LT1Formula26

Ok so i just went from a valvoline synthetic blend of 10w to a regular valvoline oil of 10w....my engine temp runs hotter now and my oil pressure is much lower. when i am at idle, the oil pressure sits about at the quater mark and sometimes creeps under it, but never into the red... and when just cruising at 50 or 60 it sits at the half point... but if i punch it, it goes just barely past the half way point. is this normal?... also the temp sits at about 200 and when i sit at a light or if it idles, it will get up to the three quarter line and then my fans will kick on. i don't understand this because i have an intake and new radiator, why does the engine run hot, and why does it now run hotter than it did before the oil change? and whats up with the oil pressure? need help

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

temp can go up because of increased friction. More friction = more heat. Maybe your car doesn't like that oil that much. Go back to the previous oil, if it goes back to normal you'll know not to use the other stuff again.

LT1Formula26

so why does the oil pressure sit so low and not go much past the half mark?

SladeX

Different oils have different viscosity indexes at different temps. What could be happening is that the regular oil you are using is thinning out at temps causing your low oil pressure THEN on top of that due to the increased thinning it cools the components less. You may not be getting increased friction unless it thins out to below a 20 wt oil. You won't know about more friction until you do an oil change and find more material on the plug or you do a Used Oil Analysis to check for increased metal content.

Simple test is swap oils.

LT1Formula26

what oil do you suggest i put in this car? its a 94 ta so lt1

LT1Formula26

? ?

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

Try going back to the oil you were using.

Formula Freak

I'm in the exact same boat as you.I had 10w-40 valvoline max life synthetic blend in my car for a little while,car had more oil pressure at operating temps (30-35psi hot idle,50-55 cruising), and would take slightly longer to get up to operating temp after cold starts.

Then just recently I switched to the regular conventional valvoline 10w-40 cause the synthetic blend would seap through my gaskets.The cars warms up quicker and the oil pressure is noticeably lower than before at operating temps (20psi idle,40-50 crusing) with the dino oil.That would suggest that the conventional is thinner which is weird because I thought any kind of synthetic is supposed to be thinner than conventional.I guess that not true with valvoline.I'm going to try 5w-30 max life synthetic blend next cause I noticed with either 10w that my motor knocks a little for a few seconds at cold start up until the oil starts flowing.

If you're holding at least 15-20 psi at hot idle and 40 at cruising you'll be ok.Also these LT1's are known to run uncomfortably hot without any damage,up to 220-230 degrees,if your cooling system and fans are working correctly and you're not going into the red zone,you should be fine.