My shop manual states that oil pressure (at curb idle) should be between 30- 40 and I can only sustain 40 while driving. When the engine idle's, the oil pressure drops between 5-15, but raises back to 40 when I start driving again. I changed oil to see if that would change things, it didn't. The troubleshooting section says if oil drops below normal ranges, it means you might have to repair rubber gaskets on the oil pump. The engine mileage (age and actual miles) is low enough that I still consider everything to be new enough that the gaskets shouldn't need replacement?

The pressure doesn't change when using 30 or 50 weight.

Any suggestions? I don't think it's the pressure sensor, because when the pressure drops, you can hear the valves clinking (not enough oil getting to head)....

Has anybody dropped the oil pan and replaced the gaskets, and if so, what kind of job am I looking at (huge, normal, easy)?

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />