spider4
New member
Shortly before i got the new car i was still driving around in the 97 Grand Prix. It was shortly after i had had that whole upper/lower intake gasket replacement. I had taken the car to Big Als to have the oil changed because the guy that did the gaskets never got around to it. And of course since the people at Big Als didnt know about the recent gasket work they assumed because the filter came out with milk chocolate colored oil it was something more serious. After talking with you guys i felt assured that it was not serious and that it was the cause of water and moisture getting down into it .Well the car didnt die like Big Als was saying it was about too however what it has developed is a flickering(not steady on )oil pressure guage. This only starts after the cars been running a good bit(like 35 miles are so) and it only flickers when the car is stopped in drive.Soon as you hit the gas or drive steady no flicker. Anyway i took it to a pretty trustworthy shop to ask what could be causing this. The owner said basically three things could possibly be cause. Obviously its getting some pressure he said this is a symptom he sees alot in these older GMs and Prixs. He said it could be that the oil pump is not quite keeping up and could need replacing, he also said something about bearings being worn and generally you can drop the oil pan and replace those. He also suggested that it could be something as simply as the grade/thickness of the oil used(this sounded kinda reasonable to considering there may still be residual moisture mixed in because i havent done the recommended three oil changes to clear it out. Couldnt moisture or water or coolant thin the oil?) Anyway his recommendation about what to do about the oil pressure guage surprisingly was to do nothing at all. He said to basically drive the car til the engine finally gave out (and no he didnt quote engine replacement prices to me lol). His reasoning was based on the 214k miles on the engine and the price of doing the oil pump and bearing replacement probably wouldnt be worth it and also said that we could replace and still not get rid of the pressure light. He said the cost of doing the work would be nearly $600 or more and would still not quarantee the pressure guage issue goes away. He said engine replacement wouldnt be much more and that i should drive and take care of car til the engine goes. He also pointed out that the engine might probably run for years with the blinking light without dying. So whats your opinion? By the way if i go the route of just running the car without replacing is there a fuse or sensor i can pull to make the blinking light just not come on?
