1998 Es300 Oil Pressure

[Bob1998es300]

Since a dealer/factory sponsored sludge repair at 75K, I've only used Full Syn and change it myself every 5K. The car now has 149K miles without oil useage or problems until a week ago when about 2 miles from home the oil pressure light flicked a few times then stayed on. Oil level was full.

Since the oil sensor was low cost, I replaced it. Oil light was off until the engine warmed then same problem as before. I next added a Gunk flush to the existing oil and let it idle for 5 minutes per recommendations. I then changed oil and filter. Same o same o. Next I connected an oil pressure gauge (liquid) to the sensor port to be sure I don't have instrument or electrical problems.

At cold idle, the gauge reads about 20-25PSI. At warm idle 15-20PSI. At 3000RPM, the pressure drops to 5 PSI or less. According to what I have found idle should be around 5 PSI but 43-70 PSI or so at 3000RPM.

I might add that I parked the car immediately after the light came on and now only crank it to test. No noises so far.

My next step is to drop the oil pan and check/clean the oil pickup screen. According to some sources on the internet, the oil pump is pretty reliable but a suspect if the pickup is ok.

Any words of wisdom or similiar experiences from you guys ? All help appreciated. Bob