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Old Jan 22, 2011 | 10:39 AM
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Default Low oil pressure

I've been noticing a little low oil pressure in my 418. It's an HKE motor. It actually tripped the check gauges in the South MS summer in traffic. It idles at about 30psi, and cruises a little north of 40. I know the stock gauges aren't all that accurate, but the stock motor read pretty consistent on the stock gauge. I bought the motor from a very good friend, and had a new ported/shimmed ls3 pump put in when I bought it (previous owner didn't have oil pressure issues). Just wondering if I should be concerned. Perhaps the sensor is on the way out, or the new pump isn't as "good" as the previous one.
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Old Jan 23, 2011 | 09:42 AM
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Bump...any input?
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Old Jan 23, 2011 | 01:49 PM
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Originally Posted by jdiddyws6
I've been noticing a little low oil pressure in my 418. It's an HKE motor. It actually tripped the check gauges in the South MS summer in traffic. It idles at about 30psi, and cruises a little north of 40. I know the stock gauges aren't all that accurate, but the stock motor read pretty consistent on the stock gauge. I bought the motor from a very good friend, and had a new ported/shimmed ls3 pump put in when I bought it (previous owner didn't have oil pressure issues). Just wondering if I should be concerned. Perhaps the sensor is on the way out, or the new pump isn't as "good" as the previous one.
That oil pressure seems fine to me and is about what I see on my 418. As long as it rises when you floor it from where it idles and cruises.
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Old Jun 30, 2012 | 06:44 PM
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Bump. In this very got weather, the pressure drops to about 20 at idle and 35 at cruising speeds. Any advice??
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Old Jun 30, 2012 | 09:12 PM
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What weight and kind of oil are you running in it?
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Old Jun 30, 2012 | 09:18 PM
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20/50 dino oil
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Old Jun 30, 2012 | 09:22 PM
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in my build 346 with this 100 degree weather mine idles around 30 and cruses around 40, but im running 5w-30 mobil synthetic. On cold starts is around 60, im thinking about switching to 10w-30 do to this hot weather.
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Old Jun 30, 2012 | 09:55 PM
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Originally Posted by jdiddyws6
I've been noticing a little low oil pressure in my 418. It's an HKE motor. It actually tripped the check gauges in the South MS summer in traffic. It idles at about 30psi, and cruises a little north of 40. I know the stock gauges aren't all that accurate, but the stock motor read pretty consistent on the stock gauge. I bought the motor from a very good friend, and had a new ported/shimmed ls3 pump put in when I bought it (previous owner didn't have oil pressure issues). Just wondering if I should be concerned. Perhaps the sensor is on the way out, or the new pump isn't as "good" as the previous one.
Something is wrong. Check the o-ring and make sure the oil pump spacer isn't upside down, assuming you have a double roller timing set. Did anyone check the clearance between the pan and pickup?
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Old Jun 30, 2012 | 10:00 PM
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No. I will look into that. The pressure drops as it gets hotter
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Old Jun 30, 2012 | 10:22 PM
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With that kind of oil it should have tons of pressure. I think there's an issue too.
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Old Jul 1, 2012 | 06:34 PM
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Originally Posted by jdiddyws6
No. I will look into that. The pressure drops as it gets hotter
Pressure drop with the heat increase is normal, a law of physics even. With a 10296 Melling pump and the low pressure spring, I'm at 60psi cold and end up at 40psi hot. Since your friend had better oil pressure and all that changed was the oil pump, then that's where I would start looking for problems.
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Old Jul 1, 2012 | 07:55 PM
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Originally Posted by KCS
Pressure drop with the heat increase is normal, a law of physics even. With a 10296 Melling pump and the low pressure spring, I'm at 60psi cold and end up at 40psi hot. Since your friend had better oil pressure and all that changed was the oil pump, then that's where I would start looking for problems.
As in something going wrong in the install?
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Old Jul 1, 2012 | 07:58 PM
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Would it be worth it to change the oil pressure sending unit? Is there a way to check the oil pressure without using the factory gauge?
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Old Jul 1, 2012 | 08:09 PM
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Originally Posted by jdiddyws6
As in something going wrong in the install?
Yes, and it is VERY common. You can pinch the o-ring, install the spacer upside down, or have the pickup sitting on the bottom of the pan, each of which could easily cause low oil pressure.

As far as testing without the factory gauge, you can get an adapter to run a manual gauge off of the same port the factory sending unit uses.
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Old Jul 1, 2012 | 08:12 PM
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Originally Posted by KCS
Yes, and it is VERY common. You can pinch the o-ring, install the spacer upside down, or have the pickup sitting on the bottom of the pan, each of which could easily cause low oil pressure.

As far as testing without the factory gauge, you can get an adapter to run a manual gauge off of the same port the factory sending unit uses.
I was hesitant to think the install was messed up because of the conditions that the pressure drops under.
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Old Jul 5, 2012 | 10:14 AM
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Bump. Which way to you cut the filter to check for metal shavings?
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Old Jul 5, 2012 | 06:07 PM
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I recently had a oil pressure problem and mine was caused by the main bearings were gaped. The person I bought the block from turned the crank and didt use oversized bearings so caused low oil pressure and mine was around 15 - 30 psi . But the most easiest things to go after first are like others have said
1.o-ring on the pump
2. Spacer if you have double timing chain
3.pick up tube
4. Barbell or plugs in the block
5.then bearings and ect.
And make sure you have the correct o-ring for the pickup tube you have cuz they sell 2 diffrent once .
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Old Jul 7, 2012 | 10:29 AM
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I cut the filter an opened it up. I did not see any debris embedded in the filter.
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