Really Low Oil Pressure

[tharussian45]

i have a 99 gst, and when i'm driving down the highway my oil pressure is between the two marks on the stock gauge. when i stop at a light though, it drops down really low. id say only like a 1/4 of the way up. now i'm wondering. is it supposed to be between the two marks all the time, or is it supposed to drop like that. i'm also running 10w30 synthetic. so should i try running thicker oil? my car also has about 106,000 miles on it. so if there's anyone out there that know's where the oil pressure is supposed to be on the stock gauge, let me know.

 

[project15]

10w30 is recommended. oil pressure drops when you idle (at normal operating temp). it is supposed to be between the two marks when you are driving.

 

[travislaw]

ok. here's my problem. i have a 99 gst, and when i'm driving down the highway my oil pressure is between the two marks on the stock gauge. when i stop at a light though, it drops down really low. id say only like a 1/4 of the way up. now i'm wondering. is it supposed to be between the two marks all the time, or is it supposed to drop like that. i'm also running 10w30 synthetic. so should i try running thicker oil? my car also has about 106,000 miles on it. so if there's anyone out there that know's where the oil pressure is supposed to be on the stock gauge, let me know.

I put a new rebuilt engine in my 2g February of last year, and a new oil pressure sender and my car does the same exact thing. It is normal. If you really want to know how your oil pressure is, get an aftermarket oil pressure gauge. It works a lot better.

 

[Chaddycakes21]

It could even be that you need an oil change. My oil gauge was really low after around only 2000 miles so i just changed the oil to see if it would help and it did the trick.

 

[spyder97gs]

Try running 10w30 along with a big 1g filter on there. That should boost pressure just a tad bit. However, I think low oil pressure readings are common.

 

[Defiant]

Normal. DSM gauges often show no pressure at idle. So long as the warning light doesn't come on, you're fine.

 

[CruisinGSX]

Add another one to the list. When I first noticed that pressure dropped at idle on my car, I freaked out, but later found out that it is normal.

 

[MrBoxx]

Yeah, it's normal for us, but for the oil change guys at Valvoline or wherever you go, they don't know what to make of it. They stand and watch the needle expecting it to rise after the oil change and you have to tell them... "Dude, it's not going to go anywhere while I'm sitting here. Totally normal." I find it entertaining.

 

[JDP AWD 1g]

im having a similar issue:

i had really great oil pressure. i was running castrol 20w50 and getting awesome oil pressure on the stock gauge. my turbo blew and i replaced it, and did a few other things. i changed the oil etc. replaced the old oil with 20w50 again, but now i dont get 1/2 the oil pressure i used to get, and also sometimes, when slowing to a stop the oil light flickers on and off...

 

[ddavisaf]

Check and make sure the connection to your oil sending unit is secure. And 10w30 is what we run in our cars. Try it out (Mobile 1 or Royal Purple). Make sure you're not low even a little bit on oil. And get an oil pressure gauge. No less than 10 psi at idle.

 

[MrBoxx]

I concur. My oil pressure idiot light flickered at stops and it turned out to be a simple switch. A loose sending unit wire would do it, though. Mine has come off several times.

 

[Pandagonier]

After I rebuilt my engine the second time I took out the balance shafts pluged the oil holes all but one, couldn't get the block off in the last one. I added an autometer oil pressure gauge in, and use mobile one 10w30 full synthetic. After the rebuild, at idleing or just cruising, the pressure stays at about 20pounds. But, if im boosting it goes to around 40-60pounds. This seems to be normal now with a few minor oil leaks. Just make sure you have enough oil in the car and your fine.

Even before the bebuild, on the normal oil pressure gauge, it would stay by the low mark on the gauge.

 

[MiSFiTz]

Mines a 1/4 the way up at idle, and at driving its 3/4 the way up on the gauge (stocker)
Keep in mind im running no balance shafts w/ the block off kit. im running 10/40 but im going back to 10/30 and im running the 3000gt big filter

Mine stock was about 1/8 the way up and about 1/2 driving if not lower sometimes when i need a oil change

 

[Anonymity]

2g's... they all have the same broken gauge

 

[JDP AWD 1g]

ok i checked my oil pressure sending unit. the wires seem fine. the sending unit itself looks fine. i have yet to get a mechanical gauge because im dealing with other complications at the moment. any other ideas?

can anyone explain why i was urged to run 20w50 instead of 10w30 ?

 

[Chaddycakes21]

Screw the 20w50 and stick with 10w30. Mobil one works for me.

 

[JDP AWD 1g]

would it matter the weight of oil i ran with higher miles? the odometer reads 197k but when i bought the car i took the head off to replace the gasket and the head bolts, and there was no wear pattern on the block from the pistons. i regret not matching the vin of the motor with the vin of the car. im thinkin maybe its a newer block...

 

[tharussian45]

thanks guys. i appreciate this. so i'm glad that i'm not the only one. i'm deffinetly gonna start running 10w30 royal purple oil. and does that really help performance??? people say it does, but what is royal purple, and why is it so damn expensive? well, if anyone knows, let me know. but thanks for the oil pressure help.