When driving my truck for a bit and begin braking or come to a complete stop, the oil gauge moves up and down?

2002 Ford Ranger, also seems the engine sputters a bit when the oil gauge flutters....When driving my truck for a bit and begin braking or come to a complete stop, the oil gauge moves up and down?
Have you checked your oil level to make sure there is enough in there? First answer:





Now the rest of the story:


As Lee H has stated: People are dumb. (Not the author of the post). The gauge in the truck for oil is a pressure gauge, not an oil level gauge.





While this person is right he should also know that if the oil level is low in the oil pan the oil pump can suck air causing cavitation and cause the pressure gauge to fluctuate as the oil hits the pump and then goes to the front or rear of the oil pan.


The cavitation can cause premature failure of the pump and also cause sever engine damage.


It will also cause the engine to run rough as it will be starving the lifters of the oil they need to keep them pumped up.


You will also be doing damage to the crankshaft and camshaft bearings, pistons, rocker arms, valves, wrist pins on your pistons and break piston rings due to lack of oil.


So the first thing to check is the obvious. Have you checked your oil level?





If the oil does not get to the piston rings they can wipe the cylinder walls dry and cause blowby causing sputtering along with the breakage of the rings and scoreing of the cylinder walls.





You could have a clogged or partially clogged oil filter.


The sump on your oil pump could have a hole in it or may be partially clogged it may be loosening up from the pump.


The pump may be going bad and needs to be replaced.


You could throw a connecting rod out through the side of your crankcase, seize a bearing or piston if you leave your oil level / pressure too low if that is the problem





When you are braking you are causing the oil to go to the front of the oil pan if it is low all of the oil can be in the front of the pan and the oil pump will not be getting any or little oil causing the oil gauge to fluctuate.





I gave you the simple answer at first to spare you from the things I have stated now. Thinking that if it is just low oil you could fill it up and wouldn't have to worry about these other things.





So don't think everyone is dumb. Just the ones that call others dumb.When driving my truck for a bit and begin braking or come to a complete stop, the oil gauge moves up and down?
People are dumb. (Not the author of the post). The gauge in the truck for oil is a pressure gauge, not an oil level gauge. It is normal for the gauge to move up and down with the RPM level. When you stop your truck idles down, and the oil pressure drops because the engine and oil pump aren't spinning as fast. Your truck may be idling too low and that will cause the gauge to drop drastically and the truck to run rough. I would have a mechanic check it out if it's a big problem.
check the oil to see if it,s full. it could be a bad oil pressure sending unit.
check your oil level.