What is your OIL PRESSURE?

page62

Well-known member
Okay, now that we've discussed viscosity...what oil pressure readings are you getting? (Assuming you have a gauge, of course.)
 
Just enough to squeeze past the head gasket a very little bit on the driver's side.
 
The '63 170 starts cold at @ 35=40 lbs., as it warms up the idle pressure drops to @ 20-25 and goes to @ 30 when cruising. On sustained hiway driving as the temp rises higher than town driving, the pressure will drop to @ 25 lbs at cruise and a worrisome 15-20 at idle. THe old "idiot light" indicator never flickers. I often include a quart or two of VR(racing) SAE50 weight oil in warm weather at uil changes...



The Performance built Clifford 250 at cold sartup pegs the guage @ 80 lbs and when hot drops to @ 50-60lbs at idle. I don't know if the pump is worked or the relief valve is "shimmed". This is another feature of the Clifford 250 I'm researching.
 
I forgot to mention...

Using 20w50 and driving n 95 degree heat (with the engine running pretty hot), I'm getting:

35 psi cold start
38-40 psi on freeway (hot)
35 psi at 35 mph cruise
15-20 psi (pulsing) at idle
 
my oil pressure has been concerning me since i rebuilt my engine, with the mechanical gauge hooked up i get 20-25psi (in park with the engine from idle to about 2500). the pump was reused in the rebuild, because it looked good on the inside, i probably should have waited and got a new one.

there is still an air bubble in the line, so ill get that out first and see if my reading goes up... what do you guys think
 
Patrick66":2hkt5gh1 said:
there is still an air bubble in the line, so ill get that out first and see if my reading goes up... what do you guys think

I wouldn't think that air bubbles would make a difference. Air can be under pressure, just like oil...
 
yes, but air compresses easier. either way the difference is probably negligible and ill be replacing the pump. :x
 
Patrick66":20jvo8vz said:
yes, but air compresses easier. either way the difference is probably negligible and ill be replacing the pump. :x

Hmmm...if that's the case...

I just checked my line and it's still working out the bubbles. So at least oil pressure isn't one of my worries. But I got plenty of others, like a clattering valve train.

I just wanna keep this 170 alive for a while. I'm not quite yet ready for the 200 swap.
:stick:
 
page62":2lzy7zd2 said:
Patrick66":2lzy7zd2 said:
yes, but air compresses easier. either way the difference is probably negligible and ill be replacing the pump. :x

Hmmm...if that's the case...

I just checked my line and it's still working out the bubbles. So at least oil pressure isn't one of my worries. But I got plenty of others, like a clattering valve train.

I just wanna keep this 170 alive for a while. I'm not quite yet ready for the 200 swap.
:stick:

your numbers are still better than mine. i think i may know what the culprit is though...

when i was rebuilding mine, i bought a new oil pump screen. i put it on, and the oil pan wouldnt fit over it, it was too tall. so i took it back, got another one, and the pan would fit over this one. i was dumb enough not to measure, so im thinking that maybe the screen is still too close to the pan, and not allowing me to get what i need.

ive ordered a new pump, it should be here tommorow. now i just need to find that thread with the part numbers to make sure they gave me right one.
 
Update: I switched to 10w30 (from 20w50) and noticed a 2-3 psi pressure drop. Not significant. Many air bubbles in pressure gauge line. So I think the oil pump is OK.

I think the oil pickup is the original, so it's likely not problematic.

But here's the kicker...my valvetrain quieted down significantly! Anyone got an explanation?
 
page62":l0ujjwib said:
my valvetrain quieted down significantly! Anyone got an explanation?
Your old oil was sheared and worn out? And the wrong viscosity, and now you have the correct weight?
It is odd, some oils give more valvetrain clatter than others, depending on engined tolerances.
 
I've found our top ends like a slightly lighter oil, I tried a heavier syn, and immediately had top end noise, moving back to 10w30 or 5w30 (winter) fixed it right up.
 
page62":98nsb9w3 said:
... Anyone got an explanation?

Yup. 20w-50 is too heavy. 10w-30 is just right. Those hydraulic lifters have to allow a bit of oil to "breathe" in-and-out as they cycle up-and-down. This oil has a tiny hole to pass through and a very short time to get there. Oil that is too heavy will not allow the lifter to pump up fully and the result is a loose valve train which clatters.

Do not be alarmed, a great many of these engines lived their entire lives quite trouble-free on 20w-20 oil back in the day in your climate.

Way too much emphasis gets put on oil pressure. Oil pressure is sorta like blood pressure; not enough and you die but too much is also bad.

These Ford sixes never did require great gobs of oil pressure and they still don't. 20 psi at cruise and 10 at hot idle will never cause a lick of trouble. I wouldn't care for much less though but I would never worry at all if I had that much. Anything over 40 psi at hot cruise and you would benefit from running a lighter grade oil.
Joe
 
page62":ekjwk0h6 said:
Patrick66":ekjwk0h6 said:
there is still an air bubble in the line, so ill get that out first and see if my reading goes up... what do you guys think

I wouldn't think that air bubbles would make a difference. Air can be under pressure, just like oil...

Air bubbles will not affect the reading one iota. The bubble will compress until it has precisely the same pressure as the oil and will transfer this pressure to gauge just fine.
Joe
 
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