What could cause low oil pressure?

[ber55ber55]

What are the various things that could cause oil pressure problems?
I know faulty switch, clogged oil pump, or broken oil pump

My oil pressure problem has progressively gotten worse now. Before I got it only when I ran the car hard. Now I have it when the car is cold, warm, whenever, so I decided to stop driving it DUH! Anyway, I need to fix this now. I dont think the pump is actually broken, because the light is never 'fully" on, just kinda dimply lit and almost goes off.

My two main questions:

Could this be caused my oil that is too thin? (running 10-40)
Can an oil leak cause this? I have a pretty bad oil leak at the bell housing between the engine and the tranny. Im hoping that could be it because as the leak has slowly gotten worse, so has the oil pressure problem.

Hope someone can guide me in a direction

[winfred]

on m20s and m50s it's almost always the sensor is dead/dieing

[ber55ber55]

the sensor/switch.......what does this thing actually do? Tell you oil pressure is low, or control the oil pump, as in....make it create more or less pressure depending on what is measured (if it does measure anything)?

[yaofeng]

The oil pressure sensor just read the pressure. If it falls below the threshold the light comes on. There is no control function.

Your only hope now is a bad sensor. Otherwise I am afraid the damage is already done. Some bearing surfaces somewhere inside have gaps exceed tolerances the pressure drop is too big thereby triggering the light. A thicker oil may prolong the life. But it won't make the problem go away.

[jjdickm]

Is it idling low? If it is you may want to check for a vacume leak. I had a leak in my intake after the maf sensor. It was cracked, I replaced it and problem solved.

[632 Regal]

if it's dino oil it could have broken down causing low pressure. start with the switch.

[Ross]

Attatch a mechanical gauge and check the actual pressure. If it is still low you may have excessive bearing clearance from wear. A new set of bearings and pump is a bunch cheaper than doing a crankshaft.