Hey guys, im new to the site, and i recently bought a 1992 toyota pickup. its a v6 3.0l. before i bought this truck i brought my friend who is a mechanic with me. the body and frame are beautiful and everything works. BUT, he told me that when he listened to the engine, he said he thinks its running on 5 cylinders, and when ur near the exhaust u can hear a bock bock bock like spitting, but when u hit the gas it sounds fairly normal and runs decently, considering the engine has 330 000k on it. so i was driving it today and ive only had it for 2 days, and i noticed that the oil pressure at idle was about 1/4 of the way up, where as i "thought" i saw it at half on idle when i bought it, but when i step on the gas it goes up depending on rpms... so what do u guys think is going on? is this normal? as for the running on 5 cylinders im taking it to a toyota dealer and having it put on a computer to see whats wrong, i bought this truck knowing that i MIGHT have to swap an engine, but it was such a great deal. thx for the help!

 

do a comp test and check your tune up items first. That will tell you alot. Probably a bad plug or wire or a burned valve. very common on the 3.0. Dont go by the gauge for oil press. Have it checked with a gauge that shows psi

 

the oil pressure gauge on most vehicles is a dummy gauge...if theres any pressure over a couple psi it will show in the same range.

 

i know at least on the 22re's the oil pressure is normal when at 1/4 at idle and doesnt really go above 1/2. at least mine didnt before my gauge died. A compression test then a general tune up would be a good idea too.

 

ok cool thanks guys appreciate it!

 

bleh, the crappy part is when it drops below 1/4 mine throws the engine light on. pita. anyone have numbers for oil pressure? a vauge guideline would be awesome.