Oil pressure range

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kyamon

kyamon

Active Member
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114
Location
Lausanne, Switzerland
What is the correct oil pressure reading for a 2.6L?
Mine used to sit around 50 when the correct amount of oil was in the engine, now (after replacing bearings on the crank shaft and thus removing/refitting the oil pump, and cleaning everything) it is higher. Admittedly there may be a bit too much oil in the sump, though. Problem with that is that it is hard to read anything off the dip stick because the oil seems too new/clean (it shows barely anything). The dipstick would indicate that there is insufficient oil, but given what I had added this seems very unlikely...

I now read about 60 on idling, with a cold engine. Is this acceptable or should I remove more oil/check the pump?
 
The petrol and diesel 2 1/4 are 35-65psi
The 2.6 in the manual says 40-50psi when warm at 2000rpm
I don’t think the sump oil level would affect it
Sounds fine , the gauge could be over reading
 
steve2286w said:
The petrol and diesel 2 1/4 are 35-65psi
The 2.6 in the manual says 40-50psi when warm at 2000rpm
I don’t think the sump oil level would affect it
Sounds fine , the gauge could be over reading
Click to expand...

Thanks. I did notice a drop in oil pressure when I removed some of the oil, and I had noticed before that the oil pressure dropped when there was not enough oil - does this mean something is wrong with the pressure sensor?
 
4E902AD7-2937-4D80-9058-DE382D9CC993.jpeg


I’ve got a capiilary gauge that measures oil,pressure directly , the other type is electrical which would depend on voltage/ resistance, I would think if there was not enough head of oil over the pump intake and it was sucking in air then pressure would drop, I’ve put a 200di engine in mine and it starts off At 50psi and when drops to 25-30 psi but this is normal but worrying when it first happened
I did change the spring and plunger in the oil pressure relief valve when doing overhaul I suppose if it sticks and Di not release pressure then you could get higher than normal pressure
 
I had removed the oil pressure relieve valve as I had to remove the oil pump - maybe I just need to make sure that is right. Naive question: Do you tighten the relieve valve completely (and the spring takes care of the pressure setting) or to a setting where the pressure is in the correct range?
 
The pump looks different to the 2.25
Yes the bolt tightened up and the spring controls the relief pressure
 

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Thanks for your help Steve - this thing is seriously confusing me...
So after the last messages I got paranoid and was wondering if maybe the steel ball had fallen out before I reinstalled the pump (sort of like when you leave the house and think you left the stove on), but I could not find it... And because there was a lot of resistance when I refitted the relief valve I am assuming it is actually in the pump.
So then I checked the oil level, and the dip stick showed the level at the "min" mark. I added 1 Liter, and interestingly, the level appears to have risen beyond the max mark. I don't believe this measurement, so I decided to quickly turn on the engine and check the pressure. As expected, it was even higher than before, now reading around 90 (cold, and I did not leave it to warm up - the engine fires up right away and sounds normal to me).
I then checked the dip stick again, and it seems that the oil has been pushed up the guide nearly half-way the length of the stick.
I think something might be wrong here... I just can't figure out what. I guess I just have to start over, drain all the oil and add the correct amount, try again, and if this does not help remove the oil pump and check... :(

Or might it be safe to just let the engine run for a while until it gets warm and hope for things to normalise?
 
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I think if the steel ball was missing it would not seal and so pressure would be low
If you have an electrical sensor this could be faulty , or the gauge could be faulty , pressure normally higher when cold
You could buy an oil pressure tester as below , some may be cheaper but ensure you get one with correct threads, this will help measure the engine oil pressure , be good it if could also measure it while gauge connected
Is there any pressure in the filler cap when engine running
If you’re pulling dipstick in and out oil can get deposited on thE tube and when you re dip you get a false reading
Try leaving it for a day to settle down
I would guess pump ok but sometimes a little paranoia helps prevent making mistakes
 

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Assuming the reading is right (which I assume, since the sensor and gauge were working fine before), can I damage anything by letting the engine run for a while so it warms up completely?
 
