RallyBoy

iTrader: (1)

Why all the oil pressure issues with the lt1's? What is the cause? I am having oil pressure issues with my 97 camaro ss and i dont see what could have caused it. i changed out the sending unit and that did not help. I have owned two 95 impala's and a 2000 ls1 z28 and i did not have any oil pressure issues with them. the motor does not tap or knock but shows redline on the gauge and the check gauge light comes on after it has been driven for a while. it has 99xxx miles but i just cannot see the bearings being bad that soon. my impala had 160xxx till someone hit me and it ran fine.

chavez885

iTrader: (12)

no oil pressure issues for me

camaro_rs350

iTrader: (3)

usually its the gauge itself i have seen it alot and when putting a mechanical gauge in place of the stocker and see if it changes

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

I would second the try a mechanical gauge.

Beyond that the oil pump relief spring was fairly low pressure to start, 10 years and countless heat cycles have done it no favors.

Also a LOT of LT1 owners swear mediocre oils are the best believing in marketing and ignoring measured data on wear metal content in oil.

RallyBoy

iTrader: (1)

so the gauge in the dash can sometimes go bad even though the sending unit is fine?

camaro_rs350

iTrader: (3)

yea i have seen happen lots of times at my work which is chevrolet in my area. the lt1 gauge tends to not be good after awhile

1994Z28Lt1

iTrader: (1)

but what about for the guys that have good oil pressure all around but then give it in 1st or 2nd and see the oil pressure plummet and then recover, is that a sign of sucking the pan dry? windage from all the oil going to the back of the pan?

squeals99

iTrader: (8)

same situation you are in right now ^^^^
im gonna change my oil pressure sender out tomorrow and see if that does it any good... but my oil pressure drops pretty harshly when im goin wot... we are talkin like 25ish and that isnt good for sure at about 5000 rpms...

gatorhead

iTrader: (4)

You should see 10 psi per 1000 rpms. The LT1 has very tight bearing clearances and utilizes lightweight oil, both of which factors to the assumption of low oil pressure.

moserman

iTrader: (7)

what weight oil are you using?

Jared 3870

Damn, I see an indicated 60#s most of the time, around 45 at idle once warm. All on the stock 100k long block.

1994Z28Lt1

iTrader: (1)

if you are seeing 45 psi at warm idle then your guage is wrong, if the pump is stock and the internals are stock you should be seeing half that unless you are using some kind of super thick oil


but seriously people i see a lot of LT1's guys have the same problem as i do and throughout all my time spent here i havn't had anyone really know for sure what is going one, when the oil pressure plummets on hard acceleration in 1st or 2nd gear and then starts recovering

i really find it hard to believe that i would suck the oil pan dry, or even windage since the stock windage tray is fairly decent. I've had people tell me that i probably lost my pickup off the pump but if that were happening not only would have spun a bearing already but i would be seeing a drop in pressure when hitting the brakes hard, which is simply not happening

several people with the same problem have installed mechanical guages and replaced senders and its still happening (i havn't personally tried it yet though) so whats the deal folks any experiences or theories?

sorry if it seems like im highjacking the thread but it seems to go along with the original question

letsrun97z

iTrader: (7)

i really find it hard to believe that i would suck the oil pan dry, or even windage since the stock windage tray is fairly decent. I've had people tell me that i probably lost my pickup off the pump but if that were happening not only would have spun a bearing already but i would be seeing a drop in pressure when hitting the brakes hard, which is simply not happening

Thats what im saying my pressure has been like this for a bout 6 mos wiht changing unit out same results i have driven another 6k like this no knocks pings metal/ flackes when changing oil im about to the point to bypass that gauge and not have to look at it i have seeing 5psi when hot

RallyBoy

iTrader: (1)

i was running valvoline 10w30 syn and switched to valvoline 10w40 and oil pressure still did not change. car runs excellent! i just dont get it. kinda sick of this car. i bought it for $4000 and i am tired. i have another thread about the k-member......sucks