very high oil pressure at idle

[karolko]

so here is my issue:
i live in cold canada and during the winters, i store the gn in the garage. it is unheated, but sometimes i start it jsut ot move it around. now, when i do so the oil pressure on start up is 99-100 psi. wtf???

it has 10w40 in it from the previous owner,

this is way too much at start up isnt it?

is this mainly due to the viscosity of oil and the cold temp. or is it telling me there is something bad going on???

Help.

 

[Boost231]

so here is my issue:
i live in cold canada and during the winters, i store the gn in the garage. it is unheated, but sometimes i start it jsut ot move it around. now, when i do so the oil pressure on start up is 99-100 psi. wtf???

it has 10w40 in it from the previous owner,

this is way too much at start up isnt it?

is this mainly due to the viscosity of oil and the cold temp. or is it telling me there is something bad going on???

Help.

i have seen this before. my buddies car at cold idle his will peg a 100psi oil pressure gauge. he has been running it this way for years with no problems.

 

[turbot990]

big oil presure

i have seen this before. my buddies car at cold idle his will peg a 100psi oil pressure gauge. he has been running it this way for years with no problems.

im with that 90 100 is ok cold and hot at wide open thotttle ive seen 6000 rpm 95 to 100 and still going strong

 

[blown okie]

better a little high than low imo

 

[Boost231]

better a little high than low imo

+1

 

[karolko]

really? so what psi do normal gn's idle at?

you say 90 psi is just a little high huh?


okay. then i have no worries i guess.

 

[FreeBoost]

It probably has a high pressure kit - Kenne Belle sold them years ago. I got the high pressure & high flow kits on mine. Mine hits 90-100 psi cold - drops to 20-25 psi warm (I'm a Canuck too) shouldn't hurt but I wouldn't push the car when cold.

Look for a plate between the the oil filter adapter and the water pump/engine front cover.

 

[bison]

Having it that high would be a concern if the oil was cold and the engine was revved. It could burst the oil filter. It will also accelerate cam sensor bushing wear and add a lot of load to the cam thrust. Id switch to a 0W oil for Canada's climate. I have 15 psi hot idle and about 80 psi at 6000 rpm when hot. More than enough. Ive never ran a high volume pump and never had a problem with oil pressure and bearings. Mine will hit 100 psi at about 3000 rpm when with the engine cold under 40 degrees with 10W-30. I dont hammer it till the oil pressure is down to about 50 psi at 2000 rpm.

 

[turbot990]

just put alittle more

i put 1 more quart oil my self pf 52 ac delco filter works great

 

[A2000RICH]

Having it that high would be a concern if the oil was cold and the engine was revved. It could burst the oil filter. It will also accelerate cam sensor bushing wear and add a lot of load to the cam thrust. Id switch to a 0W oil for Canada's climate. I have 15 psi hot idle and about 80 psi at 6000 rpm when hot. More than enough. Ive never ran a high volume pump and never had a problem with oil pressure and bearings. Mine will hit 100 psi at about 3000 rpm when with the engine cold under 40 degrees with 10W-30. I dont hammer it till the oil pressure is down to about 50 psi at 2000 rpm.

i agree with this totally--------i a have seen it happen not in a TR but in a Ferrari--------i didn't notice that the ferrari spec filter had a really thick oil filter canister and bought a "functional fit" replacement from an auto parts store---------split at the crimp and made a real mess--------fortunately it wasn't on the road at speed-------turned it off immediately and all seemed ok----------the GM manual says that 5w-30 is good for really cold temps and if its really super cold 0w-?? couldn't hurt----------this kind of circumstance is where synthetic really steps up to the plate and does what it does best-- ie temperature extremes---------remember the excess pressure is due to one thing and one thing only--------the pump is a positive displacement design so excessive pressure means that the actual flow of oil through the engine has been significantly reduced---------think about what that means...............RC

 

[TURBOELKY]

most wish they had half that pressure

 

[karolko]

a2000rich,

when you say that the pump is postive displacement? what do you mean by this,.

reduced flow means less lubrication, and that is what i am worried about. i cannot afford to wear out the engine just because i live in canada and it is colder than hell out here.

should i just dump out the 10w40 and put in 5w30 or 10w30?

 

[A2000RICH]

a2000rich,

when you say that the pump is postive displacement? what do you mean by this,.

reduced flow means less lubrication, and that is what i am worried about. i cannot afford to wear out the engine just because i live in canada and it is colder than hell out here.

should i just dump out the 10w40 and put in 5w30 or 10w30?

positive displacement means that for every revolution of the pump a definite volume is displaced (except for losses)---------since the thicker oil resists flowing more it creates higher back pressure--------this means less oil is flowing to protect the engine---------i'd immediately go to a more winter "friendly" oil till warmer weather arrives....................RC

 

[karolko]

so the excess pressure is actually being built up before the pump? is that correct?

 

[ChavoLC2]

oil pres.

When using Brad Penn green 20-50wt. oil used in the engine when started the gauge would hit 100 sit there till car warmed up then it would walk it's way down to 40 at operating temp.. If temp outside was in the mid-high 90's and engine coolant temp 160-190 or above the idle oil pressure would be 22-25psi. Any thinner/lighter oil vescosity like 5w30 or 10w30 idle oil could be as low as 18-20psi in the heat. Even with the lower wt oils pressure immeadiatley went to 80-100psi on start up.

 

[Jerryl]

Maybe (just maybe), the pressure relief spring is too high (??) or .....
The gauge is off (???)

 

[turbot990]

oil pressure

what color is your spring

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Nope..

so the excess pressure is actually being built up before the pump? is that correct?

pressure is the result of flow restriction from the pump outlet, on thru the engine...

 

[Lee Thompson]

and

pressure is the result of flow restriction from the pump outlet, on thru the engine...

Bearing clearance is a controlled oil leak--tighter clearance = higher pressure.
I'd rather see 100 on cold start rather than 60.
This is all beside the point. What does it have once HOT--not water hot but eng. oil hot. Eng. oil take much longer to get up to operating temp. than does water.

 

[ARL]

High oil Pressure

so here is my issue:
i live in cold canada and during the winters, i store the gn in the garage. it is unheated, but sometimes i start it jsut ot move it around. now, when i do so the oil pressure on start up is 99-100 psi. wtf???

it has 10w40 in it from the previous owner,

this is way too much at start up isnt it?

is this mainly due to the viscosity of oil and the cold temp. or is it telling me there is something bad going on???

Help.

Mine also does the same, pegs out when the car is cold, due to a high volume oil pump. When my car warms up it usually stays around 40 lbs.