Keep an eye on the lounge for the pc/network probs. There'* usually a couple a week posted at least! Glad to have you here!

I wonder why some of the 3800 engines do this?

Well if you use a heavy oil, that will keep the oil sender alarm from going off while at idle....(I added a quart of 80W90 to mine) The oil pressure will still be lacking to the bearings though & as it gets colder, the oil will stay thick & even less will reach the crutial areas it needs to get to. trust me here, Ive been there & decided to patch it up enough to sell it instead. Mine was in prestine condition too, I just felt that I should spend the $3000 elsewhere instead.
Now if you want to patch it up enough to sell it just let me know as I've been through it all when it comes to scams! Being an ex-mechanic & now a partsman comes in handy when buying a used vehicle & as I've seen some strange stuff in certain units that people have tried to use to unload a car.

How long do you let the car idle? Does it do this in only a few seconds or like idling for 30 minutes or so?

thanks

Will my buddy, volume IS what he is getting which is resulting in the lower pressure. When the clearnances enlarge volume rises while pressure drops. Since there is lower pressure the oil is squoze (is that a word?!) out from between the bearings easier and makes things worse. Think about taking the spray attachment off your hose, still the same amount of water, just at lower pressure. I think I have a video on it if you wanna see . Ahh edgemicated mahself oh dese tings just lahst weak.

I am in the exact same boat with my 95 Bonnie.

Bought car at a repair shop. It belonged to a customer who was moving, and therefore I dealt with the owner of the shop.

Upper intake had JUST been replaced by the same shop, which is something I looked for before I bought the car. Car performed well during test drive with all functions normal.

I bought the car for the asking price, which was reasonable.

I have driven the car a total of 55 miles. Now the oil pressure drops to just a hair above the red area on the gauge when idling after driving (just as described above). At speed the gauge reads just below half way. There is now an odor of coolant at times.

I pulled the oil dipstick and I see no noticable traces of anti-freeze or water, fortunately.

Because of this, I took the car back and asked the shop to take a look. I have not heard back from the shop as of yet, but I am fearing the worst.

What do you think? Does the shop have any liability here or am I probably on my own with this repair?

uhm well if he sold it "as-is" you might be on your own about it. I would check into it though because I would be pretty mad if there is a problem with it in 55 miles. hahaha to those of you thinking about my situation. but anyway, rising oil pressure with higher RPM'* is a classic sign of bearing wear. I would think if you paid a fair amount for it and the shop doesn't claim liability I would look into it. On the other hand if you paid $500 and the car is broke.....

The coolant smell may be just burning off the top surfaces of the manifolds and heads from the intake replacement. If your oil looks good, and you're not losing coolant forget that for now.

The Oil pressure is probably because of the water sitting in the oil pan....at the bottom of the engine. You may never know, but I bet that car sat for a week or two before they had the work done. Rust is a bad thing, and happens quickly. The bearings are probably shot, and will destroy your crank in very short order. (If I'm right).

Do what you can with the shop. And good luck.

Dont' be to thief the post.. but hee hee..

Well Bill, cause of my situation ( which you know about ) so the engine hasn't turned over for a while ( cause of the accident, the rear spring popped out of the arm and made the auto level work and totally drained and killed my battery.. and to make things worse.. the positive terminal screw on the battery has seized and stripped from tryin to remove it ( even with Vice Grip ), so I need to get that terminal off so I can jump the car from a different battery to start then engine ( which havent' been done as the shop seems to lack tools or in use grr.. ) so anywho.. .my engine hasn't turned over for a while.. so am I to expect that I would need a new engine then cause of rust on bearings and sucht? }( just wondering than if I should bother with gettin it fixed and not takin the money cause I would need to replace a */C engine then )

Drain the oil, and pull the pan. Look for evidence of rust. Was the car TOTALLY immersed?