Another low oil pressure problem
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TECH Junkie
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From: East Brady, Pa
Another low oil pressure problem Well about a month ago I lost oil pressure totally so I replaced my pump with a TSP pump. Today I got it fired back up and I can only get 20psi of pressure. It's pretty steady at 20 no matter if it's at idle or cruising. What do I do now? Car seems to be running fine with no noises. Only went 2 miles trying it out. Thanks for any ideas. I'm really getting frustrated here.
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TECH Junkie
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From: East Brady, Pa
I haven't double checked with another gauge. I did have the intake off. It's sounding like maybe I messed up the o ring somehow. I did reuse the same ring so I guess that's a good place to start.
I can shift faster than you.
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From: Baton Rouge, LA
Before you start tearing apart again, definitely verify the factory gauge with a mechanical unit. I have seen stock gauges/sending units go bad. I would hate for you to tear it apart when all you have is a gauge problem.
Jason
Jason
Just because you used the old "O" ring does necessarily mean you messed it up altho it's not a good idea considering the cost of a new "O" ring versus the time and trouble of pulling the front cover off to check and see if that happens to be your problem. The sender and a mechanical gauge as recommended are certainly you best options BEFORE you do a pull down. I don't reuse the old "O" ring even when they come out of the motor looking just as good as the new one in the package. It's just not worth it considering how much work it is to change an "O" ring.
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Shim your pump .120" and you should see another 15 lbs across the whole rpm range. Also , make sure you have a decxent clean oil filter since a dirty filter can rob you by as much as 20 psi.
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dude like the other said double check the sending unit with a mechanical gage, even if it looks fine that sending unit is a pos and not the most acurate in the world, even if it looks fine and its bolted in there good it can sitll send crapy readings i know it did it to me so double check with a mechanical gage.
edit::: damn nm u alreadu tore int othe engine a well to late i guess, but still double check just in case.
edit::: damn nm u alreadu tore int othe engine a well to late i guess, but still double check just in case.
Thread Starter
TECH Junkie
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From: East Brady, Pa
UPDATE: Changed the O ring even though it looked ok. Just fired it up and it has 25psi idling and 40 if I give it a little gas. Doesn't seem to go over 40 though. Any other ideas???
bearing..... i just went through the same stuff. did everything mentioned starting with a oil change, mechanical guage, then oil pump and oring, then pulled the motor.
took the cam out and wala. all the lifters were ate up and all the lobes on the cam. all the cylinders were scratched also. have not finished tearing it down to see what caused it because it is trash any ways.
possibly pull the cam while you have it apart.
i hope for you u did not trash a motor like me butttttt. i had similar probs. like when first started truck had little under 40 psi then when hot stayed at 20.
took the cam out and wala. all the lifters were ate up and all the lobes on the cam. all the cylinders were scratched also. have not finished tearing it down to see what caused it because it is trash any ways.
possibly pull the cam while you have it apart.
i hope for you u did not trash a motor like me butttttt. i had similar probs. like when first started truck had little under 40 psi then when hot stayed at 20.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Chattanooga,TN
My oil pressure starts out at 50 or higher then it goes to about 40 or a little lower when warm. I have noticed that it will go to 30-35 after a while of driving and it will barely go over 40 when reving up the motor. The car doesn't seem to make any noises other than the sound of the cam.
Brad when my cam bearing were bad, I had only 20psi of pressure. It made no noises and like a fool I drove it around. Next thing you know, I spun a couple bearings and bet 2 rods. You have too much into that motor, get the bearings changed before it cost you more. On my new motor, I went with all coated bearings.
Mark
Mark
ditto. i had coated bearings and another good thing about them is if you have a prob well the coating will be gone. i would also say cam bearing. i have not pulled mine but what ever it was trashed everything.
Originally Posted by theblur98ss
Hooked up my autometer gauge and it verifies that the pressure is low. I'm heading to start the teardown right now. I'll post up on what I find.
