Just going to throw this out there and maybe get some pointers. I have owned this truck for 3 years. Had the oil pressure warning go off at idle the first summer I owned it. I changed out the oil pressure sensor and changed the oil. It solved the problem to some degree. That warning would go off again at around 5000 km after the oil change. I would change the oil and again solve the problem of the warning sound going off, the pressure seemed to read low at idle still, but no sound. Recently the oil change would not solve it and the warning sound was going off at 40 km/hr. There is no knocking or noisy lifters coming from the engine at idle. I had brought it in to get checked and it was determined that the pressure is dropping after a manual pressure test with a gauge. So, $560 later I know the pressure is dropping at idle and they wired the sensor to trick it so the warning sound wouldn't drive me crazy. That was another brand new sensor installed from GM (I had just replaced the senor with an aftermarket one). They put in 15w40, which I have since changed out (wasn't comfortable with the thick oil in the cold) and added a bottle of Lucas. I have thoughts that the o-ring on the oil pick going into the pump up might be a problem, but they want $1500 to drop the oil pan and replace the pick up and o-ring. I would do this myself, except for the fact that the front diff has to be loosened to drop the pan. Tough when laying on my back at my age. It was suggested that I just put in a used running engine for approximately $3000. One of my concerns is that I replace the engine and then the tranny goes. I am rambling a bit, sorry. So, one of my questions is, shouldn't I be hearing noise from the engine if the engine is breaking down? The truck is in great shape for it's age and it has 360,000 on the Vortec 5.3. Any suggestions, tips, pointers or past experiences would be appreciated. I feel like I'm driving on borrowed time.
Thanks Jimmer