Low oil pressure

[Brandon1320]

I have a 2004 Yukon XL 269,*** miles I bought about two weeks ago. I changed the oil right after getting it. Filled to the second line from the top. Drove for about a week around town to make sure everything was ok with it and it ran fine. Took a 6 our trip to Tennessee, about 5 1/2 hours in I lost oil pressure. Checked my dip stick and the oil level was at the bottom minimum line. I haven't seen any oil leaking so I'm thinking it must be burning it. Got a fresh oil change and added a quart of Lucas high mile oil stabilizer. After that, the oil pressure rides about 20 psi on the dash gauge. I bought a pressure tester gauge from Auto Zone and that reads about 25 psi. So I am thinking my oil pump should be good? I have read online that the O-ring on the pick up tube is a common problem. It runs fine. No ticking or any noises. Had a mechanics stethoscope on both valve covers. It sounds smooth. Is there anything else I should look at to diagnose other potential culprits? It's a 4wd so pulling the oil pan is going to be a big task just to change the o-ring. Thanks for any input.

 

[swathdiver]

I have a 2004 Yukon XL 269,*** miles I bought about two weeks ago. I changed the oil right after getting it. Filled to the second line from the top. Drove for about a week around town to make sure everything was ok with it and it ran fine. Took a 6 our trip to Tennessee, about 5 1/2 hours in I lost oil pressure. Checked my dip stick and the oil level was at the bottom minimum line. I haven't seen any oil leaking so I'm thinking it must be burning it. Got a fresh oil change and added a quart of Lucas high mile oil stabilizer. After that, the oil pressure rides about 20 psi on the dash gauge. I bought a pressure tester gauge from Auto Zone and that reads about 25 psi. So I am thinking my oil pump should be good? I have read online that the O-ring on the pick up tube is a common problem. It runs fine. No ticking or any noises. Had a mechanics stethoscope on both valve covers. It sounds smooth. Is there anything else I should look at to diagnose other potential culprits? It's a 4wd so pulling the oil pan is going to be a big task just to change the o-ring. Thanks for any input.

You're on the right path, the easiest is the sending unit and if not that, then add two extra quarts when the pressure drops and see if it comes back up, this is enough to submerge the o-ring usually. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Brandon1320]

You're on the right path, the easiest is the sending unit and if not that, then add two extra quarts when the pressure drops and see if it comes back up, this is enough to submerge the o-ring usually. Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for help. I don't think its the sensor since the dash gauge and tester gauge are pretty similar. I think I'll try the extra oil and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Fless]

Don't drive it overfilled, just test it that way. You may need to get the nose down a little so if you have a driveway that tilts it might help.

 

[swathdiver]

Don't drive it overfilled, just test it that way. You may need to get the nose down a little so if you have a driveway that tilts it might help.

A guy on here drove his with the extra 2 quarts for a year or so until he could afford to fix it.

 

[Brandon1320]

A guy on here drove his with the extra 2 quarts for a year or so until he could afford to fix it.

Yea I didn't plan to drive it like that. I'll try to pick up some oil tomorrow and try it out. My drive way does have a little incline to it so hopefully backing it in is enough to cover that o-ring.

 

[Brandon2489]

I had low oil pressure issues about a week ago. Mine ended being the oil filter. Mind you it only had about 3k miles in the oil change. I changed only the oil filter with a different brand. My oil pressure numbers returned to normal. I did buy a oil pressure sensor and screen but am still waiting on the sensor to arrive. Will install both when they arrive. But the oil filter is a cheap easy thing to rule out. Good luck. Lots of smart people on this forum and very friendly.

 

[Brandon1320]

I had low oil pressure issues about a week ago. Mine ended being the oil filter. Mind you it only had about 3k miles in the oil change. I changed only the oil filter with a different brand. My oil pressure numbers returned to normal. I did buy a oil pressure sensor and screen but am still waiting on the sensor to arrive. Will install both when they arrive. But the oil filter is a cheap easy thing to rule out. Good luck. Lots of smart people on this forum and very friendly.

So my first oil change when I bought it I cheaped out and put an STP on it. When I got the oil changed the second time I put a Mobil 1 on it. Between that and the Lucas stabilizer it didn’t really help much. When I change it again I’ll look for a Bosch or Wix. Only reason for me not changing the sensor is I’m not getting a code for it and it reads roughly the same as the diagnostic gauge.

 

[swathdiver]

I had low oil pressure issues about a week ago. Mine ended being the oil filter. Mind you it only had about 3k miles in the oil change. I changed only the oil filter with a different brand. My oil pressure numbers returned to normal. I did buy a oil pressure sensor and screen but am still waiting on the sensor to arrive. Will install both when they arrive. But the oil filter is a cheap easy thing to rule out. Good luck. Lots of smart people on this forum and very friendly.

We are seeing that more and more lately. I used to lose about 2-3 psi when running a Mobil One Extended Performance filter over the ACDelco or K&N with the nut on the bottom. Nowadays that is all we use.

 

[Brandon2489]

I used the K&N and so far have had great results.