My son has a 2003 Suburban 3/4t 8.1 liter that the oil pressure gauge quit working on. It has oil pressure and there are no warnings showing in the message center. Has anyone else run into this. He thinks it might be common and that GM repaired them up to 70k miles under warranty. Is this a problem that might be common to the Vettes of the same vintage? Do any of the company's that restore Vette gauges do this type of work?
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Re: 2003 Suburban Oil Pressure guage repair help
Most likely a simple sending unit failure. It is common, and the part should be available at any auto parts store. Usually located at the rear of the block on most engines.
Doing a search will get you plenty of information on location and how to change. Might not be too easy.
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Re: 2003 Suburban Oil Pressure guage repair help
The simplest first check -- once you establish where the oil pressure sending unit is located -- is to be sure the wire (I think there is only one) is intact and in good shape. My last Suburban was quite a bit older than your son's (but a 454
), but I recall the oil pressure sending unit and its wire are close to some very hot parts of the exhaust system.
Ever seen the exhaust manifolds and header pipe glowing red hot? If they get hot enough they actually become translucent. Power, baby power.
TerryComment
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Re: 2003 Suburban Oil Pressure guage repair help
This is an interesting post as I just had a discussion about oil pressure readings on a 2001 2500 HD 6.0. engine. The problem was that the pressure reading was on the low side (35 psi at 2000 rpm) and that the reading was ERRATIC. Sometimes low at startup and then higher, or sometimes nice and high.These were not temp dependent. The truck was bought used with these issues. At first oil change the gauge acted COMPLETELY normal. First thought was gremlin fixed. Next day back to previous erratic actions. My first thought is the sending unit as it sends information with fractions of volts. Any other ideas?Comment
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Re: 2003 Suburban Oil Pressure guage repair help
Thanks to everyone for your replys. The computer is seeing oil pressure. he had a friend check it with a laptop program similar to a scan tool, and that showed oil pressure. (also the truck is still running) This is why we think it is the gauge. He found online somewhere that GM issued a service bulletin or something on the gauge. I was hoping that someone on here had the same problem.
Terry, The he says that the sending unit has 2 wires, I assume something to do with obd2. A new sending unit is $90 so we are trying not to be just parts changers.
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Re: 2003 Suburban Oil Pressure guage repair help
Most of these vehicles have a multi function sender. There are several wires. The sender may be sending a signal to the computer and fuel pump, but not operating the gauge. There is a simple test to determine, just open and short the correct wire. Getting to the wire in this case may be difficult.Comment
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Re: 2003 Suburban Oil Pressure guage repair help
Thanks to everyone for your replys. The computer is seeing oil pressure. he had a friend check it with a laptop program similar to a scan tool, and that showed oil pressure. (also the truck is still running) This is why we think it is the gauge. He found online somewhere that GM issued a service bulletin or something on the gauge. I was hoping that someone on here had the same problem.
Terry, The he says that the sending unit has 2 wires, I assume something to do with obd2. A new sending unit is $90 so we are trying not to be just parts changers.TerryComment
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Re: 2003 Suburban Oil Pressure guage repair help
To the OP:
What you have encountered is a bad stepper motor in the cluster that is basically the gauge. The cluster will have to be removed (easy job) & sent out for repair. Suggest you have all 7 motors replaced at this time. GM did a warranty on this issue a few years back. If you had no oil pressure your vehicle would not start (a practical solution for a 100K warranty program).Comment
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