I was hoping someone could give some advice on a problem that just came up
in my 96 Altima with 146,000 miles.

About a wekk ago the Check Engine light came on. I don't get paid until the
end of this week and the car seemd to be running fine, so I figured it was
an oxygen sensor or something and I would get it fixed at the end of the
next week. Then Thursday night on my way home I was going ~65mph when my oil
light started to flicker. I went about a 1/4 mile to the next exit and got
off. I pulled into a parking lot and cut the engine. The entire time until I
cut off the ignition the oil light flickered. The engine speed did not
appear to have any effect on it. It just randomly flicked on and off for
2-20 seconds.

I got out, checked my oil, (which was right on the mark) and tried to see if
I could see the connection to the sensor, but I couldn't. I got back in and
cranked the car to see if the light returned, it did not. Fealing bold I
risked driving the car home (~3 miles) and the light did not come on at all.
I have driven the car ~20 miles around the country near my house since and
the light has not come back on. I have not had it at highway speeds since
last Thursday.

I have three questions:

1. Can anyone tell me where the pressure sensor is on this car? I would like
to replce this before I go and spend a WHOLE lot of money.

2. Does this sound like a sensor or a oil pump issue? Or is there no way to
even guess form the info provided? Can a mechanic test the oil pressure to
tell for sure if the pump is bad?

3. Is it worth fixing this car? From what I read, replacing the oil pump on
this car requires taking the head off and costs over $1000. Is it worth
spending this much money on this car? ...Which may be a moot point in my
case... :-(