no oil pressure at stop lights (1 Viewer)

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I was wondering if it is normal for your oil pressure guage to drop down to basically the bottom line of the guage when the engine is at normal operating temp? It stays in the middle of the two middle ticks while i'm driving, but sometimes when i stop i notice it drop to nothing ???. I've had it for 50,000 miles with absolutely no engine problems. I run 5w20 valvoline mineral oil, and toyota oil filters.
 
normal, bothersome but normal. When off idle it will go up to the top line(not the top but the line below)

this is where the 3fe and 2f really shine.......the oil presure hardly moves :D
 
5-20 is a bit light, why do you choose to run that?

I notice that my oil pressure at hot idle decreases a bit as the oil ages. IE new oil hot idle pressure is higher than 3k oil hot idle pressure.

D-
 
You should not be running 5w-20 in the LC, clearances are to large and the motor is not designed for that type of oil. For your oil pressure, go to a 40 weight oil like Chevron Delo 400 15w-40 for summer and use the 5w-30 Chevron in the winter (unless you want to go Synth and then Mobil 1 0w-40, or cheaper alternative from walmart, Shell Rotella Synthetic T 5w-40 for 12.98 per gallon).

Cary
 
Funny you say that Dan...

Just changed mine, as always 10w30 Mobil 1........after changing it my oil pressure for some reason is lower :-\
I went about 7k on the last oil and my pressure was a little higher at idle then what it is now. It actually scares me sometimes when it rides that low. I just changed out my PCV but of course that would nothing to do with it.......

:beer:
Mark
 
Sorry, i meant 5w30. That's what it calls for. And it's cold out! :)
 
[quote author=cruiserdan link=board=2;threadid=9414;start=msg82139#msg82139 date=1072817779]
5-20 is a bit light, why do you choose to run that?

D-
[/quote]

So says the guy who ran gear oil in his crankcase and blew his oil galley plug into the next county. j/k :D
 
[quote author=Gumby link=board=2;threadid=9414;start=msg82183#msg82183 date=1072823305]
So says the guy who ran gear oil in his crankcase and blew his oil galley plug into the next county. j/k :D
[/quote]


Gear oil? :p If 15-40 is gear oil what is 75-140? :whoops:

As a side note my Toyota buddy at the Denver region told me there was no way it was the oil and the pressure relief valve looks for pressure only and could not care less what the weight is...... ;) Besides, I was at operating temp, not a cold motor. You are not going to get me on a guilt trip.

SHIAT, now I wonder if I killed my galley plug.....
 
In my experience that is not normal. My oil pressure on the gauge at idle is at the first tick mark above the bottom. It varies with motor speed up to near the top of the gauge. Same before and after rebuild.
 
[quote author=cruiserman link=board=2;threadid=9414;start=msg82212#msg82212 date=1072827658]
In my experience that is not normal. My oil pressure on the gauge at idle is at the first tick mark above the bottom. It varies with motor speed up to near the top of the gauge. Same before and after rebuild.
[/quote]

Your right Eric
I missed the "at idle to almost nothing" part, thought he ment the 1st line up. 1st tick is where everyone I have drivin sits.
 
So just for clarification this pic is where oil pressure is at normal driving speeds? My cruiser is a 1992 with 188,000. This is the second one that I have had but I remember the pressure range being between the middle two ticks. But this one never gets to the upper tick, it hardly get off the first tick. It just seems lower then I would like to see. Is time to consider a new oil pump?
 
91, 160K...I am dead in the middle of the ticks at all times.
 
3fe dead in the middle and hardly moves.
ifz moves with rpm but between the two lines except mine drops below the lower line maybe 1/8" at idle when very warm. Idaho Doug says his has done the same thing since brand new.

If you are dropping off the gauge at idle you need to get an oil pressure test to confirm if it is your gauge or your motor. The FSM has a write up on how.
 
MINE drops to between the two bottom marks after its warm at idle
between the second two(or higher) at speed.....

59750 miles and counting,no funny noises probs etc
currently running 10w30 mobil 1 full syn..........


doug
 
[quote author=Tank link=board=2;threadid=9414;start=msg82152#msg82152 date=1072819154]
Funny you say that Dan...

Just changed mine, as always 10w30 Mobil 1........after changing it my oil pressure for some reason is lower :-\
I went about 7k on the last oil and my pressure was a little higher at idle then what it is now. It actually scares me sometimes when it rides that low. I just changed out my PCV but of course that would nothing to do with it.......

:beer:
Mark
[/quote]

Your oil pressure went down when you changed the oil because the old oil had oxidized and thickened slightly. Typically, motor oil will first shear and thin slightly and then oxidize thicker as it is in use longer. If you left your oil in for 15,000 miles you would start to see some really high oil pressures as the oil would reach the mid 40 weight mark or so.

Cary
 
[quote author=cary link=board=2;threadid=9414;start=msg85704#msg85704 date=1073426070]
Your oil pressure went down when you changed the oil because the old oil had oxidized and thickened slightly. Typically, motor oil will first shear and thin slightly and then oxidize thicker as it is in use longer. If you left your oil in for 15,000 miles you would start to see some really high oil pressures as the oil would reach the mid 40 weight mark or so.

Cary
[/quote]

Cary,

that would mean that my oil pressure should be very high because I run 15W50 synthetic here in the tropical climate but it isn't the case. Oil pressure is just normal.

Mike
 
Here is my experence with the 1FZ oil pressure guages. They are not that reliable. I have expermented with several truck in the past and have found that even new pressure senders send differently(2 brand new ones sent different reading to the guage). I then hooked up a accurate test oil pressure guage to the engine and found the guage/ sender were reading low. If I remember right the low spec is around 3-4 psi then you have a problem and max high is around 70 psi at at 3k rpm. My reccomendation is to get a better oil pressure guage and put it in if you want to know your oil pressure because the oil pressure guage that toyota supplies in the truck is a little better than an idiot light. Just My .02. I personally have another problem with the stock pressure guage and that is has for several years droped oil pressure at high RPM,s and with the test guage it never droped pressure. Go figure that one. The guage is at fault, because the sender has been changed with the same results. I plan to install one when I have the spare change or before I do more engine mods. later Robbie
 
[quote author=Asiarider link=board=2;threadid=9414;start=msg85713#msg85713 date=1073426407]
Cary,

that would mean that my oil pressure should be very high because I run 15W50 synthetic here in the tropical climate but it isn't the case. Oil pressure is just normal.

Mike
[/quote]

Nope, for two reasons. 1) The pressure relief valve in the oil pump will limit pressure, and 2) for every (approximately) 30F increase in oil tempurature, the oil thins out about one grade. So if you normally run 30 weight and the normal operating oil temp is 190F, a hot climate may move the oil temp to 220F where a 40 weight will be as thick as the 30 was at 190F. Also, Mobil 1 15w-50 is formulated toward the light side of 50 weight.

Cary
 
>> The pressure relief valve in the oil pump will limit pressure, <<

If anyone is interested, I've got pics of C-Dan's when it was apart on the work bench.

-B-
 

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