High Oil Pressure
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Jul 2021
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: Powder Springs, GA
High Oil Pressure
I'm new to this forum and a new owner of a C5 Z06. I bought the car for $3500.00 with a valve lodged in the no. 7 piston with a snapped piston rod and destroyed block. The car is low mileage and the previous owner had a low IQ with a fat wallet. I hadn't built a Chevy, but thought I would give this a try. Aside from the challenges of pulling the LS6 out of the car in my garage without a lift and getting it back in, I enjoyed the whole process. I learned a lot from people on this forum and You Tube. I went crazy on the build, and finished on 4th of July weekend. Everything went fine at fire up, sounded like a top fuel dragster. I was totally blown away. On my first drive out I noticed the oil pressure was a little high compared to the basic 10psi per 1000rpm folks seem to talk about. After only 14 miles I had a massive oil leak, smoke everywhere. Soaked the engine compartment along the firewall, saturated the wrap on my long tubes, etc. I got the car home and found that the oil pressure gauge sending unit failed allowing oil to pass through the plug connection. The sending unit was new as was everything else on the engine. I notice the new one I put on was made out of a lightweight silver material (and from China). The one I replaced was brass.
My question has to do with oil pressure. Everything has been replaced, car is up and running. Cold idle yields 50psi, slightly tap the pedal and it jumps to 70psi. Hot idle yields 40psi, slightly tap the pedal and jumps to 60+psi. Is this normal? I'm afraid of pushing it, don't want to have another sensor fail and cause another mess. Valve train is very noisy as well. Sounds like this may normal.
My question has to do with oil pressure. Everything has been replaced, car is up and running. Cold idle yields 50psi, slightly tap the pedal and it jumps to 70psi. Hot idle yields 40psi, slightly tap the pedal and jumps to 60+psi. Is this normal? I'm afraid of pushing it, don't want to have another sensor fail and cause another mess. Valve train is very noisy as well. Sounds like this may normal.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 6,004
Likes: 723
I'm new to this forum and a new owner of a C5 Z06. I bought the car for $3500.00 with a valve lodged in the no. 7 piston with a snapped piston rod and destroyed block. The car is low mileage and the previous owner had a low IQ with a fat wallet. I hadn't built a Chevy, but thought I would give this a try. Aside from the challenges of pulling the LS6 out of the car in my garage without a lift and getting it back in, I enjoyed the whole process. I learned a lot from people on this forum and You Tube. I went crazy on the build, and finished on 4th of July weekend. Everything went fine at fire up, sounded like a top fuel dragster. I was totally blown away. On my first drive out I noticed the oil pressure was a little high compared to the basic 10psi per 1000rpm folks seem to talk about. After only 14 miles I had a massive oil leak, smoke everywhere. Soaked the engine compartment along the firewall, saturated the wrap on my long tubes, etc. I got the car home and found that the oil pressure gauge sending unit failed allowing oil to pass through the plug connection. The sending unit was new as was everything else on the engine. I notice the new one I put on was made out of a lightweight silver material (and from China). The one I replaced was brass.
My question has to do with oil pressure. Everything has been replaced, car is up and running. Cold idle yields 50psi, slightly tap the pedal and it jumps to 70psi. Hot idle yields 40psi, slightly tap the pedal and jumps to 60+psi. Is this normal? I'm afraid of pushing it, don't want to have another sensor fail and cause another mess. Valve train is very noisy as well. Sounds like this may normal.
My question has to do with oil pressure. Everything has been replaced, car is up and running. Cold idle yields 50psi, slightly tap the pedal and it jumps to 70psi. Hot idle yields 40psi, slightly tap the pedal and jumps to 60+psi. Is this normal? I'm afraid of pushing it, don't want to have another sensor fail and cause another mess. Valve train is very noisy as well. Sounds like this may normal.
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Jul 2021
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: Powder Springs, GA
I do have a high flow unit. I have developed a system to regulate the oil pressure, I'm getting ready to install. When I was putting everything back together I installed sensor relocation kit to get the sensor out from under the cowl. Very similar to the Hinson unit I installed for the clutch actuator. I used some extra Nitrous stainless hoses I had and fittings to install an Earls ball valve in line from a "T" i put into the sensor relocation kit and am running it back to a modified Oil Fill Cap. This way I can adjust the oil pressure down a bit and return the oil back into the engine. Too much??
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,803
Likes: 357
From: Northville, MI
On a fresh engine build you will see higher oil pressures and after several thousand miles is will go a little lower. Cruising down the road at 1500 rpms is you have 40-45 oil pressure it is OK it is 60-70 it is too high. I had a LS engine is a 2001 Yukon and it ran about 45-50 on the highway, in my 2000 Corvette it is about 35-40.
