blackbird0230

Okay so I did a custom cam and valvetrain upgrade and my oil pressure at idle is 20. Never goes below and as soon as I start driving it goes straight to 40.
Is this normal? I can't remember my oil pressure before cam

I have vacation coming up so I decided to tear the motor apart again just to double check everything And do ls7 lifters.

Mods:
Custom comp cams 228/232 .588 .595 112 Lsa
Comp cams double roller timing chain
Prc .675 lift double springs (I ordered .650)
7.500 tsp pushrods (7.400 were way too short and yes I measured with pushrod checking tool from comp cams)
Powerbond under drive pulley

I also put in a brand new o-ring for the pump pickup tube.
And ran two different new oil pressure sending units. One from auto zone and the other from gm.

I personally think it might be that double roller but I'm doing lifters just in case.

Gabbiani

iTrader: (20)

Every motor is a little different. You are still in the normal range according to GM.

I prefer to see higher though. My V and my 5.3 in my truck have very similar oil pressure. Truck has 150k miles on it. Cold idle is over 40. Hot idle is just a hair under. V says 38psi. Cruising at 2k I am around 50 hot. V has a cam very close to yours, stock ls6 oil pump, stock timing chain, stock lifters.

That being said. Tolerances were a little loose on my LT1 and it does exactly like yours. No oiling issues although it keeps breaking other things.

smokeshow72

Where is your idle set? I have more cam than you, but not much, and I have 40psi all long idling at 800; once the RPM drops much below that the cam chop really gets violent and the oil pressure drops off. If you're idling low, flash in an idle increase and see if your problem goes away; hell of a lot easier than taking the motor apart.

C

blackbird0230

Well at idle its at 20 warm or cold. I coulda swore before cam it was 40 at idle... I don't see how anything other than o-ring can change it 20lbs

blackbird0230

I already raised the Idle 100rpm. Hptuners calls for 200 but I think I'm sitting at 700 rpms... Maybe 8 but I forget now

Gabbiani

iTrader: (20)

^^ That would really affect it to. Wasn't thinking of that. I'm at 900 right now in the V because the damn dual mass flywheel rattles from 750 to 900. Soon as my clutch is swapped I will be down 750-800 and bet my idle pressure drops too. (Truck is 500rpm but not a fair compare)

blackbird0230

Has anyone else lost pressure after a cam?

blackbird0230

No one?

trans_am7935

iTrader: (15)

i changed my pump after cam swap, it is recommended to do so.

blackbird0230

Yea I'm kind of debating that. That's about the only thing I haven't done to make it a full rebuild lol.

blackbird0230

Maybe I should clarify. My oil pressure stays at 20 anytime I don't have my foot on the gas. So i can drive, come up to a light in neutral and it will drop to 20. As soon as I tap the gas the pressure rises to 40... Some cold starts the oil pressure will start at 40 but will drop down to 20 after I drive it and come to a stop. Now any more information or ideas would be greatly appreciated....

trans_am7935

iTrader: (15)

the oil pump is like the heartbeat of your motor, no pump, no oil, engine explodes! i would change it

blackbird0230

A little dramatic but it a great point. I just have seen many ls cars get away with the stock pump and thought its be the same for me. But of course not.

Whiteaw57

iTrader: (2)

theres just so much going on here....the tolerances for the cam can cause a big drop if the journals are a tad small. I would definitely investigate but the fact it jumps up so quickly and reliably makes me think it could just be the cam. If you have some cash go ahead and put a new pump on it to rule that out but dont be surprised if you see the big pressure jump with the new pump. The oring issue is usually a big issue or no issue. If it wasnt right you more than likely would be seeing 5 to 10 psi at idle or none at all.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

Front cam cover retainer plate and the spacers for the oil pump could cause pressure issues. You did know the retainer plate had a pressurized oil seal right??

blackbird0230

Yes. However it was re-used. I've already pulled the heads on it once and I'm going to do it again so I'd like to fix any possibilities while I'm in there.

The more suggestions the better. And I cant quite understand this or maybe it's related but the pushrod length seemed abnormally long at 7.500 but even then I still didn't account for the .020 extra length I found with the pushrod length checker or the preload. I'm checking my rocker arms again for travel... Any more ideas?

BKsNHRA

iTrader: (4)

I just finished installing a eps 226-230 cam in my car. It has low miles on it so I reused my oil pump and lifters. So far I have had no issues at all. No added noise that wasent already their and no change at all with my oil pressure. Just below 40 warm and moves up when I'm drivein around. I wound up using a 7.4 pushrods in it with psi1511ml springs.

blackwidowSS

I noticed that the oil pressure gauge goes all the way up to 80..but on my dash display it says its 130psi..does anyone else have this problem? Or had anything similar happen to them??

Travu25

hahahaha very true

smokeshow72

OK, so push the idle to 900 or 1000 and tell me if you don't have 40 psi; if you don't, something is wrong for sure. Don't go bananas with an oil pump; all the oil in the top end isn't any better for the motor than no oil in the top end.