low oil pressure...

[walser]

i just got a set of pods and i got my oil pressure gauge hooked up, at idle when its fully warm its pretty much at 0 psi.and i just put in 5w-30 valvoline synpower full synthetic. the most it will peak at is about 30-35 psi. but i have the oil pressure T'd so i stilll have the stock dummy light and its not going off. is there anyway i could have tightened it too much into the block to make the oil passageway to small? i know everyone is going to tell me rod bearings. i am going to do them next spring. ive only got a couple of weeks of driving her until the snow and salt comes, then she goes to storage.
sorry may have made it too long. thanks in advance!

 

[SHOtime2511]

220K park it and change them asap.

 

[walser]

it will be parked in about a day or so. but what should a healthy engine run for oil press? on the highway im running about 15psi at like 2300 rpm.... not good

 

[SHOspazz92]

25 PSI is HEALTHY when driving the car around and it is warmed up.

When the Car is Warmed up a Idle, It will read well below 25 PSI. Both of my SHO's equipped with Oil-Pressure Gauges read that low.

-Sam

 

[walser]

ok i just put 5w-30 in it. the first time ive ever put that in. i always run 10w-30. would that make much of a difference?

 

[K-Dawg]

Probably not. Don't have a gauge on this car, but my last couple SHOs ran about 10-12psi at hot idle.

 

[silversho89]

I was told that 10-12 psi for every 1k rpm's is healthy. Any truth to that?

 

[SHOtime2511]

I was told that 10-12 psi for every 1k rpm's is healthy. Any truth to that?

thats usually about right.

 

[sperold]

Most people don't know their true oil pressure. Late model GM's have been clattering around for years on what we would call low oil pressure.
You could run two gauges and have two different readings. Does your gauge have the tube all the way from the motor? Or is it wired off a sensor? You have a least 5 pounds at idle, otherwise your oil light would be on, and you would hear noises. The same noises you hear when you change your oil and don't prefill the filter.
These SHO motors are low pressure, high volume oiling systems, so you are never going to be dazzled by the pressure number.
Upping the viscosity of the oil will increase your oil pressure,....... and lower your volume. If you don't use your vehicle in the winter, you don't need the easy pouring viscosity of the 5 part of the 5 W 30, especially with the synthetic oil.

 

[sho_ted]

so what weight oil is remommended for summer driving ??

 

[Phoenix]

Always ran 5-30 in the winters (canada) and switched to 10-30 in summer time.

 

[jmpSHO]

You should use what it calls for regardless of the miles. Unless you live some where that is extremely hot or cold I would stick with what the car is supposed to have.

 

[sperold]

In the winter (it is cold up here) I use 5 W 30 because a can of 30 oil will hardly pour out when you tip it up. In the summer, I go for something with more viscosity like 20 W 40 or straight 30. The manufacturer has to recommend the same oil it uses in the mileage rating testing. You get better gas mileage with the lower viscosity oils, because it is easier to pump around in your engine. That is a big reason for their recommendation. Remember, your manufacturer didn't recommend an oil gauge on a high performance car. I have 3 SHO's, all nearing the 200,000 mile mark, and I have no oil pressure problems, and no new rod bearings.

 

[sperold]

When I am working my motor hard (lugging around that big 4 -door sedan), I want an oil with enough viscosity to stay put on my upper half rod bearing, rather than squishing out or breaking down and allowing my bearing to scuff on the crank throw. That is the beauty of the synthetic oils, as they can take about 4 times the "pressure" before they break down and quit being a lubricant.
I am not really all that concerned about my gas mileage when compared to my concern for the life of my bearings and moving parts.

 

[walser]

Most people don't know their true oil pressure. Late model GM's have been clattering around for years on what we would call low oil pressure.
You could run two gauges and have two different readings. Does your gauge have the tube all the way from the motor? Or is it wired off a sensor? You have a least 5 pounds at idle, otherwise your oil light would be on, and you would hear noises. The same noises you hear when you change your oil and don't prefill the filter.
These SHO motors are low pressure, high volume oiling systems, so you are never going to be dazzled by the pressure number.
Upping the viscosity of the oil will increase your oil pressure,....... and lower your volume. If you don't use your vehicle in the winter, you don't need the easy pouring viscosity of the 5 part of the 5 W 30, especially with the synthetic oil.

i have the sensor on the T and a wire all the way up to the gauge in the car. and would it be a good idea to switch back 10w-30 synthetic. but im not gonna be driving my car for much longer..

 

[sperold]

You did a lot of work to get that "T" device in there, and it is a great idea to have it. Some day when you have lots of time, you could borrow or buy a tube fed gauge which will give you some numbers to calibrate your "sender unit" with. It sounds like it reads low.
I am not an authority on synthetic oils, but I have read that you can go one number out on each end of the scale on a multi-grade oil. So a 10W30 synthetic will take you down to 5, and up to 40 on a regular oil. This may not be gospel, but it is miracle stuff, and it will take the heat and pressure. And beware of multi-grades with a huge spread in the numbers. One oil cant do everything.
In the old days, when V W's were air cooled, the people who used 10 W 30 (as recommended) in the summer eventually had to replace #3 cylinder. The people who used straight 30, didn't. Oils have come a long ways since then, but it is something to think about.

 

[walser]

You did a lot of work to get that "T" device in there, and it is a great idea to have it. Some day when you have lots of time, you could borrow or buy a tube fed gauge which will give you some numbers to calibrate your "sender unit" with. It sounds like it reads low.
I am not an authority on synthetic oils, but I have read that you can go one number out on each end of the scale on a multi-grade oil. So a 10W30 synthetic will take you down to 5, and up to 40 on a regular oil. This may not be gospel, but it is miracle stuff, and it will take the heat and pressure. And beware of multi-grades with a huge spread in the numbers. One oil cant do everything.
In the old days, when V W's were air cooled, the people who used 10 W 30 (as recommended) in the summer eventually had to replace #3 cylinder. The people who used straight 30, didn't. Oils have come a long ways since then, but it is something to think about.

ok so your saying i should get an oil pressure gauge that the oil comes into the car and feeds into the back of the gauge..? and i can calibrate that sending unit on the wire fed oil press. gauge?

 

[sperold]

Yes, I think. The gauges with the oil tube are pretty accurate and they work well. There is a little curved sack in them and the pressure tends to straighten out this sack. As it straightens out this sack, it moves the needle. However, running that oil tube into your car is not something I would do. Too much risk of breaking. They use to have neoprene lines and they burned through when they touched the headers. Not good. Just get one of these mechanical gauges (with a fairly low top number, like 0 to 50) and run your car at an idle and later at other rpms and compare it to the numbers you get on your "sender - type" gauge. Of course you have to do your experiment with your sender gauge first to have some numbers to compare to. You will have to look elsewhere for advice on recalibrating your electric gauge, but I am sure it can be done. It will be enough for your to know that say..... 0 means 10, 10 means 15, 20 means 30, you get the idea. Remember you are not going to get big impressive numbers when you are measuring pressure in these engines. If you had a flow meter in gallons per minute, then you would see some big numbers. So keep that in mind.

 

[K-Dawg]

FWIW, the gauges with the tube are called "mechanical gauges" and the curved sack is called a "Bourdon tube."

 

[SHOtime2511]

the curved sack is called a "Bourdon tube."

nobody cares what you call your sack:thankyou: