C6 Tech/Performance LS2, LS3, LS7, LS9 Corvette Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine, Tech Topics, Basic Tech, Maintenance, How to Remove & Replace
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

looking for help, oil pressure issues

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old May 24, 2018 | 02:49 PM
  #1  
Judge387's Avatar
Judge387
Thread Starter
Advanced
 
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 76
Likes: 16
From: Chicago IL
Default looking for help, oil pressure issues

Hi everyone. Ill try to make this as short as possible. Last summer i blew the engine in my 07 base. I picked up a 6.0 iron short block, never ran, forged internals... Again keeping this as short as possible and skipping many details.... Got it all together only reusing my old cyl heads but had them cleaned up and inspected. Fired up and ran it for a few hours in the garage, got it hot enough to burp the cooling system ect. Brought it to the shop to get tuned because i did change the cam and put a smaller pulley on the supercharger ect. I was there watching the car get tuned, the guy was just doing small rips making adjustments in small increments. (very impressed how much care he was taking of the car) Then he shuts the car off and explains to me the oil pressure is slowly falling, at idle i was down to 10 psi. I had a 10w30 dyno in there for brake in. we pull the car off the dyno and he checks it again after the car was cooled back down. Oil was in the low 20s He recommends putting in a thicker oil something in the 40 weight range. So i give the approval for that. They fire the car up. oil pressure in the high 20s almost 30 at idle, they let it idle to get hot., oil psi is holding around 25 psi. They get it back on the dyno and as the car gets up to temp again and he said oil pressure is falling.



Any ideas on where to start????? i have video of the car idling in my garage coolant temp around 200 deg. F and oil pressure is a touch above 40 psi.

That was before i installed the oil cooler..... The oil cooler was the last thing i did. I do not know what oil pressure was after the oil cooler though.... I know it was still good. But i dont know if it dropped at all after installing that. i did devolpe a small oil leak from the rear of the engine (starts dripping to the ground after a few min) thinking its the rear main but not sure.... I dont know if the oil cooler has anything to do with this or just poor timing.... Do you think the oil cooler can cause my oil pressure issues???? or should i be looking somewhere else?

Any ideas on where to start would be appreciated.

Last edited by Judge387; May 24, 2018 at 05:41 PM.
Reply
Old May 25, 2018 | 01:42 PM
  #2  
g23crawler's Avatar
g23crawler
Burning Brakes
 
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 951
Likes: 42
From: Lincoln Ne
Default

Not to be that guy but make sure you actually have enough oil in it.
Ls cam bearings are pretty tough, did you make sure to lube the cam well and not nick a bearing? Sounds stupid but I struggled with low oil pressure for months and all it was, was loose valley cover bolts.
Make sure the oil pick up tube isn't clogged and the o ring on the pump isn't pinched. Does the engine have new lifters? It could be a number of different things, do you know who built the engine? If they didn't use the correct size bearings you will never have good pressure.
Reply
Old May 27, 2018 | 10:56 AM
  #3  
Judge387's Avatar
Judge387
Thread Starter
Advanced
 
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 76
Likes: 16
From: Chicago IL
Default

Yea, the cam was lubed, and it went in pretty easily so I don’t think I anyof the cam bearings got damaged. The pick up tube o ring. I installed the green one, lubed it up and again went in no problem. Anything could happen, it could be pinched but I’m thinking it would be unlikely. I did install new lifters. Some of those were pretty snug getting fully seated down in the bores. I honestly don’t know much about the builder. I was given the shops info but can not find the paperwork to save my life, I was told it was built at stock clearances.... I am a little concerned about the barbell, if an o ring got pinched, the barbell o ring would be my guess, the barbell was pretty stubborn to get seated. I’m not exactly sure what the effects of a torn barbell o-ring would be though. I still haven’t picked the car back up from the shop, my schedule and their schedule have been clashing lately, but I’ll pick it up later this week and check pressure with a mechanical gauge. I’m really hoping that it’s just a cracked oil pressure sensor or something stupid. ( oil pressure issues, oil leak at rear of engine..... COME ON CRACKED OIL PRESSURE SENSOR!!! 🙏&#127995 But I think my plan of attack is check the sensor, check for anything stupid, check that external oil leak I have, if I can’t come up with some sort of answer I’m just going to pull the motor and send it off to the professionals.

Last edited by Judge387; May 27, 2018 at 11:00 AM.
Reply
Old Jun 7, 2018 | 07:27 PM
  #4  
Judge387's Avatar
Judge387
Thread Starter
Advanced
 
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 76
Likes: 16
From: Chicago IL
Default

Well unfortunately the sensor was reading correctly, no leaks around the sensor area. I pulled the engine out of the car. Verified that it was in fact the rear main seal that was leaking. Not nearly bad enough to cause my low oil pressure. I’ve been really doing a lot of research and I’m really starting to lean towards an issue with the cam bearings. I even called an engine builder in the area and told him I have a fresh rebuild and as it warms up oil pressure falls. His response was, that it sounds like you have to much play on the cam bearings. They do quite a few LS engines and they have seen it a few times. They have seen where “2nd design” bearings were used instead of “1st design”
I don’t know I’m hoping to get the engine torn down to a short block this weekend and inspect. What ever my issue is I’m really hoping it didn’t cause any serious damage
Reply

Get notified of new replies

To looking for help, oil pressure issues





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:23 AM.

story-0
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love

Slideshow: 10 ugly Corvettes that we still kinda love.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-06-03 10:34:17


VIEW MORE
story-1
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer

A lot of money has changed hands at the online auction house over the years.

By Brett Foote | 2026-06-03 10:21:50


VIEW MORE
story-2
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)

Slideshow: 10 great gifts Corvette enthusiasts actually want for Father's Day!

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-06-03 15:43:40


VIEW MORE
story-3
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems

Slideshow: These are the quirks, annoyances, and oddly lovable problems that every Corvette owner eventually learns to live with.

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-05-28 09:31:39


VIEW MORE
story-4
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years

Slideshow: 10 reasons why the C6 Z06 is still a performance benchmark after 20 years.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-27 17:20:09


VIEW MORE
story-5
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972

Slideshow: How much horsepower every Corvette engine lost in 1972.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-27 16:54:53


VIEW MORE
story-6
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

Slideshow: How to Protect A Convertible Top: 10 DOs & DON'Ts

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-03 00:00:00


VIEW MORE
story-7
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

Slideshow: The 10 most explosive Corvettes ever built based on power-to-weight ratio.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-20 07:23:03


VIEW MORE
story-8
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

Slideshow: From C1 to C8 we compare every Corvette generation by the numbers.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 16:54:12


VIEW MORE
story-9
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

Slideshow: Some Corvette pace cars became collectible legends, while others perfectly captured the look and attitude of their era.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-11 09:50:51


VIEW MORE