5.3L Oil pressure does not increase....why
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5.3L Oil pressure does not increase....why
So, long story short....put a junk yard 2003 5.3L long block into my nova....started it up and it has 15PSI of oil pressure at idle. If I rev it up to 3K RPM, no change at all.
I went ahead and pulled the motor and saw copper on all of the cam bearings...mind you the motor has 200K on it. The cylinders all look like new, cross hatch in every single one.
I tore the motor down to nuts and bolts, put in new Dura-Bond cam bearings, inspected all of the crank and rod bearings (all looked good, no wear), cleaned all the pistons and crank and put on a new melling hi volume pump. I pulled the barbell in the back of the motor to make sure it was there, pulled the two allen head plugs for the main oil passage to check for "stuff" and put on a new cam retainer plate. Also, I put a new o-ring on the pick-up tube and made sure it was not pinched or popping out one side.
Put the motor back in the car, new 5W-30 oil and oil filter....fired it up....15 PSI of oil pressure at idle and it still does not jump up with an RPM increase.
I am at wits end here....If I did not have a $1,600 turbo to feed oil to, I would not worry but I do not want to burn up my new turbo...
I am reading the oil pressure at the oil filter location with a braided steel line to an Autometer ultra-lite mechanical gauge that was reading 30 PSI on the old 4.8L I had in the car so I mostly trust the gauge
Any thoughts, experiences, etc...
I went ahead and pulled the motor and saw copper on all of the cam bearings...mind you the motor has 200K on it. The cylinders all look like new, cross hatch in every single one.
I tore the motor down to nuts and bolts, put in new Dura-Bond cam bearings, inspected all of the crank and rod bearings (all looked good, no wear), cleaned all the pistons and crank and put on a new melling hi volume pump. I pulled the barbell in the back of the motor to make sure it was there, pulled the two allen head plugs for the main oil passage to check for "stuff" and put on a new cam retainer plate. Also, I put a new o-ring on the pick-up tube and made sure it was not pinched or popping out one side.
Put the motor back in the car, new 5W-30 oil and oil filter....fired it up....15 PSI of oil pressure at idle and it still does not jump up with an RPM increase.
I am at wits end here....If I did not have a $1,600 turbo to feed oil to, I would not worry but I do not want to burn up my new turbo...
I am reading the oil pressure at the oil filter location with a braided steel line to an Autometer ultra-lite mechanical gauge that was reading 30 PSI on the old 4.8L I had in the car so I mostly trust the gauge
Any thoughts, experiences, etc...
#3
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I will get a different gauge on there.
The gauge is being fed off of the port above the oil filter.
I also tried to read the pressure at the turbo feed line which is off the old oil pressure port on the top of the block.
The gauge is being fed off of the port above the oil filter.
I also tried to read the pressure at the turbo feed line which is off the old oil pressure port on the top of the block.
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I am going to try a new gauge. I have replaced lots of others things along with the gauge. I have a new braided steel line feeding the gauge because I do not trust copper or plastic line.