dsommer Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 Well Sh*t... 5lbs at idle revs make it go no higher than 25. Confirmed with mechanical and electrical guages. Running Straight 30W. Ordered new oil pump and oil pan from Midwest motorsprots (Claimer pan) Good note got new exhaust in and it's badd ass IMHO. Pic of it later. ds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted March 22, 2003 Share Posted March 22, 2003 Well how high do you think it should be? I think normal on a SBC is like 40-45lbs at the bottom of the engine and it gets lower as you go to the top when it is running some RPM's. Is this a fresh rebuild? If so the reason you might have such low oil pressure is because your rod and main bearing clearances are too high! Also are you sure you dont have a high volume pump? Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsommer Posted March 23, 2003 Author Share Posted March 23, 2003 Fresh rebuild, I feel the oil pressure should be at least 30 psi at idle 20 at a min? Read grumpys old post lots-o-knowledge... Dropped the pan this evening, pulled the pump and took it apart, nothing seems out of the ordinary. I'm installing the new parts when they get here, if the OP is not higher then engine out, tear down for full inspection. I didn't build a $$$ engine just to gernade it due to an oversight. ds I'll keep ya'll posted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyvette Posted March 23, 2003 Share Posted March 23, 2003 if your oil pressure is less than 10 psi per thousand rpm you have a problem that MUST BE FOUND AND FIXED, PRESSURE IS THE MEASURE OF RESISTANCE TO THE OILS ABILITY TO FLOW IF YOUR OIL PRESSURE is at only 5LBs at IDLE your clearances someplace in your engine must have opened up reducing the restriction to oil flow if you continue to run the engine at that low level of oil pressure it becomes only a matter of time before some part in your engine is starved for oil that cools and forms a barrier between the moving metal parts. now if you pull the engine down and find that reason the pressure dropped BEFORE the engine fails you may only need to replace the deffective parts MOST LIKELY THE ROD, CAM OR MAIN BEARINGS, but don,t overlook the oil gallery plugs and lifter bores as possiable sources of a leak BTW one of the most common reasons for a sudden drop in oil pressure is due to a rocker or push rod failing allowing the cam lobe to flip a lifter out of its lifter bore, a single lifter thrown out of its bore will have the effect of dropping your oil pressure drastically, if its a new rebuilt engine you might have forgotten these plugs like greimann poined out in the other post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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