oil psi drop at idle

[DCGuerrette89]

ok i have the oem oil guage and when i start my car the psi goes up to normal and while im driving its normal but when it idles it drops low and kinda scares me so ill hold the rom up at a stop light and it will bring up the the oil psi any ideas? im starting to think maybe a bad oil pump?

 

[Tyeler18]

What's your idle psi hot?

Any strange noises ie knocking?

 

[Rogi]

My last gst used to do that with the oem gauge, I guess mine was not working properly, but I had an aftermarket one, wich is probably what you need so you can monitor better whats going on

 

[kthackst]

Oil pressure at idle can be any where between 10-20psi depending on oil type, balance shaft delete, etc. So the needle should be very low at idle.

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

Sounds like normal operation to me. Maybe get a new aftermarket guage if you want to be sure, but like the others said it will drop pretty low, especially at idle when the engine is up to temperature while using the stock guage.

 

[dacowgod]

If the idiot light isnt coming on (and its hooked up properly) Then your oil pressure is at least 8PSI and you will be fine to idle at that... If your idiot light does come on while the engine is running you have a problem that needs to be addressed asap.. ... The most common cause of low oil pressure in our cars is an improper balance shaft delete ... Or you have bigger problems and your bearings are toast... The cars are notorious for having a shitty stock oil pressure gauge though so as others mentioned, an aftermarket gauge is a great investment.

 

[DCGuerrette89]

thanks guys ill deffinetly look into an aftermarket guage

 

[estoyaqui30]

I have had my balance shafts removed, the factory gauge shows almost nothing and my Defi-link gauge is reading around 10 to 15 PSI with the variance caused by an erratic idle. I always look at it and still get paranoid even though I know that it's okay.

 

[vteckiller2000]

My 1g reads no oil pressure all the time on the gauge, but the light has always performed correctly. Get an aftermarket gauge and confirm the pressure, the stock one is notorious for being junk on dsm's and 3/s'.