the chero sat for three weeks ,started it up and the oil pressure went up to 45 psi which is about normal for this beast. within about a minute the pressure dropped to about 20 psi and stayed there. reved it up and it went up about 2to3 psi . do you think it's the oil pump or maybe something else?
Notta mechanic... But my oil pressure will start out at 40 then after it warms it`ll run steady at 12 until I let off the throttle then climd up to 20-24... I`m thinking cam journals aremy problem, but not alarmed as long as it`s running with some oil pressure... You know,(?) 4 pounds of pressure will lube everything that needs lube...
this happens about 1to2 mts after i start it . i still have 20 psi after it warms up. just didn't want to burn up the motor. this is the first time the beast did this and it had me worried! talked to a few people and they said it might be a plugged oil filter.
20 psi at idle is about average My 460 Truck starts at 60 PSI and after she warms up and I drive her its steady at 20. My 5.0 Mustang starts about 50 and ends up at 20 steady.
You need 10 pounds of pressure for each 1000 RPM. keep in mind that dash oil pressure gages are notoriously unreliable. Add to that the fact that a small piece of debris (like a piece of teflon tape) getting into it renders it worthless. I recommend testing it with a block oil pressure tester. You can rent one real cheap from a parts house.
I'm not sure where the aftermarket oil pressure gauge in mine is hooked in, but I have about 20 at idle and run around 30-45 at 75mph on the highway. If you're concerned I would go with ribald's suggestion of getting a pressure tester to make sure it's all okay.
All these oil pressure numbers reported above seem a bit low to me; I have a 302 here with about 8k miles since rebuild, hot idle is about 35psi, hot run is 60psi. This is the 2nd mechanical gauge I've had that read it the same, so I figure the numbers are OK. Running 15-40 Rotella oil.
Me too my 351m on cold start is 80 psi and thats with 2 different gauges not stock either and warmed up about 35-40psi but i have some engine work done as well.
First thing, check with a mechanical guage. Any deviation from normal is reason for concern. Then report back.
I do know it depends on where the gauge is getting it's reading from. I'm sure there are plenty of other factors as well, such as type of oil (I generally run 10w-30).
this is with a mech.gauge and is comming right off the eng where it comes out of the block.running 10w40 castrol .thats all i run. i run 20w50 in my javelin.
