GlockLT4

Ok, so as you all know, my oil pressure was low before I had to rebuild my engine... well, I'm wondering if there isn't something wrong with my oil pressure sending unit, because at a hot idle, it is still showing right below the first marker (which is somewhere around 15psi). Now keep in mind, that I'm running dino oil and it gets thinner at higher temps. Cold idle is 40-55psi.. and any throttle above idle when hot it jumps up to 40psi immediately and higher with more rpms. Also keep in mind that this engine was built with race clearances already done to it ...

Anyone know how much these thing run?


[Modified by Glock'94, 8:17 PM 1/26/2002]

LPDesRoche

Well those sending units do wear out often. You may want a new one just for peace of mind. I know when I did the 383 in the 90 the sending unit died shortly after. So did the one on my buddies 94 LT1 383.

GlockLT4

What was the cost of it?

R23HTC

I thought you had gotten replacements for all your sensors?

GlockLT4

Not all of them .. but most.

JAKE

What weight oil are you running?

What bearing clearances are we talking about?

". . .right below the first marker" is a pretty vague way of determining oil pressure. If you're really concerned, and I believe you are, you need to install an accurate gauge (if only temporarily) to really be able to get a handle on this.

I put up a post (much too long) on the Thirdgen.org TPI board a couple of days ago about my take on oil pressure. Those guys have the same concerns as you. You might want to take a look.

Jake





[Modified by JAKE, 9:58 PM 1/27/2002]

GlockLT4

Thanks Jake, I'll go take a look over at the thrid gen site. I think my builder put in 5w30 .. might have been 10w30 (dino .. not sythetic for break in purposes)

Rick Williams

You can mount a mechanical guage to the block and measure the accurate pressure.

Timmy!

I wound up breaking mine off when I was pulling the motor. I got a genu-swine GM one for like $25 maybe? It's important to get a good sensor for this, the local auto parts store's version just ain't gonna cut it.

GlockLT4

Ok, cool. If it's $25, I'll just go buy a new one. I'm sure a mechanical one is going to be around $20, and if it shows that the pressure is right, i STILL have to buy a new sensor.. so i'll get the GM too.. :)

GlockLT4

I picked up a new oil pressure sending unit today for $22 at AutoZone. If this doesn't correct the reading, I wonder if I can clean it up completely and say i didn't use it and still be able to return it. I've been able to do that on quite a few things at AutoZone (because they don't fix my problem).