engine problems-low oil pressure

[88camaroproject]

ok well i took my car on its first long trip, the trip wasnt actually long it was just longer and more consistent then all the others i go on. i drove my car from cocoa beach florida to bithlo florida to the orlando speedway to watch the crash o rama. it was way freaking sweet they did boat and trailer races and blindfold races and pole races figure 8 bus races and 3 demolition derbys along with a reverse race. it was awesome but my car didnt like it. the whole way (about 45 minutes maybe an hour) i was doing like 75 and the old 2.8 wasnt happy. it was running about 3500 to 4500 rpms the whole way. and i get there and im in line going to go park and it starts making a knocking noise so im like wtf so i turn off the defroster and it stops for a second then continues so i put it in neutral and it revvs up a little and stops then goes back to idle and continues to knock, so i put it back in gear and go park. then we watch the crash o rama and when we leave its fine for like 20 minutes at 3500 rpm to 4500 rpm then it seems like my front tires about to fal off butt it ended up being the road, it was under construction and it was just a really shitty part so i continue driving and its runing like shit and its kinda knocking so i lok at all my guages and the oil pressur is at 15 at 4000 rpm and when its at 1200 rpm its usually at 30. so im like shit my engine got no lubrication ut i continued driving cause i gotta get home. so by the time i got back to cocoa beach my oil pressure was at like 5 maybe. and i drop 2 of the eople riding with me off and i put it in reverse and it shuts off. i put it in park and it took a while to start. it was hard to get the starter to spin the crank cause im guessting the pistons werent all lubed up due to no oil. so i get home and checked the oil and it felt like water. i would touch the dipstic with a napkin and it would soak it al up like water. i just recently changed my oil and the guy at napa sold me 5w30 oil or something like that, it was 5w something.but what do you all think mighta done this. my oil pressure is back now after it got all cooled down but its still knocking. could it be my sender unit or oil pump or what??? oh and it was raining the whole way there and back and all day and night. not too hard though. but thantks for al the help in advance.

[bag91]

How long ago did you change your oil?
Next time use 10w30, id change it as soon as I could. I dont know if thats the cause, but your oils probably too thin. The knocking might be your low on oil.

[88camaroproject]

no i have plenty of oil, but i will change it i guess soon. i just changed it like maybe a month ago if not earlier

[bag91]

Originally Posted by 88camaroproject

no i have plenty of oil, but i will change it i guess soon. i just changed it like maybe a month ago if not earlier

Yea thats odd, maybe more wrong I dont know. Id put the thicker 10w30 in though still...maybe crappy oil put in???

[bag91]

Have you always put in 5w30?

[88camaroproject]

thats the only time i have ever changed it. it was like 3 months after i got the car
or maybe 4....i wasnt sure which oil it needed so the guy at napa just told me to get that and i got it , i was thinking maybe the oil got too hot after runing for so long and fell apart since it was so thin and wasnt doing anything for the engine then once it cooled down it was al good again. just a guess

[bag91]

Maybe....change the oil and then post results.....but thats probably what it was.

[88camaroproject]

umm any one else have any idea?

[89IROC&RS]

make sure you have 5w30, you may have gotten 5w20 or less. Make sure. You also may need a new oil pump. But i would suggest stepping up to the 10w-30 first to see if you did get the right oil.

[Dan89rs]

i hope thats all it takes, mine lost psi with 10w, so a high volume pump was called for. i have great psi now, but i used the high mileage stuff, and some lucas; but with a high volume pump its hard to tell if the actual oil made any difference. and i havent been around enough to know if that engine restorer stuff is worth a dime.

guys... are any of those off the shelf additives worth tryin?

[89IROC&RS]

my dad used restore on our minivan and was very pleased with the results, but you couldnt pay me to put that shit in my car.

[supervisor1886]

How many miles on car? Stuff like that always happens after an oil change. No pressure means pump troubles and driving like that could kill your bearings as well.

[instantkevin]

lower pressure would normally mean pump problems... but you still get some pressure. the fact that the oil is so thin (like water) should be the reason why u have low pressure. thicker oil would make higher pressure. this could also account for the knocking, your car thinks it low on oil (too much or too little oil and an engine will knock). i don't know why you would suddenly have that problem, it should have happened right after you put the new oil in there. did you change anything else.

Like bag91, I say change the oil, make sure it's the right stuff and see what happens. you have to change the oil anyway. let us know.

[88camaroproject]

ive got 141000 miles on it and like maybe 1000 miles since last oil change.

[89camaroperson]

I put the valvoline maxlife 20w-50 in my 5.0 motor. Its real smooth and runs fine. I've never had a problem. it has 141000 miles on it. I need a new oil pressure sending unit though. Dont go cheap on your oil or your oil filter Its not worth it. I need to figure out how to set up an avatar and stuff.