'97 With 170,000 Miles--Oil Pressure?

[Smith1000]

I have a '97 Lesabre with 170,000 miles on it. Engine and transmission are original and it really hasn't had any major problems. It runs great and seems to have plenty of power still. The gas mileage has been ok. Have been getting about 23 combined city and hwy. The miles are mostly hwy.

I have noticed my oil pressure reading has been dropping. When cruising, it reads about 40 lbs or slightly less. I am thinking the engine is probably wearing out some or I could have a bad sending unit. A guy I work with said maybe the oil pump is getting weak. At idle, though, the pressure reads about the same. It doesn't seem to drop much if any from 38-40 lbs. At cold start up, it is about 50lbs and usually decreases fairly quickly.

I haven't done a compression check. Has anyone ever had an oil pump or an oil pressure sending unit go bad in a Lesabre?

[Bassasasin]

I have heard of putting washer in the oil pump to bring up the running pressure..
But 40 isnt bad..
Can you check it when idling?
Of course the mains are most of the drain on the pressure.

[wrightz28]

Everything sounds fine. It should start off high(er) then level out. Your warm idle pressure sounds within reason as well, and actually not too bad for the mileage.

[bmwgolfguy]

This is not a response, but a further question. I have a 96 LeSabre with about 107,000 miles on it. I am not the original owner, but since I bought it about 4 years ago, my sons have put about 28,000.00 miles on it.

I had it in today to a shop I respect to replace all the spark plug wires. They told me the plugs were fine, so I didn't replace them. After driving it for about 10 miles tonight, the oil pressure gauge flat-lined on me and the little yellow/green light in that same gauge also came on.

There is no apparent oil leak anywhere. No oil in the anti-freeze or visa-versa. I had the upper and lower head gaskets replaced about 5,000 miles ago after I had the radiator power flushed and new fluid put in. Didn't need the flush, just thought it would be a good idea to get rid of the DexCool.

Any thoughts on why all of a sudden, the oil gauge is showing no pressure? Could it be the mechanic bumped a wire or something. A quick visual of the engine comprartment did not indicate any loose wire or connections that I could see.

I check the oil level often and as of a couple of days ago, it read fine. I checked it a while ago tonight, while it was still warm, and it appears to have sufficient oil in it for checking it when warm.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks.