Oil Pressure

[JCheney]

I have an 89 with over 500,000 miles on it. The oil pressure seems to be low. Is this normal, I have noticed it for many years, it is still running. I am wondering if I should think about changing the oil pump. I only have the factory dash guage on the truck, so I suppose that it could be in error too. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[bgilbert]

I only have the factory dash guage on the truck, so I suppose that it could be in error too.

You said it all right there. Factory gauges on our trucks are worthless. Go pick up an el cheapo oil pressure gauge kit from your local parts house, then you can temporarily plumb it at the oil filter mount. There is a 1/8" pipe plug you remove and plumb the gauge. This will tell you the true oil pressure. Cheaper than digging into the engine. Minimum oil pressure hot idle 10psi, hot cruise 25psi. Cold idle you'll see anywhere from 50psi-80psi. I bet you're engine is still plenty healthy.

 

[J.BURCHFIELD]

I became concerned about the oil pressure and put in a tee in the block at the sending unit and ran 6 feet of hose to a 100 pound gage mounted next to the ash tray. Now when I get the chimes I refer to the gage and see all is well. I gave up on replacing sending units, the new one is same as the old, at 15 pounds it sends zero to the dash gage and chimes chime. Turning up the idle helped but on a hot day idling at a loooong lite you had to listen to the chimes. Sliping into neutral and revving the engine is only a temporary fix. I am happy with my set up. I got 101,000 on my 98 Q cab 98 12v. Biggest problem was wandering. Changing to a steering box with the proper ratio cured that. Questions? -- email address removed --

 

[JCheney]

Thanks, that sounds like a good idea. I will try it.

 

[JCheney]

Thanks for the assistance. I will try it.