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Oil pressure higher than normal

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Old Mar 18, 2018 | 07:18 PM
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Default Oil pressure higher than normal

I think I'm fine here, but thought I'd ask anyway. Seems reading of 50 is normal for oil pressure at idle based on searches I've done. My 2004 used to be at 40 at startup and idle on a regular basis and only raised when accelerating.

I just changed the oil today after winter storage and when I started it up the oil pressure was sitting at 50 at idle. The car was cold so maybe normal and I'd never noticed before. I let it run for about 5 minutes and engine temp came up about half way to 220 degrees, the oil pressure had dropped to 47.

Thought maybe I overfilled the oil, but checked the dipstick (after I shutoff the car and oil had chance to drain back down). and it was right in the crosshatch section.

Also checked the DIC reading with car off and key turned to on. Display said 2 psi and gauge looked similar.

I changed the oil pressure sending unit just last summer sometime as preventative maintainence when putting in a new check valve.

So everything seems to check out, but just a bit higher than I'm used to. Is this anything to be concerned about? Just wanted peace of mind. Any thoughts on why it is higher than before?
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Old Mar 18, 2018 | 08:02 PM
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same oil and filter that you normally use?... you should be looking at the oil temp though and not the coolant temp... the cooler the oil temp the thicker it will be which causes higher pressure so if the oil was still cold this could be the reason
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Old Mar 18, 2018 | 08:18 PM
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Originally Posted by imgn tht
I think I'm fine here, but thought I'd ask anyway. Seems reading of 50 is normal for oil pressure at idle based on searches I've done. My 2004 used to be at 40 at startup and idle on a regular basis and only raised when accelerating.

I just changed the oil today after winter storage and when I started it up the oil pressure was sitting at 50 at idle. The car was cold so maybe normal and I'd never noticed before. I let it run for about 5 minutes and engine temp came up about half way to 220 degrees, the oil pressure had dropped to 47.

Thought maybe I overfilled the oil, but checked the dipstick (after I shutoff the car and oil had chance to drain back down). and it was right in the crosshatch section.

Also checked the DIC reading with car off and key turned to on. Display said 2 psi and gauge looked similar.

I changed the oil pressure sending unit just last summer sometime as preventative maintainence when putting in a new check valve.

So everything seems to check out, but just a bit higher than I'm used to. Is this anything to be concerned about? Just wanted peace of mind. Any thoughts on why it is higher than before?
why would you think thats high? can't get any better then that.its when it gets low then you have problems.
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Old Mar 18, 2018 | 08:28 PM
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Originally Posted by neutron82
same oil and filter that you normally use?... you should be looking at the oil temp though and not the coolant temp... the cooler the oil temp the thicker it will be which causes higher pressure so if the oil was still cold this could be the reason
Yes Mobil 1 full syn 5w-30 and wix filter. Oil probably was cold, it was sitting in detached garage the last few days with highs in the 40's during the day. I'll check oil temp. Thank you.
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Old Mar 18, 2018 | 08:30 PM
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you probably have nothing to be worried about
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Old Mar 18, 2018 | 08:30 PM
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Originally Posted by leo12
why would you think thats high? can't get any better then that.its when it gets low then you have problems.
I felt it was high as it was higher than I've been accustomed to since getting it 5 years ago. Too high is also damaging to an engine per the owners manual and numerous other articles/posts I read prior to posting.
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Old Mar 19, 2018 | 11:42 AM
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Check oil temp most importantly as well. At cold idle (45-70) in park I sit at 50-52 PSI and when the oil is over 200 degrees I drop to 19-20psi at 550 RPMs.
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Old Mar 19, 2018 | 12:32 PM
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Wow, I've never seen 19-20 psi at any temp.

Drove it to work today (1st day out this year). Only a 5 mile commute, but oil temp got up to 160 by the time I got to the office. Psi was in the lower 40's so I think just overreacted initially yesterday. Learned something new though regarding oil temp relative to pressure.
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Old Jun 22, 2019 | 01:11 PM
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Originally Posted by imgn tht
Wow, I've never seen 19-20 psi at any temp.

Drove it to work today (1st day out this year). Only a 5 mile commute, but oil temp got up to 160 by the time I got to the office. Psi was in the lower 40's so I think just overreacted initially yesterday. Learned something new though regarding oil temp relative to pressure.
When I used mobil1 and a mobil1 filter it dropped to 13 psi on a very hot day and temp at 220. I stopped using mobil1 after that.
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