2008 Trailblazer oil pressure guage at zero but driving fine?

the86ali

I have a 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer LTZ 5.3L V8 140,000 km. Two days ago when I started the car and began driving, I noticed the “Check Gauges” light had come on and the oil pressure gauge needle was exactly at 0. I immediately stopped my car and shut down the engine to check the oil level which was absolutely fine. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I carefully drove to my destination without any problem. There was no engine power issue or any other noise. There was no engine oil warning light or any message like “oil pressure low” on the driver information center. Everything seems to be fine except the “check gauges” light and the oil pressure gauge reading. I have driven more than 300 km since then. What should I do?

thecardoc3

That is commonly caused by deposits in the oil galley clogging the filter screen that is below the sending unit. The fact that you don't hear the lifters collapsing (causing a valve tap) suggests the that engine probably has good oil pressure. In the shop we could test the oil pressure by removing the engine oil filter, install a gage tool adapter and re-install the filter to test and ensure that the oil pressure is in spec. Then it would be pull the upper intake plenum, remove the oil sender and its filter screen for inspection.

nogm1

http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/8788/chevrolet/silverado-1500/chevy-silverado-and-gmc-sierra-active-fuel-management-problems/p15

the86ali, please read his post in this thread. Just thought you should know you are using the wrong oil according to him.  I'm not sure how he knows that unless you've told him what oil you use. 

ArtGle

Just running into this now. Going after that filter screen today. Thanks.

thecardoc3

nogm1 said:

please read his post in this thread. Just thought you should know you are using the wrong oil according to him.  I'm not sure how he knows that unless you've told him what oil you use. 

It's called a pattern failure and it happened primarily because the API SN/SM ,,,ILSAC GF4 and GF5 didn't actually meet the vehicle specifications. Here is a photo from inside the front timing cover on an engine approaching 300K miles that was serviced with prooducts that are approved for (not just claimed to meet) the dexos1 specification. The average oil change interval BTW was 9,000 miles.