high oil pressure, new engine

[97 DSM Gs-T]

Hey everyone I just got my new engine back in the car and have about 200 miles on it and im experiencing high oil pressure. Completly warmed up the oil pressure is reading 54-60 psi at idle and 84-90 while cruising at 2200 rpm. Arent are cars supposed to be around 20 psi completly warmed up and cruise around the 70psi range. Or is this normal with new engines? Balance shafts are deleted and have not ported the oil relief valve, yet. Any help will be much appreciated. I did try to search but couldnt find anyone with the same problem.

 

[Alex7747]

what weight oil are you using?if its a new engine i would use 0-30 or 5-30 nothing more then that. normal oil pressure sound be around 10-12 psi at idle and 10 psi for every 1k rpms. is the 60 psi at idle, cold start or operating temps?

 

[97 DSM Gs-T]

the 54-60 is at idle at full operating temp and I am using 10w30.

 

[Alex7747]

what were the clearance on the bearings? if they were all in spec you should look into porting the oil galley, and the relief valve.

 

[97 DSM Gs-T]

yea i was going to port the relief when i get time inbetween school and work. and I will have to find out the clearences, but im sure they are in spec.

 

[brngrhd]

what gauge are you checking it with? I'd try a second gauge for reference.

do you need to port the relief when you delete the balance shafts? or is it a high volume pump deal?

 

[Alex7747]

you should try using a lot thinner oil. that brought my oil pressure down after my rebuild(deleted the bs too). i had 10w-30 in mine(i saw about 20 ish psi at idle) then i switched over to 5w-30 and it dropped my oil pressure to about 12 psi now at 900 rpm. if you used thinner oil I'm sure it would help out but i don't think it will take away 50 psi.

what gauge are you checking it with? I'd try a second gauge for reference.

do you need to port the relief when you delete the balance shafts? or is it a high volume pump deal?

you don't NEED to but its recommended to do so. i didn't port mine, and i never see more then 90 psi even at 7.5k rpm.

 

[brngrhd]

man what a problem to have so many other platforms see low oil pressure i think i might get to like these things

 

[97 DSM Gs-T]

ok thanks for your help, i will definatly try the lighter oil and im going to port the relief. I want this oil pressure down asap haha. If anyone else has any opinions im all hears

 

[brngrhd]

did you check it with a second gauge? I guess I'd make sure so your not dropping oil pressure that isn't high. to me it would be worth the time to double check it.

 

[Alex7747]

man what a problem to have so many other platforms see low oil pressure i think i might get to like these things

that is true but i think a lot of dsms see low oil pressure as well. thats what killed my last two engines anyways. id rather have slightly more oil pressure(deleting the balance shafts) then low oil pressure now . i think you can guess why

oh yeah op you didn't mention if this was an after mark oil pressure gauge or the stocker?

 

[97 DSM Gs-T]

my fault i have the AEM digital oil pressure gauge that reads 0-100psi. I do have an old autometer gauge i could hook up to see if i get a different reading incase the aem gauge is defected.

 

[brngrhd]

I would better to double check it

 

[Alex7747]

i would get an analog oil pressure gauge just to see if its correct. because 60 psi at idle while at full operating temp, I've never heard or seen this..

 

[97 DSM Gs-T]

ok ill check into another gauge. im pretty sure my old autometer gauge is analog so ill try to find it and hook it up. thanks for yalls help!!!

 

[jed344]

With bs delete it should read higher oil press when cold but that still is to high when warmed up. Mine runs around 80 to 90psi at wot above 5k rpm.

 

[Calan]

you should try using a lot thinner oil. that brought my oil pressure down after my rebuild(deleted the bs too). i had 10w-30 in mine(i saw about 20 ish psi at idle) then i switched over to 5w-30

30w oil is way too thin for most 4G63t motors; many of us run 20w-50 race oils.

Regardless, the oil you use should be high in zinc and phosphorus for maximum bearing protection. "Economy" oils like Mobil 1 and others should be avoided.

Here's some good reading for you: http://store.forcedperformance.net/...Performance Recommendations for Motor Oil.pdf

Your high oil pressure is normal if the BS have been removed. You need to port your oil return in the filter housing, as I think you know.

 

[Alex7747]

dam! 20w-50!?? that seems to thick?

 

[Calan]

dam! 20w-50!?? that seems to thick?

I switch to 10w-40 during the winter when it's cold, but otherwise I stick with the 50w.

From the Forced Performance document I linked to:

Race engines that operate with oil temps above 200F should run 20w-50 weight racing oil. GF-4 classification oil is NOT racing oil, GF-4 is emissions priority oil that basically has all of the high pressure additives removed from it to avoid damaging catalytic converters and reduce tailpipe emissions.

Some might have a hard time considering that their daily driver 4G63 motor is a "race engine", but anything that makes 100bhp per piston is a race motor, and if you think otherwise then you are fooling yourself.

Read it, learn it, live it.

 

[Alex7747]

yeah i read it but dam thats going to make my oil pressure so high! i think ill have to port the relief valve if i switch over to that weight oil. thanks for the advice calan

but my motor doesn't make 100 hp per cylinder . but i know my engine does get hot haha

 

[Calan]

High oil pressure isn't good, but it should be fixed at the source (porting the OFH in our case). Using a thin oil will naturally lower the pressure, but IMO that is a bandaid fix that probably isn't the best way of going about it. Personally, I would rather have more flow, reasonable pressure, and a thicker oil.

But... you can get the performance oils in a lower viscosity. So even if you stick with the thinner oils, at the very least run the ones that have high zinc and phosphorous content and will do a good job of protecting your engine.

 

[Alex7747]

I never knew that, i always thought oil was oil and it didn't matter as long as its lubricating the engine. ill do that next oil change which should be soon maybe like 100 more miles. Ill port the oil return as well. and i know high oil pressure is bad id just rather have high oil pressure then low . But ill be doing the right oil changes now and the porting. Thanks again

 

[Calan]

There are other factors that go into deciding which viscosity to run. Ambient air temperature (season) and motor tolerances should also be considered. But in general, a good 40w or 50w racing oil seems to be the best choice for most 4g63t cars. Just remember that the race oils are mostly detergent free, and will need to be changed more often.

Get the oil filter housing ported, and start off with one of the 10w-40 oils from the FP article. Then if oil pressure and temperatures allow it, step up to a 50w oil and see how you like it.

Don't forget to run a good filter. You can pick up a Wix filter from O'Reillys and other places for about $6. NAPA also sells the same filter as "NAPA Gold" for the same price. For the 6-bolt motors, the part number is Wix 51381, or NAPA 21381. Not sure on the 7-bolts, but I believe the same filter will fit.

 

[Alex7747]

yeah i'll defiantly go with the race oils now! .. but the oil filters, wouldn't a K&N be best to run? because thats what i use. i thought oil was oil so i got peak and a K&N. i need to get that crap out of my motor(the peak oil ) and switch to some Brad Penn 10w-40 or what ever one i can find that works well.

 

[brngrhd]

not knocking the test but is one test the end all be all of oils and 4g's?