Hoping my oil pump didn't take a poop!

[Spector5]

So took the talon out for a drive down the street, and got going into second gear. After picking up the RPM's a bit I hear a loud clunk noise like something hit the bottom of the car.

First thought was I left a bolt or dropped a bolt in the bay somewhere and it finally fell out.

Second thought was something in the suspension let loose.

So I limp it back to the garage and notice my oil pressure gauge(stock OEM dash gauge) is barely doing anything and occasionally will almost reach the low mark. Also, once the rpm's reach 1000-900 the oil warning light will flicker on and off.

With that said I'm really leaning to either the oil pump took a crap or the pickup tube broke(Due to still getting some kind of oil pressure)

The reason pump or pickup issue didn't come to thought was the motor sounds fine, and I thought I would be able to hear the parts bouncing off my crank. However, then I remembered theres the windage tray and if it fell to the bottom of the pan it would never reach the crank.

Should I hook up a manual oil pressure gauge to the motor or should I just start tearing crap apart and pull the pan?

 

[3kgt2nv]

usually when the oil pickup falls off you loose all oil pressure since the pickup bolts above the level of the oil.

It is possible you hit something and dented the pan enough that it is sitting close to the pickup face so it cant draw proper oil flow. the stock oil pickup has 3 bolts holding it in place. 2 on the pickup tube and one that goes to the long stud on the crank girdle.

I would definitely hook up a manual gauge and test it before you rip it apart. also get under the car and see if there is leaking oil or any obvious signs of what may have happened.

 

[Spector5]

I'm wondering if it has to do with my oil? I'm running 20w50(yes it should be high pressure) but I'm underling if I started using to thick of oil for the break in period?

However, after running the car and pulling the fill cap. There is a generous amount of oil on the cams and inside the head. So I'll just have to do the pressure gauge check and see.

 

[Spoolin92GSX]

Definitely check it with an aftermarket/manual gauge before you put yourself through that headache. After I installed an electronic gauge in my pillar, it was obvious the factory dash gauge is useless. At idle it looked dead, and at speed it would barely come up to the first tick (note my oil pressure was fine, in reality).
EDIT: For reference the FSM calls for 11psi minimum oil pressure at curb idle