Oil pressure will not go up???!?

[1988]

Hi, i've had this rig for about 3000 miles now. It has 161k on the clock and things seem to be in good condition. I've notice the oil pressure guage needle will never rise pass the 1/2 way mark. It idles at 1/4 and highway or climbing grade will max at 1/2. Is this good or bad? The manual shows normal range is 1/4 to 4/4. My pressure is constantly at low normal.

Please advise.
Brian

1988 fj62 bone stock. All service is up to date.

 

[djawahir]

I guess that's a good thing. Mine sits a little below the 2/3 mark. Of course, my needle really only moves when I turn the car off or on. Once the car is running, that needle doesn't move at all.

 

[lowtideride]

My oil gauge went a lil weird on the way to work today. I guess I have a bad ground or a lose wire...Im gonna have to look into it. Is there a normal fail point on these?

 

[Mace]

get a real gauge.


My statement would be the stock gauges just show you that you DO have oil pressure. NOthing really other than that..

 

[lowtideride]

Suggestion gauges

 

[Mace]

Just about any oil press gauge will do. They typically run about $40ish. I personaly like Autometer. But I have seen a buncha people get away with the cheapie autozone/pepboys gauges..

 

[Mace]

Here is one from Summit

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=ATM-4321&N=115&autoview=sku

 

[Mace]

Here is one for a jeep, but it is cheap


http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/...0362298/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:10000021771810362298

 

[Mace]

JEasus...


$5.00


http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/...tom-0/p-2008817/N-111+10201+600002118/c-10101

 

[lowtideride]

I just wish you could get the stock one to work. I am not a fan of after market guages they never look right in the 60s set up.

My fuel gauge also doesnt work...So I have only to 2 suggestion gauges working at the moment.

 

[ben1be]

Mine runs at 1/2 and then drops to just above 1/4 at idle. Its been like this for twenty thousand miles. I think Mace is right, it just tells me I HAVE oil pressure.

Mike

 

[Mace]

The stock sender has a pretty cheesy clippy thingy on it for the electric connection. It routienly gets doused with oil when you change the filter.

I would look at the the eletrical connections forst to see if that makes any difference.

And secondly, most of the time if you have oil pressure you will be fine..

 

[Moby]

Here are some numbers for my 3FE running Castrol 5w50 full synthetic. My engine was rebuilt ~18,000 miles ago and is in good shape. My stock oil pressure gauge and sender are both relatively new. I also have a Nordskog oil pressure gauge (sender is tee'd with the stock sender so they read pressure at the same place).

With a fully warmed up engine my stock gauge sits just above the half way mark at idle. This corresponds to ~40 psi on my Nordskog guage (I've never seen lower than 38 psi at idle). At highway cruising rpms (~2000-2500) my stock gauge rises 2-3 widths of the needle. This corresponds to 56-58 psi on my Nordskog guage. If I push 3000+ rpms I get 60-64 psi.

Prior to getting the Nordskog gauge I ran a mechanical gauge that read pretty much exactly the same as the Nordskog. I ditched it because I didn't like the idea of running oil all the way into the cabin. The Nordskog also can control a warming light, buzzer... when the pressure goes below a certainly level (haven't hooked that up yet).

 

[1988]

Good! Then there's nothing much to worry about...

Thanks All,
Brian

 

[Cruisergreg]

With a stock guage I would only fret over big changes in indicated oil pressure. The stock gauges are prone to wierd readings because of the electrical connection mentioned.

One time when I was in the middle of nowhere in Anza Borrego by myself I watched the OP needle VERY gradually drop to almost zero over about 15 minutes. I finally shut down the truck, popped the hood, and pondered the predicatment of a pending engine failure and the resulting 5 mile hike to the nearest paved road, in 100+ deg heat. Sat and thought about it, drank a beer, and decided that even though the dropping reading was gradual it could still be electrical. I cleaned and "tightened" the elect connection at the sending unit and dared to start the engine again, with a healthy pressure reading resulting. Drove the truck 400 miles home and many 1000 miles more without problems before swapping in something new.

If you want good, quantative, OP numbers a higher-end aftermarket electric unit is much better than the cheapo mechanical ones.

 

[Mace]

If you want good, quantative, OP numbers a higher-end aftermarket electric unit is much better than the cheapo mechanical ones.

I would say that a high end mechanical unit is at least as good as a high end electric sender unit.

I actually prefer mechanical units.