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Oil Pressure Issue, HELP!

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Old May 26, 2013 | 08:02 PM
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Exclamation Oil Pressure Issue, HELP!

Hi i have Rebuilt Iron Block 6.0L, LQ4 Crank, LS2 Rods/Pistons, new Main,Rod,Cam Bearings, and Oil Rings and oil Gallary Plugs, all speced out to OEM specs built by me, ive ran the motor for about 2,000+ miles and have changed the oil/filter every 500miles, On cold start OIL PSI is at 55+ and then reaches operating temp after 160F and drops to about 25 PSI, i do cruise it at 65mph at about 2,500rpm and get 40 PSI or at WOT i get 65+ PSI , Im concerned at the fact that Idle oil pressure drops so low to 20-25psi when warm and Oil Pressure Needle on gauge "Fluctuates" goes up and down a little and isnt steady , i did use the Original "used" Oil Pump from the LQ4 block with O-Ring and my instrument cluster is from a 1998 Camaro and i have a 1999, a friend told me it could be a bad oil pump that loses pressure as it warms i use 15-40W oil since its really hot in my Area and i use the A/C

-more info LS6 Cam/springs, fairly new 243 heads, ls6 intake, FBO, PI 3200stall if that help any

THANKS!!!
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Old May 26, 2013 | 08:48 PM
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Acting like that I say bad gauge or sending unit
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Old May 26, 2013 | 08:51 PM
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It seems like a lot of people are having this problem right now.
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Old May 26, 2013 | 08:55 PM
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im gonna say its your oil pump...
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Old Jun 1, 2013 | 05:40 PM
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bump any ideas guys?
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Old Jun 1, 2013 | 05:57 PM
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The standard first step is to install a mechanical oil pressure gauge (tester) and verify the oil pressure reading against that indicated on the instrument panel gauge.
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Old Jun 2, 2013 | 12:20 PM
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It's amazing that people can diagnose this without knowing the measured rod & main bearing clearances.

Speaking of which...what measurements did you get on these during assembly?
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Old Jun 2, 2013 | 12:24 PM
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Is the engine quiet? If it is you are fine with that oil pressure.
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Old Jun 8, 2013 | 08:17 PM
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Originally Posted by RockinWs6
Is the engine quiet? If it is you are fine with that oil pressure.
Yes motor is very quiet and smooth even under heavy rpm load its still very fine

When i built the engine i did use PlasticGuage to test out my torque specs and everything was on deck!

UpDate

a friends 408ci aluminum block (LS3) TransAm had a nasty oil leak right after we put together his motor and tuned it, it was literally gushing oil like a volcano, his Oil PSI needle would also Fluctuate and was not steady and also had 20psi when Cold even w/ a Melling High Pressue pump, race coated bearings, and all the works, i removed the intake and the oil pressure switch was leaking, i replaced with a new one and now has 70psi at idle cold,
I checked behind my intake and w/ my finger felt around the oil prssure switch and felt and pulled out large amounts of Grime and oil around the plastic barrel of the switch im now confident its my oil psi switch
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Old Jun 9, 2013 | 07:10 AM
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Originally Posted by DiabloSS
When i built the engine i did use PlasticGuage to test out my torque specs and everything was on deck!
That's a keeper.

Good luck w/ your engine.
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Old Jun 9, 2013 | 09:31 AM
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Originally Posted by DiabloSS
When i built the engine i did use PlasticGuage to test out my torque specs and everything was on deck!
Plastigauge is good for nothing but a sanity check at best. It is not accurate at all. It's a very high possibility that your clearances are significantly looser than you think they are. How did you measure cam clearances?
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Old Aug 3, 2013 | 01:49 AM
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Gonna swap out the OPSU tomorrow and also got a Melling HV, Cam retainer plate w/gasket and a LS2 chain once im at it gonna pull out the ls6 cam to inspect it as well as Cam bearings, I confirmed with a lot of Fbody guys in my area that the Flucuating oil psi meedle is due to a bad OPSU, checked my opsu today in rear engine bay and its really gunky and surronded by dirt and oil around the opsu so im sure its leaking from there since i also have a oil leak thats coming from that area exactly, True Story, Raced a damn Turbo Subaru and noticed my oil psi at WOT was at 30 PSI and then. Went to 0 PSI for a second and jumped to 50psi right away, did two WOT runs that night, car felt strong and didnt hear Knock/Ping, got home checked my oil level and i was about 2 qts a lil less LOW Drove the car today and no weird noises from engine still sound and powerfull and same oil psi behavior w/ the Exception that oil Psi guage Fluctuated Alot more and got as low as 10 PSI when Warm, turned off car and started it rite up and was back up at 20 PSI i know that damn OPSU is a Bitch to say the least

I know these issues are commonly discussed but i will keep my Info updated maybe it will help somebody one day!

Last edited by DiabloSS; Aug 3, 2013 at 01:56 AM.
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