1995.5 Rodeo oil pressure and electrical problems

[katetiger]

I bought a 1995.5 Rodeo about 6 months ago, and now it's having some weird problems. First, the oil pressure gauge reads about 40 when the engine is cold but once it warms up the pressure drops at idle. It comes back up as long as I keep it above 1200 RPM. The oil light also comes on at idle. Second, it starts to overheat at idle but when the vehicle is moving the temp drops back to normal. Third, when the engine is warm and the air conditioner is on sometimes the oil light and the battery light will start blinking. When this happens the ac turns off. Once the lights stop blinking the ac comes back on. It seems to only do this when I am accelerating from a stop or up a hill. When the ac is off, the same lights will start blinking at random times with no obvious consequences. The check engine light came on once, but went back off after a few minutes. Fourth, when I start the vehicle first thing in the morning, it smokes a little. I think the smoke is white. The engine has almost 200K miles and since I bought it used I don't know how it was maintained. It gets about 17 mpg. I took it to a mechanic and he said it was the oil sending unit so I had him replace it. That didn't fix the problem. Then the mechanic said the engine is worn out and needs to be replaced. I took it to a different mechanic and he thinks the thermostat needs to be replaced and the oil and filter need to be changed. He also thinks there's a ground fault somewhere. He thinks the engine is okay because it doesn't lose power going up really steep hills. He wants to use the OBD 1 tester to see if he can figure out what's wrong. I don't have the tools or the skills to work on the vehicle myself, and I can't really afford to have mechanics keep replacing things until they finally get it right. If I buy another used vehicle I might end up with a new set of problems, and I can't afford a new vehicle right now. Does any of this sound familiar? Should I just get rid of it and get something else? I really like the vehicle, but I need something dependable.

[amigo-2k]

Your electrical power issues are probably due to a weak alt. Search ebay and pick up a cheap lowish mile used one. Not sure if the oil pump is electric? if so, again, a weak alt may be the issue for low oil pressure.

Overheating issues at a stand still could be the fan clutch not working correctly or more common (due to the age of your truck), the rad is just old and plugged up a bit (or it could be something as simple as the fins in the rad are plugged with mud and just need to be washed out). So a new rad may fix your overheating issue. if a thermostat is bad it fails open. Meaning it takes a long time to warm the car up but it shouldn't over heat.

White smoke at startup. Could be condensation in the exhaust that is heating up and burning off. Or a head gasket that is letting lose. If you are burning antifreeze your reserve tank is going to need water every couple of days.

[95.5 Rodeo]

I have to disagree on this one. When my thermostat failed on the Rodeo, it was overheating. I replaced it and the problem went away. As far as the smoke goes, I would be more inclined to believe that it is worn valve guide seals. When the engine sits overnight, the oil leaks past this seal and gets burned off when the engine starts. My Rodeo does this in the mornings and it has 162K miles. When the engine runs for a few minutes, the smoking goes away. Just my 2 cents worth...

Dale