duh...

[XXXR]

I'm looking at my 1996 FJ80 oil gauge... seems to be up at the "H" range all the time. Checked my oil level, and it seems to be right on. My Toy truck varies from middle to 1/8 below the H.

AM I okay, or am I looking into a new head gasket if I rev too high? Should I lower my oil level?

Thanks!

 

[Doc]

You do know that the gauge in the dash is an oil pressure gauge and not an oil level gauge, right?

From your post it sounds like you are using the two interchangably.

 

[XXXR]

Too high level = higher pressure... goes hand in hand, hence over filling causing blown head gaskets and such. Wondering what your rigs look like on the freeway as far as pressure read is concerned.

 

[Darwood]

I'm looking at my 1996 FJ80 oil gauge... seems to be up at the "H" range all the time. Checked my oil level, and it seems to be right on. My Toy truck varies from middle to 1/8 below the H.

AM I okay, or am I looking into a new head gasket if I rev too high? Should I lower my oil level?

Thanks!

What oil are you using and what's the oil level look like on the dip stick?

 

[XXXR]

Castrol GTX 20/50 - levels just over the center on the grid...

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Too high level = higher pressure... goes hand in hand, hence over filling causing blown head gaskets and such. Wondering what your rigs look like on the freeway as far as pressure read is concerned.

Not true. Overfills do not cause high oil pressure, only a failed oil pump pressure relief valve will do this. Overfills are bad because the crank splashes in the oil causing increased drag, and foamin of the oil which decreases it's lubrication qualities.

 

[SOCALFJ]

My oil pressure gauge sits around 3/4 up the gauge while on the fwy.

10w 30

 

[XXXR]

My oil pressure gauge sits around 3/4 up the gauge while on the fwy.

Thanks.

I can see the logic of an oil pressure relieve valve failure and high pressure, however, I have seen two older motors (not FJ's, a 6 Toy and an 8 Ford) lose head gaskets due to overfill. Not sure if that's just a fluke, but I figure even IF a valve is able to release a large amount of oil before presure build up, it can't be good, well beyond the crank issue. My 2 cents. Thanks for the info guys. I'll triple check her tonight.

 

[-Spike-]

More oil does not equal more pressure. The oil pump pickup is submerged either way. There is no logical way having too much oil will cause overpressure, or even slightly higher pressure. I can easily see too much oil causing a head gasket failure though- mostly because of overheating due to the reasons expressed above by CruiserDrew.

-Spike

 

[Romer]

20/50W is not a great oil for these and will give you higher oil pressure and less oil at startup in the cold.

I would switch your oil to one of those recommended in the Oil FAQ in the 80/LX450 FAQ.

 

[Tentsontop]

I've read tons of posts here about the oil pressure guage consistantly reading high. My rig is on that list. The needle rises w/engine RPM. At highway speeds the needle on mine is just under the H. No big deal.

 

[psfpilot]

I've read tons of posts here about the oil pressure guage consistantly reading high. My rig is on that list. The needle rises w/engine RPM. At highway speeds the needle on mine is just under the H. No big deal.

For emprical purposes, would you mind posting the oil you use? For instance, if it's 0w-40 that would be more shocking than if it's 20w-50.

I'm using Shell Rotella T 5w-40 synthetic and at normal operating temperature it varies from two needles below the lower middle mark at ~650 rpm to around the higher middle mark at ~2000 rpm.

 

[e9999]

IIRC there is a pressure relief valve that limits the oil pressure the pump can generate. In my case, the level indicated at that point is one needle width above the next to upper line and it never goes above that, regardless of temp, oil viscosity etc.

 

[CreeperSleeper]

Mines consistantly low... suckie.

 

[MH_Stevens]

FIRST get a good reading and have the oil level at the top of the range. To do this park on the level one evening and REMOVE the dip stick. Put it on your drivers seat so you don't forget you did this. In the morning when all the oil has drained from the dip stick tube etc., take a reading. The range (full to low) is about one liter so prorate and fill to top. Use the recommended oil weight as per your manual.

Oil pressure gauges of the type in the 80, like the temp gauge mean very little. For a good reading connect your notebook or handheld to the OBDII with interpreting software loaded. At 55mph my gauge is about 75% of max but this really is meaningless.

 

[XXXR]

I am surprised that Castrol isn't on the top list. I'm a long time motorcyclist that ran some odd 30 bikes and just recently (8 years ago) switched to Mobil 1 and Motorex (JASO MA, API SG, ACEA A3) Before that, all the reports indicated that Castrol had the highest viscosity rating for "Dino" oil. Little did I know...

Weight is obviously a different story. As the manual points out, 10/30 is the proper weight, but since I have never seen a flake of snow in my life drop by our beach home. I figured it was overkill. So from what I read (hour long) 20/50 is too think for our motors. So if I were to stick to Dino, a 10/30 would be best? (average 50*-80*) I'm really surprised that Chevron got good ratings as the Dino version is horrible as far I as I've read. Castrol sucks?

Oh and I did do a search, but found this while snooping through the FAQ
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=57216&highlight=oil+pressure+gauge

Always makes me feel better when I'm not the only one experiencing this stuff.

 

[Tentsontop]

For emprical purposes, would you mind posting the oil you use? For instance, if it's 0w-40 that would be more shocking than if it's 20w-50.

I'm using Shell Rotella T 5w-40 synthetic and at normal operating temperature it varies from two needles below the lower middle mark at ~650 rpm to around the higher middle mark at ~2000 rpm.

It's the same regardless of what's in it. I've run Mobil 1 0w40, 10w30, 10w40 and dino 10w30 and 40. I tried the Mobil 1 to see if it would lower the indicated pressure, but it had no effect. I've never run anything higher than 10w40.