40 psi at idle?

[Mike Kopstain]

Hey guys. I just installed my oil pressure gauge. Does 40 psi at warm idle seem ok? It seemed a little highto me. Thanks for the help.

~ The Mikey

 

[Oz]

my supercharged car idles about 20 when warm.

 

[rangerj]

Mikey,

40 psi at idle does seem high for a fully warmed up engine! Are you sure you have the right sending unit for the guage? rangerj

 

[rangerj]

Mikey,

40 psi at idle does seem high for a fully warmed up engine! Are you sure you have the right sending unit for the guage? rangerj

 

[Mike Kopstain]

Youknow I kept screwing with electric gauges and eacho ne said something different, (Just like my elctric Temp gauge). So I fianlyl just got a mechanical gauge. On another note, I guess the oil can thicken up pretty quick, because it went down to 20 psi after a little bit. Now I have another problem to tackle. Thanks guys...

 

[DeaconBlue]

It should have about 12-13 psi at idle with the the 5W-30 oil is warmed up to at least 150 F degrees. Dead cold oil pressure at idle could be as high as 45-50 PSI with a 10W-30 weight oil.

 

[Mike Kopstain]

Cold it's sitting at 50 psi

Warm it's sitting at 20 psi, slightly lower when in gear, probably just because the lower RPM.

 

[Fat Albert]

That`s still way too high.Since you`ve gotten varying psi`s from different guages,i`d suspect still a guage problem.

 

[Mike Kopstain]

I'm not sure if you read my post above, but I gave up onthe electrical gauges. They sucked. I'm using a mechanical gauge. I swapped it out earlier with another mechanical guage I have and I have the same readings.

 

[shojuan]

Fat Albert:
That`s still way too high.Since you`ve gotten varying psi`s from different guages,i`d suspect still a guage problem.

Bah! What's your hot oil pressure at 3000 rpms? Maybe you have 20 psi at idle hot because your bearing have nice tight clearances. thumbs_u

Rick

 

[SHOZ123]

When hot and you shut the engine off how fast does the pressure drop to Zero?

 

[Mike Kopstain]

Relatively quick. I'm not sure what I can compare it too, but this gauge came out of a hotrod that a friend had. I'm sure it's not the gauge and there are no kinks in the hose.

 

[SHOZ123]

Then what kind of oil filter is on it?

 

[Fat Albert]

shojuan:

Fat Albert:
That`s still way too high.Since you`ve gotten varying psi`s from different guages,i`d suspect still a guage problem.

Bah! What's your hot oil pressure at 3000 rpms? Maybe you have 20 psi at idle hot because your bearing have nice tight clearances. thumbs_u

Rick

And you quoted me why?Oh,i see,your post was much more informative than mine. Thanks for making a new guy feel welcome.

 

[Mike Kopstain]

Fat Albert... Rick wasn't talking about you, rather my car. He's a nice guy. *Looks at Rick* "Give me my $10.00 ******* !"

Paul, CoughFramCough

<small>[ October 17, 2002, 09:39 PM: Message edited by: Mikeys_Taurus ]</small>

 

[Fat Albert]

I stand corrected,and apologize Rick.Now,what can we do to get your psi straightened out?

A brand new/rebuilt SHO motor should top out at 13psi at idle.The average motor runs more like 10.5-12psi and hot idle.What is the cold idle running,they usually top out 60-75psi and clod start up.Your idle is at the correct rpm?

 

[Mike Kopstain]

Alright, fully warmed up here are the stats:

Oil pressure: 19 psi (idle)
Vacuum: -19 (idle)

When I first started it up it sat at 50 psi.

 

[shojuan]

Looks like good oil pressure and vacuum to me. Helms specifies a minimum of 12.8 psi at hot idle. Any lower than that is cause to worry. Instead of worrying about the 18 psi, I'd jump for joy instead. If your high rpm oil pressure is unusually high then you can suspect a weak oil pressure relief valve. But since you've made no mention of it I imagine everything there is ok. Just chalk it up to a false alarm and have a beer

Rick

 

[kaoticSHO]

Fat Albert:

shojuan:

Fat Albert:
That`s still way too high.Since you`ve gotten varying psi`s from different guages,i`d suspect still a guage problem.

Bah! What's your hot oil pressure at 3000 rpms? Maybe you have 20 psi at idle hot because your bearing have nice tight clearances. thumbs_u

Rick

And you quoted me why?Oh,i see,your post was much more informative than mine. Thanks for making a new guy feel welcome.

Fat A, it's good to have you around.

 

[Mike Kopstain]

Good enough for me! The pressure doesn't go excessivly high. I will jump as soon as I finish typing.