A B737-400 captain reported oil pressure and temperature problems with #2 engine. Engine was shut do...

Narrative:

Normal takeoff and climbout. We noticed erratic indications on the #2 oil quantity gauge first at cruise. Conclusion was that the gauge was failing. It would drop to a little over a gallon to up around 3 gallons. The pressure was noticeably lower on #2. Pushed the power up and pressure increased. Lower than normal; but above the yellow band. Eventually the pressure worked its way to the yellow band. Quantity was in the 1.5 area. Low pressure light illuminated and able to extinguish by pushing up power a little above normal cruise. Quantity moved up to the 2.5 to 3.0 range. Considered quantity gauge unreliable. Eventually pressure gauge moved to red line with pressure light on. Quantity around 1.0; oil temp in normal range and consistent with #1. We were at 20;000 ft because of rough ride at higher altitudes. Shut the engine down approximately 120NM from destination and declared an emergency. Equipment was requested as a precautionary measure. Uneventful landing.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B737-400 Captain reported oil pressure and temperature problems with #2 engine. Engine was shut down and emergency declared; and a normal landing was made at destination.

Narrative: Normal takeoff and climbout. We noticed erratic indications on the #2 oil quantity gauge first at cruise. Conclusion was that the gauge was failing. It would drop to a little over a gallon to up around 3 gallons. The pressure was noticeably lower on #2. Pushed the power up and pressure increased. Lower than normal; but above the yellow band. Eventually the pressure worked its way to the yellow band. Quantity was in the 1.5 area. Low pressure light illuminated and able to extinguish by pushing up power a little above normal cruise. Quantity moved up to the 2.5 to 3.0 range. Considered quantity gauge unreliable. Eventually pressure gauge moved to red line with pressure light on. Quantity around 1.0; oil temp in normal range and consistent with #1. We were at 20;000 FT because of rough ride at higher altitudes. Shut the engine down approximately 120NM from destination and declared an emergency. Equipment was requested as a precautionary measure. Uneventful landing.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	874393
Time
Date	201002
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.TRACON
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-400
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Component
Aircraft Component	Turbine Engine
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

A B737-400 captain reported oil pressure and temperature problems with #2 engine. Engine was shut down and emergency declared; and a normal landing was made at destination.