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low oil pressure on 2001 5.3L

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Old May 17, 2020 | 09:31 PM
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Default low oil pressure on 2001 5.3L
I had problems with oil pressure on my 5.3, i got a new melling high pressure pump, and nothing improved, the weird thing is, there were no metalics in the oil, the bearings are all brand new, and the engine doesnt make any strange noises. Can anyone give me any ideas? I'm stumped, i thought it was my pickup o-ring but it was fine. I have almost no oil pressure at idle, and i have about 25 psi with rpm. Any help would be great.
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Old May 17, 2020 | 11:24 PM
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Was it low before replacing the pump? How many miles on the engine?
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Old May 17, 2020 | 11:26 PM
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Originally Posted by 78_nova
I had problems with oil pressure on my 5.3, i got a new melling high pressure pump, and nothing improved, the weird thing is, there were no metalics in the oil, the bearings are all brand new, and the engine doesnt make any strange noises. Can anyone give me any ideas? I'm stumped, i thought it was my pickup o-ring but it was fine. I have almost no oil pressure at idle, and i have about 25 psi with rpm. Any help would be great.
It's possible you used the wrong ring. Also possible the sending unit is bad.

Step 1: hook up a mechanical gauge and get a reading that you can trust. Maybe you already have .
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Old May 18, 2020 | 12:32 AM
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Originally Posted by G Atsma
Was it low before replacing the pump? How many miles on the engine?
the engine had low pressure before the pump, it had about 180k when i got it. I rebuilt it completely though, so its a head scratcher
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Old May 18, 2020 | 10:19 AM
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As Tyler says above, check both the sending unit and the O-ring.
Rule of thumb on O-rings is, if the pickup tube has a groove rolled in it near the end that goes in the pump, it gets the fat O-ring. If no groove, aka straight, it gets the skinny one.
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Old May 18, 2020 | 11:15 AM
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No noise, no metal? Sounds like a bad sensor.
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Old May 18, 2020 | 12:20 PM
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What did you find for clearance on the rods and mains?
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Old May 18, 2020 | 01:19 PM
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Originally Posted by ddnspider
No noise, no metal? Sounds like a bad sensor.
that's what I had thought, but it comes back bad on a mechanical tester too
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Old May 18, 2020 | 01:20 PM
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Originally Posted by 78_nova
that's what I had thought, but it comes back bad on a mechanical tester too
Ouch. Are you taking the pressure at the same spot as the factory gauge? What is "low pressure"?
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