how to raise idle oil pressure

[Crazyx4]

new engine build.016 stage 2. stock style oilling. have well over 90psi cold but drops to around 15psi at ilde. can i put more spring pressure on the relief and get more psi at idle? engine has around 100 miles on it. scared that something bad will happen with just 15psi at idle? will raise with rpm's to around 75psi in neutral at 3000rpm. changed oil after start up. going to change oil again in at few more miles.can i put synthetic oil this early or should i wait. using 5w-30 mobil now.

 

[mikestertwo]

That pressure sounds about typical with the oil you are using with a stock pump at hot idle. Changing the spring will not change your idle pressure. It will only change your maximum pressure. You don't have a problem. What bearing clearances do you have on your rods and mains?

 

[turbo nasty]

What was the end play on the pump setup at? Also, 5w30 is to thin IMO

 

[Crazyx4]

i had the engine built, i don't know the the exact # but it has stock size bearings on both.what weight should i use?10w-40?

 

[turbo nasty]

Start there.

 

[Dusty Bradford]

The engine only needs 10psi of oil pressure for every 1000 rpm. The idle pressure is set by bearing clearances and how well the oil pump and it's associated ports are flowing. Idling hot at 15psi isn't bad with 5w30. You may see close to 20psi with 10w40

The heavier oil will help. 5w30 is thin.

 

[SS/GN]

Why synthetic 5/w30 on a new build???Was it recommended??Just curious

Kevin

 

[turbofabricator]

I recently finished a StageII on-center with the TA External feed pump cover on a blueprinted stock 4.1 timing cover. I machined the pump cover surface squared to the pump well (which is usually a couple of thou off.). enlarged and radiused all the passages. The TA pump cover was the high volume version. At idle it would PEG the oil pressure gauge. (125psi) I removed the -6 return hose and replaced it temporarily with a -8 into the valve cover. In about 15 seconds it would FILL the valvecover and overflow out the top. (TA heads have poor oil return passages) The engine has .0022" rod and main clearance (give or take a tenth) .060" lifter feed holes (bushed bores) Radiused oil passages in the block. Restricted cam bearing feeds. (drilled new .060" holes and clocked the bearings.) THe issue was the bypass circuit in the pump cover required the bypass valve to move .50" before it would open the passage. I completely removed the spring and it would still make 25 psi at idle. I ended up adding a radius from the valve seat to the outlet passage and machining an annular groove around the outside of the valve. I also added a .005" shim to increase gear thrust from .001" to .006". Now it works perfectly. TA has corrected this issue. Made a HELL of a mess when it blew the o-ring out of the filter. Control oil hemmoraging and your idle oil pressure will be 40. Hard to do now, though. It takes alot of time to correct all the issues machined by GM. More info: http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/general-turbo-buick-tech/350143-finally-runs.html

 

[bison]

You can't increase idle pressure without increasing it everywhere else easily. You have plenty of oil pressure. 12psi/1000 under load is plenty. More is not better. If you think it is you can get an oil heater and run 60w oil. You will have plenty of pressure. Probably twice as much as you have now. You will need to heat the oil before starting the engine.

 

[gnpoweredrail]

^^^ Why heat the oil?? I unerstand the thickness but do you think It could cause harm??

I run Valvoline VR1.I run 4quarts 20-50w and 2.5 quarts 50 or 60 to get my desired hot oil pressure....Do you think I am hurting it when cold??Mind you the tires do not roll untill my fan cycles at least once.

 

[Ttype6]

new engine build.016 stage 2. stock style oilling. have well over 90psi cold but drops to around 15psi at ilde. can i put more spring pressure on the relief and get more psi at idle? engine has around 100 miles on it. scared that something bad will happen with just 15psi at idle? will raise with rpm's to around 75psi in neutral at 3000rpm. changed oil after start up. going to change oil again in at few more miles.can i put synthetic oil this early or should i wait. using 5w-30 mobil now.

If you have over 90 PSI at start up,I suspect your pressure regulator valve is sticking. The only way to raise idle pressure,that I know of,is with a Kenne-Bell oil booster plate. No other brand of plate will do this. I used 5w-30 for 18 years until recently when I started using Brad-Pen. Their thinnest oil is 10w-30 so this is the thickest oil that's ever been in my motor. There's nothing wrong with your pressure. I suggest you do nothing different unless you want to run thicker oil,10w-30. I say the Idle pressure at temp will be the same.

 

[bison]

^^^ Why heat the oil?? I unerstand the thickness but do you think It could cause harm??

I run Valvoline VR1.I run 4quarts 20-50w and 2.5 quarts 50 or 60 to get my desired hot oil pressure....Do you think I am hurting it when cold??Mind you the tires do not roll untill my fan cycles at least once.

When you run a high viscosity oil like that you will have a big delay in pressure on start up and when it does purge the system the pressure will be very high and you will start putting huge loads on everything. Ive been running 10-40 in both my cars since its been dropping into the 20's and the gauge is pinned at 90psi till the oil gets warm. You are in a warmer climate than me but id still be a little concerned about that cold start with those oils. 15-40 in the summer is no problem here but below 50* its like pumping molasses.

 

[tta983]

I have 20 psi at hot idle using 30w Valvoline VR1 here in Florida. I am sure a lot of places you could not use the straight 30w.

 

[gnpoweredrail]

When you run a high viscosity oil like that you will have a big delay in pressure on start up and when it does purge the system the pressure will be very high and you will start putting huge loads on everything. Ive been running 10-40 in both my cars since its been dropping into the 20's and the gauge is pinned at 90psi till the oil gets warm. You are in a warmer climate than me but id still be a little concerned about that cold start with those oils. 15-40 in the summer is no problem here but below 50* its like pumping molasses.

okay thats everything I already knew but thank you.
I just didnt know if there was something specific.

Maybe I'll get a heater just to be safe.

 

[750H.P.V6]

Your oil pressure is fine. I wouldn't worry about it myself. 15-20 psi at a hot idle is where you want it to be.

Neal

 

[turboj91]

I agree with the others that the idle pressure is fine. I also like a multi viscosity oil where the cold number is as low as possible. In my DD I run a 0W-30. The 0 weight flows faster than a 5 or 10 at initial start up. The faster the oil gets to the top the better. As the oil temp increases, the viscosity changes and it becomes a 30 weight when up to operating temp. A 0w-30, a 5w-30 and a 10w-30 all become 30 wieght at operating temp. The difference is in the cold flow. For me, the faster the better.

 

[Crazyx4]

my seal on the exhaust side of the turbo started leaking(bad)thought the thing had went south but just the turbo. just had it redone and only has the 100 miles on it.will send it off to be fixed. i would think that is where i'm losing the oil pressure? i'm using a #10an return hose i think that is the correct size that it should be? thanks for all the help. synthenic oil was not recommended but i wanted to know at what mileage that i could start using syn. oil?