1997 GMC Jimmy oil pressure problems

1997 GMC JIMMY
185,000 MILES • 6 CYL • 4WD • AUTOMATIC
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GMMAN00
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i have a 1997 jimmy when i start it the oil pressure is around 40-45 and drops to 30 or 35 when is warm, and goes back to 40 or just above when i am driving. After driving for a long time or after driving on the highway and stopping the oil pressure drops to around 20 at idle and i can feel a slight vibration. When i bought it a few years ago the oil pressure was always at 40 it has been doing this for a year or more now since i let it get low on oil 1 time last year. Is the oil pump going out or is this something i dont need to worry about.
Nov 8, 2010 at 7:28 PM
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WRENCHTECH
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A few different things could be happening. It could be the brand of oil that your using. It could be a bad oil pressure sender or it could actually be getting lower pressure due to engine or oil pump wear. It's going to take some experimenting to determine which.
Nov 8, 2010 at 7:40 PM
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GMMAN00
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I used to not really pay attention to what oil i used. Now the last sevral oil changes i have used pennzoil platinum with fram extra guard filter the better oil seems to help but not much. Is this something that will cause further harm if i keep driving it like this?
Nov 8, 2010 at 9:05 PM
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WRENCHTECH
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You'd have to find out what the actual problem is before anybody can answer that. Right now you don't even know if the reading is accurate or not.
Nov 8, 2010 at 9:07 PM
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GMMAN00
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ok thanks for the help
Nov 8, 2010 at 9:13 PM
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GMMAN00
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after i check with a mechanical gauge if the pressure reading is accurate where is the oil pressure sender located at?
Nov 8, 2010 at 9:46 PM
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WRENCHTECH
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Rear of engine near distributor
Nov 9, 2010 at 4:20 AM