97 1fzfe hot oil pressure

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pavell

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See my oil pressure gauge on my 1997 Land cruiser 1fzfe with 194,000 miles.

It gets pretty low like this only after 40 minute drive and it’s idling at about 500 RPM.

I just bought this car about a month ago and I’m using 5W-30 factory fill. I thought the issue may be that I was losing quite a bit of oil through leaks, but I had the oil pump gasket distributor gasket and crank gasket all redone now no more leaks. But I’m still getting this lower pressure hot idle only.

I’ve got another electronic secondary oil pressure gauge on the way that I’m going to T in to verify actual psi. In the meantime tomorrow, going to drop in 15 W 40 and see if things improve. Any thoughts ? Should the idle be dropping this low at hot idle ?

Edit : I’m using an oem Toyota filter
 
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That does seem low, but you're right to verify with another gauge. The stock ones are known to be inaccurate and vary from one to another. Let us know what actual readings are
 
Pretty common on these. No need to worry 😉
It has almost 200k IMO you need to run higher viscosity oil.
I had the same issue and started running 20/50 high mileage oil problem gone. I’m at 270k original motor.
 
Looks fine to me. What's more important is what the pressure is at operating rpm. 1000? 2500?
 
Your engine is idling at ~625rpms (normal).

That oil pressure needle position seems about the same as most people see with 5W-30, engine warm and idling. IIRC the FSM says ~5psi at idle (?? 4.3 or higher at idle, 36-71 at higher rpms). So IME at highway speeds the needle should be somewhere at/above the middle/horizontal position but not
as high as the top line.

More important is using a good oil filter, Toyota is probably the safest, Mobil 1 Oil filters are known to be reliable IME. Never use a "white box" filter from
the quickie lube shop.

Watch for a sudden extreme change in the needle ie: no pressure or the needle pegged to the top ie: a needle position totally different than what you normally see. It will change a bit depending the viscosity of the oil you're using, oil temperature, and extreme changes in outdoor temps (ie: below freezing versus desert temps).

Point is, don't stress on small changes in the needle position.

@pavell : how much oil is your engine using ie: one quart every 5000 miles or ??
 
Yes I am using an oem Toyota filter. I don’t know if it’s consuming any oil as I just changed it about 200 miles ago. (I’ve only owned it a month).

At highway speed and under load the oil pressure seems fine. Increases with rpm as it should.
 
Okay, simple question: did you check the oil level today? If its at Full when warmed up, that does seem low compared to mine, but these aren't calibrated gauges, anyway.

Thicker viscosity oil will raise the needle position,but more importantly I'd want to be sure that the engine is getting good lubrication over best fuel economy - which is what the under hood sticker recommends.
 
What does the gauge show on a cold start?
The only way to put your mind at ease is by installing a mechanical unit in there and measuring that way.
You can also try removing the sender and cleaning the internals of it with throttle body / carb cleaner and see if it makes a difference.
they do get a buildup of old oil etc on the contacts plus remember its a 28 year old sender if original.

idle of 650 rpm +/-50rpm when hot is normal
 
LongDuck said:
Okay, simple question: did you check the oil level today? If its at Full when warmed up, that does seem low compared to mine, but these aren't calibrated gauges, anyway.
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Engine oil level has little to do with engine oil pressure unless you're so low that the pump is cavitating. Then you have other issues.
 
jonheld said:
Engine oil level has little to do with engine oil pressure unless you're so low that the pump is cavitating. Then you have other issues.
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So, you're agreeing with me that a seriously low oil level would result in low oil pressure, right?

Hence why I asked specifically if the oil level was adequate - as he didn't mention checking the level recently other than he changed it 200 miles ago. Just trying to cover all the bases, man.
 
LongDuck said:
So, you're agreeing with me that a seriously low oil level would result in low oil pressure, right?

Hence why I asked specifically if the oil level was adequate - as he didn't mention checking the level recently other than he changed it 200 miles ago. Just trying to cover all the bases, man.
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The oil sump on a 1FZ holds 8 quarts, is well baffled, and the pick up sits very low. You could be 4 quarts low and the oil pressure would not change.
 
jonheld said:
The oil sump on a 1FZ holds 8 quarts, is well baffled, and the pick up sits very low. You could be 4 quarts low and the oil pressure would not change.
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I bet the oil level could be even lower, perhaps down to 2-3 qts and pressure would not change.
 
LongDuck said:
So, you're agreeing with me that a seriously low oil level would result in low oil pressure, right?

Hence why I asked specifically if the oil level was adequate - as he didn't mention checking the level recently other than he changed it 200 miles ago. Just trying to cover all the bases, man.
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fjbj40 said:
For reference

View attachment 4012308

View attachment 4012309
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wow! How many miles do you have on the engine ? Looks like a lot of pressure for hot idle . Is this normal ?
 
pavell said:
wow! How many miles do you have on the engine ? Looks like a lot of pressure for hot idle . Is this normal ?
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308,000 miles, I’ve owned this 93 80 since 287,000 miles
 
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