LS2 with intermittently low oil pressure
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Teching In
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LS2 with intermittently low oil pressure Last night when idling my 2006 CTS-V in a parking spot I noticed my oil pressure was only 19 psi instead of the usual 30(800 rpm, 185* oil temp). I turned it off, restarted immediately and it was back to 30 psi. Strange...
It won't do it all the time, but I found that when getting off the freeway and stopping on the off ramp it was likely to happen. Every time it shows 19 psi oil pressure I can turn off, restart and it is back at 30 psi at the same rpm. I then might have to drive 5-10 miles before it would do it again.
I did verify the problem with a mechanical pressure gauge. The car has had a new oil pump, pickup tube, and o-ring within the last 7,000 miles or so. Mobil 1 oil and filter. After having my oil pump fail once and then later my pickup tube break, I probably watch the oil pressure gauge as much as the road. I am 10000% sure it has the right o-ring installed and it is in correctly.
This is in a 2006 CTS-V with 150k miles or so. Original LS2 with cam and springs. Has anyone experienced a similar issue? It's been such a headache to keep good oil pressure in this motor!
It won't do it all the time, but I found that when getting off the freeway and stopping on the off ramp it was likely to happen. Every time it shows 19 psi oil pressure I can turn off, restart and it is back at 30 psi at the same rpm. I then might have to drive 5-10 miles before it would do it again.
I did verify the problem with a mechanical pressure gauge. The car has had a new oil pump, pickup tube, and o-ring within the last 7,000 miles or so. Mobil 1 oil and filter. After having my oil pump fail once and then later my pickup tube break, I probably watch the oil pressure gauge as much as the road. I am 10000% sure it has the right o-ring installed and it is in correctly.
This is in a 2006 CTS-V with 150k miles or so. Original LS2 with cam and springs. Has anyone experienced a similar issue? It's been such a headache to keep good oil pressure in this motor!
I had an ls1 car that kept doing that to me years before starting TMS. I was not sure what it was but had the same symptoms. Shut the car off and start it back and the pressure would come back. It eventually let me to having to tow the car from Pensacola FL to Dallas TX when it kicked the bearings out of it.
Knowing what I know now with thousands of LS builds completed I would recommend 2 things.
First of all get rid of the thin mobile 1. I understand that it is what GM recommends but in years of testing oils we have found that conventional motor oil that is a little heavier works MUCH better and will greatly increase the life of the motor.
Secondly don't get too far from home. Once you start to have oil pressure issues especially in the LS2 cars you are not far from stacking the rod bearings. We have seen more LS2 motors spin rod bearings than all other LS based motors combined.
If we can help you with the problem or finding a solution feel free to call us, best of luck with the motor.
Knowing what I know now with thousands of LS builds completed I would recommend 2 things.
First of all get rid of the thin mobile 1. I understand that it is what GM recommends but in years of testing oils we have found that conventional motor oil that is a little heavier works MUCH better and will greatly increase the life of the motor.
Secondly don't get too far from home. Once you start to have oil pressure issues especially in the LS2 cars you are not far from stacking the rod bearings. We have seen more LS2 motors spin rod bearings than all other LS based motors combined.
If we can help you with the problem or finding a solution feel free to call us, best of luck with the motor.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 40
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So you didn't tear that motor apart when it failed? Just curious what did it. I checked a few rod bearings when I did the pickup tube 1000 miles ago. They looked perfect. When I installed the cam a year ago, the cam bearings did show some wear, but nothing worse than any other I've seen.
I'm debating whether I keep driving it or tear it down for inspection. I'd hate to get it apart and not find anything obvious. If it needed a rebuild I'd probably just pick up a LS3 to put in.
I'm debating whether I keep driving it or tear it down for inspection. I'd hate to get it apart and not find anything obvious. If it needed a rebuild I'd probably just pick up a LS3 to put in.
I had an ls1 car that kept doing that to me years before starting TMS. I was not sure what it was but had the same symptoms. Shut the car off and start it back and the pressure would come back. It eventually let me to having to tow the car from Pensacola FL to Dallas TX when it kicked the bearings out of it.
Knowing what I know now with thousands of LS builds completed I would recommend 2 things.
First of all get rid of the thin mobile 1. I understand that it is what GM recommends but in years of testing oils we have found that conventional motor oil that is a little heavier works MUCH better and will greatly increase the life of the motor.
Secondly don't get too far from home. Once you start to have oil pressure issues especially in the LS2 cars you are not far from stacking the rod bearings. We have seen more LS2 motors spin rod bearings than all other LS based motors combined.
If we can help you with the problem or finding a solution feel free to call us, best of luck with the motor.
Knowing what I know now with thousands of LS builds completed I would recommend 2 things.
First of all get rid of the thin mobile 1. I understand that it is what GM recommends but in years of testing oils we have found that conventional motor oil that is a little heavier works MUCH better and will greatly increase the life of the motor.
Secondly don't get too far from home. Once you start to have oil pressure issues especially in the LS2 cars you are not far from stacking the rod bearings. We have seen more LS2 motors spin rod bearings than all other LS based motors combined.
If we can help you with the problem or finding a solution feel free to call us, best of luck with the motor.
If the mains stay in place you are typically ok. If they spin you are putting a band aid on it in the best case scenario. Look for color in the caps and block. Once they change to black (even in small spots) I would replace it. They will commonly fail once they change color.
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Thread Starter
Teching In
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After finding what looked like bearing material(silver flakes) in the oil filter I tore it down today. Surprisingly all the bearings(rod, main, cam) look fine.
The only other thing I found was some small metal specs in the oil pressure relief valve bore. The metal particles were small enough that it was very hard to get a photo. There were also some scratches on the relief piston. If I worked the relief piston back and forth in the bore, it wanted to bind if there was any side to side pressure put on it.
Not really sure where to go from here. The only thing left to pull are the pistons. After going in to this engine for a third time in a year, it seems like any further repairs would be another band-aid, even though it looks extremely clean inside. Seems like a run of bad luck here. Maybe it would be better to start over with a LS3. I'd really hate to have to take it apart again. Any ideas from the gurus out there?
What looks like it could be lint in the photo below is actually metal specs. This oil pump has probably 7k miles.
The only other thing I found was some small metal specs in the oil pressure relief valve bore. The metal particles were small enough that it was very hard to get a photo. There were also some scratches on the relief piston. If I worked the relief piston back and forth in the bore, it wanted to bind if there was any side to side pressure put on it.
Not really sure where to go from here. The only thing left to pull are the pistons. After going in to this engine for a third time in a year, it seems like any further repairs would be another band-aid, even though it looks extremely clean inside. Seems like a run of bad luck here. Maybe it would be better to start over with a LS3. I'd really hate to have to take it apart again. Any ideas from the gurus out there?
What looks like it could be lint in the photo below is actually metal specs. This oil pump has probably 7k miles.
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