it's reading good on the mechanical gauge then I'd say your actual gauge is getting hung up (in other words, the little needle is getting stuck) and if it's accurate then you know you have some investigation and correction to do.

The min spec for oil pressure is 13 psi - however I would definitely be concerned if it was a sudden "everything's ok" to "super low".

 

 

Yeah, I was just hopeful. It ended up being that sensor again lol. Just a different symptom when it failed this time than last time. Luckily there's a lifetime warranty on that and it's super easy to replace.