The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks Oil Pressure Indicator

Hello All.
Just took my 62 235 for it's weekly ride. We went about 10 miles at highway speeds and stop and go speeds. While pulling into the garage my oil pressure indicator came on. I immediately turned it off, let it sit for a minute or two and restarted. I could see that the indicator wanted to come on again so I turned it off. I have plenty of oil. Is my oil pump starting to fail? Your thoughts?
Thanks for the help.

You probably have a lot of grit in the oil pan. When you drive a while the grit gets pulled up into the screen & blocks it. When it sets it falls back out so you have pressure for a while.

Might also help to put a gauge on it. 'Indicator' light (I assume) uses a pressure sensor and might not be working correctly. At least with a gauge, you can see exactly how much pressure you are running.

The sensor is new. Sounds like I may have to pull the pan which I have never done. Curious how much "gunk" I have in there.

Keep us posted. Still think a gauge would be best. (for at least testing) How often do you change your oil?

Put on a gauge as recommended. You should have a gauge anyway. Sender must match gauge or match light.
From Jim Carter web site: May or may not apply to your engine.

"If you ever removed an oil pan from a 50 year old engine that has been setting, chances are good there can be up to 1/4 inch of sludge in the bottom. This is not a bad thing! The non detergent oil has allowed the dirt to settle. As most 60 year old engines did not have an oil filter, this dirt settling was what should happen to increase the engine life.

The problem begins when a new owner wants to get his old vehicle running. He installs plugs, points, back-flushes the cooling system and changes oil. Oops, he probably adds detergent motor oil! The dirt deposits now begin to slowly go back into suspension. Unfortunately with no oil filter the dirt stays in the oil and shortens the remaining life of the engine."
Non-detergent used until mid 60's!!! As a kid, I always asked for non detergent in my old non filtered cars. I never new why my dad told me to, didn't care.

I change my oil at least once a year. I use the truck no more than 200 miles per year. Just didn't seem necessary to change it more often.
My engine has an oil filter, but I never dropped the pan when I first got it some 4 or 5 years ago.
So, what everyone is saying is to drop the pan and clean it out first. Should I be concerned that the pump is failing?

If pan does not leak, it may after you remove it. Test pressure with a completely different unit First. That's what I would do. You can install a mechanical gauge in the engine compartment, no need for much plumbing for test. Mechanical gauge can go right into block, no sender. Electrical gauge needs sender. Mech gauge is $20 + brass fitting. Take out electric sender, take it and new gauge to hardware store, get adapter to fit both (engine hole and gauge). You can borrow a gauge from a motorcycle you have or ?. Make sure you know what pressure range is good for 235. Mount it so you can see it, start engine , read gauge. Then you will know what's up. Change oil after every 200 miles? Goodness gracious! WITH a filter? What a waste of natural resources! But you probably take it in to a recycler.

Thanks for the advice. Sounds good. BTW...I change the oil only once a year because I only drive the truck about 200 miles per year. And I do recycle.
I'll let you know how the pressure test comes out.

Thom I do the same thing in regards to oil changes. Always good to change them in the fall before storing them over the winter, even if they only have low miles.

Good luck on the oil pressure deal, you have been given some good advice here.

Oil does not get old with age, it is already 100 million years old. With use, inside your engine, it will slowly become dirty and heat will degrade the additives. If it's filtered it will go beyond 3000 mi. Oil has no expiration date, if your engine is clean and not run much, it can sit in there 10,20...years and still be oil. All of us have gotten crazy with oil changes. My brand new F150 4X4 says oil change interval is 10,000 mi with normal usage. This is from the FACTORY with FACTORY warranty. That's 10,000 miles. Everybody still does what their Dad did: 3000 mi. (yes, older cars and different filters/additives/refinement back in the day)

There's so much more to it Bartamos. Vehicles that aren't driven much have there own issues, from moisture in the oil to the oil actually becoming acidic and eating bearings.

Here's a good article related to oil changes: http://www.waynesgarage.com/docs/oil.htm

On my daily driver I change the oil every 8000 miles, using Mobil One.

On my classics once a year.

An oil change is cheap insurance....

OK John, good info. I don't exchange blogs/websites back and forth like I used to. I read a lot about oil changes before I wrote what I said and my searches supported what I thought. Most stuff is just more opinions like ours and as useless as "ASK.com". I tried to only take in what I think is a credible source, science studies, oil chemistry, auto reliability studies, oil life studies, SAE, etc. My owners manuals don't say how long in years to change oil, just miles. Changing oil is a good thing to do. ...anyway Bats: let us know how the pressure test went. I am the one who went off topic, sorry.

How did the pressure test come out?