How low is too low? Oil Pressure that is...

fawcett

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Yeah this happens to me every friggin time. Something breaks.
I just got her tuned, exhaust leak fixed, new Nitto Tires, Sparco Torino 2 seats/belts/brackets, new T/A Diff. Cover, Changed the oil (twice!)

I've got a serious problem. My Stock Oil Gauge is reading fairly low and I am scared. The needle is on the N in Normal (mostly on the furthest point to the left).

So I changed the oil and filter hoping that old oil was the problem. At first, I did four quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic 10w30 and one quart of Lucas Synthetic and a Mobil 1 filter. The pressure didnt change, it remained as stated above. That was on last sunday night.

So I havn't used my car since that night in hopes of something fixing itself. Today I did another oil change. The main reason was because I read about Bobistheoilguy.com's experiment on the Lucas crap. So I went with a straight 50weight-Valvoline synthetic. I also installed a battery hold down kit so that I would pass tech inspection at this weekends FFW.

No luck, pressure still seems low. The needle is on the N.
WTF do I do?
Please help me is there anything I can do to make sure my gauge isnt f-ing with me. I need to do something ASAP because IF I am going to FFW I need to make sure I dont kill my motor. I was really hoping for 12's.

Please Help! The thicker oil didnt help.
Am I doomed to have to have my pump replaced?
 

monkeydude3

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hold on man, those factory gauges are SHIAT


do you have any valve train noise? That is an instant indicator of low oil pressure.

I'd suggest hooking up an aftermarket mechanical oil pressure gauge to be sure.

How does the temp run?

My factory gauge acts weird sometimes but I have an aftermarket autometer oil pressure gauge. When warm, it's at about 17-18 psi idle and 50 psi 1500 rpm and up. Cold is super high but is not a good way to measure...
 
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fawcett

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The car runs fine I think when it comes to the temp. I have a fluidyne radiator which helps Im sure. Although if it idles for a while the car just radiates heat. It makes me wish that I spent the extra bucks and got a exhaust system that was ceramic coated. The temp gauge has been on the low side as well, almost similar to the oil pressure gauge although it does fluctuate.

I havn't noticed any valvetrane noise. What should I listen for-clicking metal? Im afraid that if I wait for too long the thing will get super hot and melt together. I cant afford that-I'd be out a car for the rest of the summer.

On a final note, when I poured 5 quarts of oil into my engine (each time) the dipstick never showed any oil. Only after I turned the engine over did the dipstick show oil. Im not joking, before turning the car on the dipstick would go in dry and come out dry-why is that?

I ended up adding an extra 1/2 quart of the 50w synthetic thinking "hey what the hell"
After driving it the oil really seemed to gum the engine down- maybe because I was babying it but it felt like it revved noticably slower.

So before all of this crap the oil pressure needle would always be pointing toward the middle. Now that its to the left I HATE LIFE.
What to do...
 
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fawcett

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Update: I made it to the event. it went fine but my car was slow (part of it was me too). All of my runs improved by 2tenths on each pass, so atleast I can say that I improved everytime. I also babied it because I was scared of blowing it up.

My rear end t/a cover was leaking (again for the 4th time). I talked to one of T/A's sales people, he told me that I shouldnt have used the felpro gasket that came with the kit. He said that they always leak and to just RTV it.
Looks like I get to smell that shit one more time.

I ran Street Ford, because I knew I was getting the hang of it with every pass I kept dropping my et by 2tenths. Unfortunatly on my last pass my clutch didnt want to grap and my burn out didnt happen which ended up hurting my 60ft-though I did get my best mph.

Shifting at just over 5k I got a best of 14.0@101mph. Not bad with straight 50w oil and short shifting.
The best part was that I made it home without calling AAA!
-fawcett
oh and if your wondering, my car and I have been much faster in the past with a string of 13.3'[email protected]. I couldnt figure out how to leave with my new tires-Nittos grip like a bastard I kept launching harder and my engine kept bogging because they gipped so well!
 

uncltrvlnmatt

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I don't put to much faith in electrical oil presure gauges and sensors. If you are worried about it put in a mechanical gauge. If you use the plastic tubing that comes with the gauge be very careful not to put it near anything that gets hot. I would recomend useing copper tubing for the oil line. You don't have to worry about it melting and it looks better.

After the gauge is in find out what the specs are supposed to be and check it that way.
 

95KBGT

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ok FIRST off, when you add oil, or do an oil change you always have to turn the engine on for 30 sec or so to get pressure up and get an accurate reading. 2nd off the stock oil guage is a piece of shit, they may have worked well in the 90's but not anymore. mine has always read slow with my KB and and i check the oil and its right at full. nothing to be worried about man
 

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