Whats up guys. Well here's the problem, my oil psi is reading low,when its warmed up and im in drive at a stop light it reads 20psi but if i put it in park the psi goes up closer to 40 psi. When i start driving normal it is between 40 and 80 psi. and my motor has only about 10,xxx miles on it and the oil pump is new. So can anyone help me out.
Thanx chris

Sorry for the long thread.

 

Was the motor built for high oil pressure? Meaning are the tolerances loose or tight?

Besides that, LT1 engines from the factory have low oil pressure. I believe at 1000 RPM is should be no lower than 7PSI. If you don't believe me get a factory service manual and look it up. I don't have mine with me, but I will look tonight, unless someone has a definite answer.

 

Well it's not gonna help you....but mine just recently started doing the same thing.....its been 10PSI low at idle but fine at cruising.....You didn't happen to have just changed your oil have you?.....Is the low oil light on when you start sometimes? None the less.....Your not alone....

 

20 psi hot in drive is pretty common.

 

mines low as hell too

 

+1 for low oil pressure, scares the crap out you, but I have never seen any bad long term affects of it, maybe somebody at chevy just likes to see people cringe???

 

sounds common. i've owned five lt1 cars and all held about that. one car i bought had very low psi (about 5psi. hot idle and would only rev 15psi.) the oil psi. sensor was bad. after replacing it, it was fine.

 

the rule of thumb is 1 psi per 100 rpm so at idle so 8-10 psi at idle is acceptable. I have 145k on my motor and it has 40 psi warm idle. Never drops below halfway and it is usually around 60 psi when cruising

 

Not really a problem. 20psi at hot idle is fine, very common on lt1s.

 

honestly....rule of thumb is...you need 10 psi per 1k rpm. so you're straight.

 

It barely started doing that, and the oil light or check engine light never come on. and i checked my oil and its full to wear it's supposed to be. maybe its just the sensor. where is it located. Is it the one on the side of the oil pan? I didnt replace it when i got the new engine.

 

on 93s and some 94s its above the oil filter, on the side of the block. on alot of 94 and laters, its at the back of the intake. i doubt theirs anything wrong, though. the sensor on the side of the oilpan is the oil level sensor.

 

seems about right to me. on a hot summer day mine will be around 10psi idling, 40ish while cruising. on a cold winter day it will be around 20psi hot idling.

 

Hook up a mechanical oil pressure gauge and i'll bet you'll see normal oil press. the pressure sensor on our cars is notorious for displaying lower readings as they age. good news is that it's a $20 dollar fix

 

Oh and on 96's the pressure sensor is on the back of the manifold

 

Thanks guys, i think its just the sensor, can u buy it from auto zone, or any place like that or do u have to get it from the Dealer Ship.

 

nope it aint goiong to be the sensor lol i tryed and wasted 40$ on one along with the 5$ special socket my pressure is 3-6 hot using 10w40 i only have 115k but will still continue to beat the helout of it

 

10W40, there ya go. i run synthetic 5w30 and i see (+/-)20 psi at idle. and to the ones asking, i DO NOT recommend running an aftermarket pressure sensor. i have seen too many people have to re-do the job from **** parts. spend the bit more and get GM parts. i believe at my cost from work (GM dealer) i paid 35.00 or so? hell its been a while

 

I run 10W30, thats whats been in it from the start.

 

I have 161K on mine and at idle it at 20-22 and running down the highway at 2500 rpm the gauge reads 49-51 psi. This is with a mechanical gauge too. My pressure was slowly dropping so I switched to a thicker oil and it made the pressure even lower?? I switched back to 5w30 and the pressure came back up... Wierd? One word of advise, do not use Lucas, it really made my pressure drop and the lifters would cladder upon startup. Too thick for LT1s