How bad is this oil leak?

Would a bad oil pressure sending unit cause a leak? My gauge goes to 80 psi.

For some reason none of my gauges move when the car is turned off because I was trying to test and see if it pegs to 80 with the car off also as I seen someone go in a YouTube video but mine does not. Also seen in a video that someone had a bad sending unit and it caused a minor leak. Not sure how possible that is for me but I think I'm hoping so instead if it being a rear main seal.

Is there anything bad about driving the truck this way until I get it fixed or do I avoid driving?

Michigan said:

Would a bad oil pressure sending unit cause a leak? My gauge goes to 80 psi.

For some reason none of my gauges move when the car is turned off because I was trying to test and see if it pegs to 80 with the car off also as I seen someone go in a YouTube video but mine does not. Also seen in a video that someone had a bad sending unit and it caused a minor leak. Not sure how possible that is for me but I think I'm hoping so instead if it being a rear main seal.

Is there anything bad about driving the truck this way until I get it fixed or do I avoid driving?

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Driving it what way? The oil leak isn't a problem obviously, just keep an eye on the oil level. And just because the gauge says 80 psi doesn't mean it's true- it sounds like your cluster has a problem- the stepper motors are a known common failure. And even if you do have 80 psi (which I seriously doubt) it's not a problem unless it's pushing oil out everywhere which it obviously isn't otherwise you would have leaks everywhere including the pcv. You just need to figure out what your oil pressure is, and why your gauge says 80. Your leak could be coming from anywhere, the rear main is just one possibility.

But yes that oil could be coming down from your oil pressure sending unit absolutely. As far as your gauge reading, the sensor itself may be shorted or you may have a harness issue OR as @Rocket Man mentioned your gauge motor may be shot.

Key on, engine off... what does the oil pressure gauge read?

M1Gunner said:

But yes that oil could be coming down from your oil pressure sending unit absolutely. As far as your gauge reading, the sensor itself may be shorted or you may have a harness issue OR as @Rocket Man mentioned your gauge motor may be shot.

Key on, engine off... what does the oil pressure gauge read?

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Problem is with the engine off and turning the key does not activate any of the gauges. None of them move for some reason. Before turning engine on the gauge is at 0 like normal and when I turn the engine on the guage goes straight to 80 and stays there.

As far as the oil pressure sending unit goes. I called a few shops and got different answers from all of them. One of them said that just because it reads 80 doesn't mean it's the sending unit and it may be that the fuel pump is on its way out but the truck runs fine I would say he also said that if it was the sensor it would stay on zero and not move at all. Another said it could be the cluster itself or short.

The other shop said he doesn't think it's the sending unit and that I have great oil pressure if I'm reading 80.

I already have the part and am looking at around 150.00 for labor as I can't do myself.

I hope it fixes the leak if I get it changed

The PO lied about leaks. Obviously. I see bare metal, the black paint has washed away. A sign that this leak is chronic, and has been going on for quite a while. Years. A leak the PO did not want to spend the $$$ to fix. Nobody tells the truth, they never say why its really for sale. Well, whats done is done. You need to go to a car wash that has spray booths and hit that area with degreaser, then a rinse. Then watch. You gotta get underneath part way to be close, flash on and get some detailed pix. Let us know. Gear oil or PS fluid can also eat the wax and paint clean. I had a similar leak, similar bare metal. It was the PS gear seal. And.. gulp.. the front diff pinion seal.

M1Gunner said:

But yes that oil could be coming down from your oil pressure sending unit absolutely. As far as your gauge reading, the sensor itself may be shorted or you may have a harness issue OR as @Rocket Man mentioned your gauge motor may be shot.

Key on, engine off... what does the oil pressure gauge read?

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Ok so maybe it was my own dumb fault unless I was tripping out when I tested this prior but with key on and engine off the oil pressure gauge reads 80psi with truck not running. It at 0psi to start as normal then goes to 80. So does this mean it's an oil sending unit not reading and the stepper motor in the cluster is fine? Or could it still be stepper motor?

Usually pegged at 80 with KOnEOff is a bad sender.

@Michigan Bingo, brother! Key on engine off and oil pressure is still pegged means that there is an open in the circuit, 9/10 its internally in the sending unit.

When you go to replace it you can verify by checking the resistance of the sensor with a multimeter. It'll read OL if it's gave up the good fight.

Hey appreciate you all,

Had the oil pressure sending unit replaced today and problem fixed as far as the gauge reading now. The old unit was also leaking oil but the bad news is I still had oil leaking in the driveway from a few hours of sitting. I hope this is just runoff oil as the guy said it was a mess and recommended to have it all cleaned up and check for leaks so I won't know for certain just yet if I have a leak or not

The shop guy said he will not be doing another one of those. Guess it was a pain