Oil pressue on my 01 LS1

**karpetcm** · 10-18-2008, 11:40 PM

Well im not much of an expert on the LS1's but when im at idle sometimes the oil pressure will go up and down from 35-40 and was wondering if thats a problem or not. The car rides fine and i dont have any burning of oil at all, no low oil light on either. Accelerates smooth and i love the motors top end power, im soo happy im back in an LS1 but i still do love my LT1.

**02blkws6** · 10-19-2008, 02:19 PM

Replace the oil pressure sending unit.

**Damian** · 10-26-2008, 05:30 AM

Fluctuating between 35-40psi at idle is normal. If it drops much farther below 35 you def. want to keep an eye on it for fear of the pump going out, but 40psi is acceptable.

Does your oil pressure raise when you're driving?

**herculesrider1** · 10-26-2008, 09:59 AM

If you have fluctuating pressure, I would check to make sure your oil level is at proper mark. One quart low, and it will lower your oil pressure.

**karpetcm** · 10-26-2008, 12:26 PM

Ya i checked it a few times its kinda hard to tell, i start up the car let it run for about a minute and then shut it off let it cool for a bit and check it. The oil is a thin line going up the dip stick only taking up half of the dip stick. I dont know if you guys are understanding what im saying its basically going straight up the dip stick to the full marker but only using up half of the dip stick, basically the dip stick is not fully covered in oil all the way up to the full marker. Also i have no idea what oil they put in the car meaning what weight, wether or not if its synthetic or not.

When i first bought the car it was pinging bad, from experience i said it has to be 87octane or dirty MAf so i changed the gas to 91 and it went away so who knows what oils theyve put in the car and how the dealer maintained it i know the original owner babied the car really well its almost mint without any mods other then Bilstein HD's. I do get this wierd noise sometimes from the inside of the car like vuuumm vuummmm like a generater just turned on. I know its a bad example and it only happens at idle but oil pressure does not drop when this happens its stay at the very least at 40 but once in a while drops for a split second to 35 and comes back up very quickly to 40 atleast.

**karpetcm** · 10-26-2008, 12:28 PM

Sorry for the long message above and thanks for the advice guys.

**JoshieDoom** · 10-26-2008, 12:30 PM

Well, ive got a 154k mile car and at hot idle i have 30psi. I was wondering what I could do about it besides a new engine..or an oil cooler/pump

**Bouvers** · 10-26-2008, 04:05 PM

I don't want to sound like a dink but it sounds like you're not even on the dipstick... whenever I check oil I stick it in let it sit for 5 seconds pull it out and read it according to the highest point where the entire stick is covered in oil not half of it... wipe clean and repeat... if there is oil on only half the stick on one side its usually residue staying on a portion of the guide... thats just my take it is VERY possible I just misunderstood your post...

hope I'm helping and not annoying

**thearborbarber** · 10-26-2008, 04:11 PM

GM's acceptable oil pressure is 10psi per 1000rpms.

**JoshieDoom** · 10-26-2008, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by thearborbarber

GM's acceptable oil pressure is 10psi per 1000rpms.

Yeah, my dad was telling me the same thing... hot idle can be as low as 7psi... screw that..

**karpetcm** · 10-26-2008, 06:49 PM

I actually pull it out wipe it off and then put it back in to get a reading, but even after doing that its still covering half of the dipstick. Dont know maybe i am low on the oil not sure but ill do an oil change next weekend for sure. Im gonna install my Hooker exhuast with a cutout and hope i can pick up a few more hp from that.

**CompSyn** · 10-29-2008, 04:40 AM

Originally Posted by JoshieDoom

Yeah, my dad was telling me the same thing... hot idle can be as low as 7psi... screw that..

The 10psi oil pressure per 1000rpm is what you are looking for. In some racing circles, they are looking for 9psi oil pressure per 1000rpm. The more oil pressure you have, the LESS oil flow you have. You want a balance of oil pressure and oil FLOW for the best protection of your engine. Oil flow is what helps cool your engine.

Originally Posted by JoshieDoom

Well, ive got a 154k mile car and at hot idle i have 30psi. I was wondering what I could do about it besides a new engine..or an oil cooler/pump

I wouldn’t be too concerned about installing a motor oil cooler unless your motor oil consistently runs above 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Remember that motor oil thins as it heats up. So if your motor oil doesn’t heat up to the designed operating temperature of 212 as a result of adding an oil cooler, the oil may not attain the correct viscosity your engine is designed for.

What is the design operating oil temperature and operating oil viscosity for your car?

The specs for your car call out to run 5W-30 in all temps or 10W-30 in climates that don’t see temperatures under 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

This is most telling information. When referencing 30-grade oils in the SAE oil viscosity chart, we know that the engineers who designed your engine are looking for an oil viscosity of between 9.30 to 12.49 when the motor oil is at the design operating temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you race your car at all or have a lead foot, consider installing an oil temperature gauge so you know what your motor oil is really doing.

CompSyn