Should be ok , but leave till tomorrow and do after trying the dip stick , I would remove dipstick tonight to help drain it from tube and check it just the once my guess is you have not really overfilled it , if it’s just a centimetre above full not a problem
 
So it turns out there actually was not enough oil in the engine. I filled it to about mid-range between L and F, and (as expected) the oil pressure shot off scale within a short time after starting the engine.
I am attaching a video, maybe someone can tell something from the sound/smoke? Note, however, that the engine is cold and that the car has been standing outside for 2 months now (whence the traces of water having shot out of the exhaust).

 
I don’t have experience of the 2.6 or even the series petrol but I would expect smoke when cold particularly after standing , can you test drive on road and see what it’s like , or get warmed up where it stands
Can you post a pic of where the other end of oil gauge is connected to
 
steve2286w said:
I don’t have experience of the 2.6 or even the series petrol but I would expect smoke when cold particularly after standing , can you test drive on road and see what it’s like , or get warmed up where it stands
Can you post a pic of where the other end of oil gauge is connected to
Click to expand...

Thanks - I also assumed that the smoke was not an issue, but I am glad to get a confirmation. To me the sound seems to be fine as well. I will have to find the oil gauge ;)

Yes, I could drive it, but I am a bit worried to let it run at such high pressure. While my guess (that I am waiting to test) is still with the pressure relief valve, someone suggested to me that the oil flow might be blocked at the new bearings. Even though I am pretty sure the holes line up (I could not check because I had left the crankshaft in the engine, but the holes are at the same place on the new bearings as on the old ones), I presume that driving with no oil on the main bearings could have pretty dramatic consequences.
 
kyamon said:
So it turns out there actually was not enough oil in the engine. I filled it to about mid-range between L and F, and (as expected) the oil pressure shot off scale within a short time after starting the engine.
I am attaching a video, maybe someone can tell something from the sound/smoke? Note, however, that the engine is cold and that the car has been standing outside for 2 months now (whence the traces of water having shot out of the exhaust).

Click to expand...


That gauge must be fubar, 7 plus bar is way to high.
 
If you remove rocker cover and start engine there should be plenty of oil spraying around which shows it’s circulating
If yours has an electrical sender unit it may not be matched to the gauge or could there be earth issues on wiring
I don’t think you have a true reading , so a test of oil pressure would confirm
 
steve2286w said:
If you remove rocker cover and start engine there should be plenty of oil spraying around which shows it’s circulating
If yours has an electrical sender unit it may not be matched to the gauge or could there be earth issues on wiring
I don’t think you have a true reading , so a test of oil pressure would confirm
Click to expand...

When removing the rocker cover I do see oil flowing, but it is not spraying. I guess that means that at least the engine is lubricated somewhat...
The transmitter/sender is mounted on the adaptor that holds the oil filter. It has worked before, so it probably is matched. But it may well be fubar...

Do you know what resistance I should be reading from the sender? Is there something like a calibration curve (to see if it is the sender or the indicator)
 
IMHO, your first port of call here is a capilliary oil pressure gauge - preferably a Durite one. The number of times I have gone to weird engine oil pressure symptoms and it been some spurious electrical nonsense.... For instance, saw this exact issue on a vintage tractor with a (very nice looking ) electrical oil pressure gauge - readings all over the place - Capilliary gauge fitted, and all is well - same issue with a temp reading on an engine - all over the place - "garage" (!) had changed all sorts, at serious cost - turned out to the be the £5 gauge sender unit - which the temp fitting of a capilliary temp gauge found instantly.

If you still have high oil pressure after fitting a "proper" gauge, then my first port of call would be the pressure relief valve - this is designed to dump excess pressure at high engine RPM - so shouldn't really be operating at tick over - hence the importance, IMO, of getting a proper oil pressure reading.....

Good luck :)
 
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