No Oil Pressure @ Start Up
 

This seems to only happen on the first start up for the day. I have verified with a mechanical gauge, no pressure. A couple of restarts or letting it idle down the street in my neighborhood is usually what I have to do to get pressure. Thoughts?

What oil are you using? 15W40 or 5W40?

What are you morning temperautres?

How many miles on the truck?

Tony

150k miles, 15w-40, temps lately have been 20-30 degrees. I have been using the block heater....does not make any difference.

Very odd. Don't hear about oiling issues with Cummins very often.

Doesn't make a difference if the truck is parked on the driveway nose up or flat on the street. The dash gauge will jump to 40 upon startup and then return to 0. I know the gauge is somewhat dumb, but returning to 0 with the mechanical gauge still reading 0 is fairly clear the issue is NOT simply a sender/gauge problem...

My only guess is the pickup tube is either loose or cracked and sucking air, once it gets a prime into the oil pump all is well.

Oil pressure is normal once the truck is driven down the street or something. Truck will set at 0 oil pressure in the morning unless the truck is moved.

Big problem and not a common one at all. What could the causes be?

Rotella 15w-40, no where near cold enough down here to require a thinner oil. Especially when it is plugged in and 80* in the oil pan.

Yes, you have a problem. I'd lift the engine and pull the pan and see whats going on.

The oil pressure relief valve may be sticking open. It is part of the filter head.

OIL PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE
REMOVAL
(1) Disconnect the battery negative cables.
(2) Remove the threaded plug, spring and plunger
(Fig. 114). Insert a finger or a seal pick to lift the
plunger from the bore.
NOTE: If the plunger is stuck in the bore, it will be
necessary to remove the filter head.
CLEANING
(1) Clean the regulator spring and plunger with a
suitable solvent and blow dry with compressed air. If
the plunger bore requires cleaning, it is necessary to
remove the oil filter head to avoid getting debris into
the engine.
INSPECTION
Inspect the plunger and plunger bore for cracks
and excessive wear. Polished surfaces are acceptable.
Verify that the plunger moves freely in the bore.
Check the spring for height and load limitations
(Fig. 115). Replace the spring if out of limits shown
in the figure.
INSTALLATION
(1) Install the plunger, spring, and plug as shown
in (Fig. 114). Tighten the plug to 80 N·m (60 ft. lbs.)
torque.
(2) Connect the battery negative cables.
(3) Start the engine and verify that it has oil pressure.

What engine oil filter are you running?. Although the filter shouldn't take that long to re-fill.
If the relief valve as mentioned in PAPADUCK post is the pump relief valve, yes, definitely check it out. If its just a filter bypass valve, it won't cause a pressure drop.
Where is the mechanical guage installed, ontop of the oil filter base at the 1/8 inch port??

I just had the same problem,only last night leaving work, got on the turnpike and started to knock,shut her down,started it again and drove for 4-5 miles and got the knock again shut her down and called for a hooker??????? oil pump???

Decided to pull the oil pan over the weekend to check the pick up tube. Found a little more than I bargained for.... found several pieces of metal about the size of a small marble! Removed a couple of the rod bearing caps and found that they were trashed! Not sure what the previous owner did to this truck, but I traded it in on Monday so I am not too worried about the oil pressure now. Thanks for your responses.

I ran the battery down on my 3500 Ram automatic transmission last night. Now my check engine light is on and the gauge for oil pressure shows 0. I have no oil pressure and the check engine light is on. None of these problems existed prior to the battery being drained. Any suggestions?

Your problem may be in the electronics but before you start the engine again I would put a mechanical gauge on it for the oil pressure. You can do major damage very quickly if there is no oil pressure. Attach it to one of the 1/8 in fittings on top of the filter base. You can use a grease gun hose to make it easier to attach.

I am experiencing a similar issue that has been very sporadic over the last year or so.. It's happened about 3-4 times in the last year, where during a cold weather startup (40F or less) I get the Check Gauges light and no oil pressure. I shut it down and restart, and it resolves itself immediately. Is it a sender problem?

Pdogg,

You need to do what I suggested in the previous post. You could have an air leak in the draw tube which is not allowing the oil to get to the pump as quickly as it should. You need to monitor your actual oil pressure as you are driving you could also have low oil pressure if air is entering the oil system. The in dash gauge is a farce and only shows that you have at least 6psi.

ok, I'll see what I can do about getting a mechanical gauge... I'll have to wait another 6 months for it to happen again :(

I'd hate to be the poor individual that acquires the headache you got rid of!!!![nonono] The least you could have done was put new mains in it while you had the pan off.......they can be rolled in without removing the rods you know. That's just sorry in my book.