Dewthels

so i bought this ls1 last fall and i just finished rebuilding the engine. when i bought it it has no oil pressure. so i did the rebuilt added a 228r cam new heads and a new high volume melling oil pump. when i first cranked the car and let it idle it idled around 40 psi. but once it got to operating temp, around 190 it fell all the way to 20 psi. is this a normal thing? i'm worried cause ive used all my budget just to build this engine

G Atsma

Which oil are you running? It's normal for pressure to drop once warmed up, 20psi at idle is not a real problem. Where is the pressure at higher speeds?

Dewthels

I'm running Lucas break in oil SAE30 weight. And it seems to respond fine with revving. But my tach isn't running so I have no true reference.

G Atsma

I would run a good multigrade synthetic once broken in. One thing you MIGHT want to check is the O-ring on the pickup tube. Always a known trouble spot.

GTO1_OHIO

iTrader: (3)

190 is not the operating temperature unless you have an oil cooler with a fan like I do. Your temp is easily going to be 215-225 if driven for any length of time, which means your pressure is going to continue to fall well into the teens. My start up pressure is 70 and hot idle (190-200) is about 28 with the oil cooler.