When I started my car last night, It had a rough start and almost sputtered a bit then died. I started it again and gave it some gas and it started but it was a bit sputtery and I heard almost a ticking sound from the engine bay. At this point my Check Engine light was blinking so I shut it off, Inspected a few things under the hood (obviously didnt find the cause) then turned it back on. The Check Engine light was no longer blinking but it was still sputtering at idle with a clicking noise under the hood. When I accelerated, the oil pressure shot up past 80 and when i took my foot off the gas it went back ti normal. This kept happening everytime I accelerated until Im guessing the car warmed up then it drove like normal with no clicking sounds and normal oil pressure. This morning i started my car again and allthough it didnt die at startup and the check engine light didnt blink, it still was sputtering with spiking oil pressure everytime i accelerate. Again, all this went away after about 5-10 minutes of driving.

My car took a beating the past few weeks with all the snow we been getting here in NY between high reving with spinning tires trying to get out of iced up parking spaces and rough road conditions.

Any idea what the problem could be?

 

A blinking check engine light indicates a misfire in the engine that can/will damage the catalytic converter if not repaired. Most auto parts stores will retrieve the trouble codes for free. Write them down in the order they are retrieved, and post them here.

The high oil pressure and clicking noise in the engine could be any one of several things. Possibly a stuck or restricted oil pump bypass valve, or engine oil that is too thick, clogged oil filter, etc. Oil pressure needs to be checked with a gage where the oil pressure sending unit is. Remove the OPSU and install an oil pressure gage, start the engine and see what oil pressure actually is, (the factory dash gage is not known for its accuracy).

 

I will go first thing tomorrow morning to get the codes and post them here. I checked my oil and sure enough it was extremely low. I bought oil and filled it back up and it seems to start up a bit better however sometimes when I start it, the check engine light will blink....other times it wont. Still have that rough idle feeling though.

Side note,
When I checked my oil after I filled it, it was black. Dont know if this is from the old oil (when there was barely any left) being black and mixing in with the 2 quarts of new oil I put or if its something else. But it was pretty damn dark.

 

I'd think it's your old oil mixing with the new oil. The dipstick doesn't go all the way to the bottom of the pan. The 4.3L engine holds 4.5 quarts. Oil has detergents in it and become sludge if not changed in a long time which can block the tiny ports in the push-rods that move oil to the heads for the rocker arms and valves.