oil pressure too low?

[Anonymous]

i just rebuilt my 200 (first rebuild for me) and am getting it on the road. my idling oil pressure is about 20 when cold and 18 when warm, only about 39 or 40 when going down the road. this seems low to me for a brand new rebuild. a friend thinks it should be between 45 and 60. thoughts? the oil pump is brand new...

nate

 

[addo]

Should be fine. Anything below ten is real cause for concern.

 

[rbohm]

8) your oil pressure is fine. the rule of thumb is minimum 20psi at idle, and 10 psi per 1000rpm. 18 is close enough not to cause any problems.

 

[woodbutcher]

I am not all that familiar with the small or large 6s as yet.
However,for a fresh rebuild,should`nt the oil pressure be somewhat higher when cold or hot?
Leo

 

[james singleton]

Addo, am I missing something here???? Is he stating that his oil pressure is around 20psi on start-up (when the engine is cold), and that going down the road (or when the engine is warm) that he is getting 35-40psi??? Isn't that opposite of normal??? Where oil pressure is higher when the engine is first started and the oil is cold; and then pressure drops after it gets warm??? Is there ever a case where the oil pressure goes higher after the oil is warm??? I know that on my 200cid engine (recently rebuilt) that on start-up the pressure is closer to 55-60psi, and after it gets good and warm it drops down to 25-35psi! Jim

 

[Anonymous]

the oil pressure does drop a little when warm, so that's intuitive. another friend thinks that low-ish oil pressure like this could be created by incorrect valve lash. does this make sense?