Is Your Oil Pressure Dropping??????

[schuvwj]

Lately I’ve noticed that my oil pressure, (OP), has begun to drop in all driving situations.

I have about 32,000 mile on my 2003 MM and have always used Motorcraft 5-20wt oil and Motorcraft oil filter every 2,500 miles.

When my MM is cold the OP it will read 75 to 90 psi depending the on the engine rpm.

However when the oil gets to 160 deg. F. or higher it drops to 15 psi at 600 rpm. and runs 52 psi at 2200 rpm.

Has anyone else seen simular OP changes on your MM’s????????

Is this a sign the oil pump will be heading south soon?

[Donny Carlson]

Lately I’ve noticed that my oil pressure, (OP), has begun to drop in all driving situations.

I have about 32,000 mile on my 2003 MM and have always used Motorcraft 5-20wt oil and Motorcraft oil filter every 2,500 miles.

When my MM is cold the OP it will read 75 to 90 psi depending the on the engine rpm.

However when the oil gets to 160 deg. F. or higher it drops to 15 psi at 600 rpm. and runs 52 psi at 2200 rpm.

Has anyone else seen simular OP changes on your MM’s????????

Is this a sign the oil pump will be heading south soon?I have a digital oil temp gauge. These numbers are normal for my car. At idle with a warm enfine it's about 15 psi, at cruising speeds its about 50 psi.

One thing I did notice was OP dropped slightly when I switched over to Royal Purple.

My car is just at 24,000 miles.

[TAF]

One thing I did notice was OP dropped slightly when I switched over to Royal Purple.
Donny, I was told that is because of the different weight of the RP vs. the stock oil. 5W-30 vs. 5W-20:up:

[Fourth Horseman]

I have about 32,000 mile on my 2003 MM and have always used Motorcraft 5-20wt oil and Motorcraft oil filter every 2,500 miles.

When my MM is cold the OP it will read 75 to 90 psi depending the on the engine rpm.

However when the oil gets to 160 deg. F. or higher it drops to 15 psi at 600 rpm. and runs 52 psi at 2200 rpm.


Those numbers are slightly lower than mine, but I run heavier oil (5w30) and my engine has half the miles on it. Still, the numbers you list seem like they're well within acceptable range to me. I wouldn't sweat it.

[RF Overlord]

Donny, I was told that is because of the different weight of the RP vs. the stock oil. 5W-30 vs. 5W-20

Why would a change from a thinner oil to a thicker one cause a drop in oil pressure? Motorcraft 5W-20 has a 100° cSt of 8.8 while RP 5W-30 is 11...

Bill, to answer you question, my car has 25,000 miles on it using M1 5W-30 and the Motorcraft filter. I get a warm idle of about 25 lbs, while cruising at 70 MPH makes about 65-70 lbs...(I don't have an oil temp gauge)...what were your numbers before you noticed a drop?

[schuvwj]

Why would a change from a thinner oil to a thicker one cause a drop in oil pressure? Motorcraft 5W-20 has a 100° cSt of 8.8 while RP 5W-30 is 11...

Bill, to answer you question, my car has 25,000 miles on it using M1 5W-30 and the Motorcraft filter. I get a warm idle of about 25 lbs, while cruising at 70 MPH makes about 65-70 lbs...(I don't have an oil temp gauge)...what were your numbers before you noticed a drop?

RF Overload I also had the same oil psi readings at idle and crusing as you do until I ran over 30,000 miles.

I am going to change to a M1 filiter and M1 5W-30 oil this week and see if it makes a differance.

Thanks!

[RF Overlord]

I am going to change to a M1 filiter and M1 5W-30 oil this week and see if it makes a differance.

Did this happen all of a sudden, or was it a gradual drop? If it happened fairly quickly, you may just have a bad oil filter (bypass valve stuck open)...try changing just the filter, first...

As I said above, RP 5W-30 has a 100°C viscosity of 11 cSt...M1 is 10; since it's a little thinner, I would expect the pressure to actually go down slightly, if everything else is working properly...

[Logan]

I've got Royal Purple in my car and same deal, my oil pressure dropped a bit. Acceptable ranges, doesn't bother me at all...

[Jeff]

My oil pressure is a rock solid 6.5, start, stop or in between!
(Stock Oil Preesure guage) :lol:

[schuvwj]

Did this happen all of a sudden, or was it a gradual drop? If it happened fairly quickly, you may just have a bad oil filter (bypass valve stuck open)...try changing just the filter, first...

As I said above, RP 5W-30 has a 100°C viscosity of 11 cSt...M1 is 10; since it's a little thinner, I would expect the pressure to actually go down slightly, if everything else is working properly...

RF Overload, I did noticed the drop in oil pressure when I had the oil changed at my F/M dealer about 2000 miles ago. However I don't know if there is a relationship to the oil change/filter or the warmer temps outside. Engine oil temp is now running between 160 deg and 180 deg.

Thanks for the tip on the bypass sticking open, make sense!

Thanks!

[1 BAD 03 MM]

My pressure was 20psi hot at idle with Amsoil 0W30, when I switched to Amsoil 5W30 it dropped to 14-15psi hot at idle. (All this is with my By-Pass filter unit, four feet of hose, and a check valve)

AMSOIL Series 2000 Synthetic 0W-30 Motor Oil (TSO)
Kinematic Viscosity @ 100°C, cSt (ASTM D-445) 11.2

AMSOIL 100% Synthetic 5W-30 Motor Oil (ASL)
Kinematic Viscosity @ 100°C, cSt (ASTM D-445) 11.7

Both run 62-65psi @2000-2500 RPM's

within range. FLOW not pressure. :up:

[Zack]

My oil pressure has steadily dropped from the day I bought it.
I have been using Mobil-1 Synthetic 5w-30 since the first oil change.
When the engine is hot and the oil is nearing its maximum life, my O.P. drops to 12.5psi @ 750rpm.
Not worried a bit, you need 10psi of oil pressure for every 1000 rpms to be safe.

[schuvwj]

Well I finally changed my oil and filter from Motorcraft 5w-20 oil and Motorcraft Filter to M1 filter and M1 5w-30. I saw a definite improvement with the oil pressure with M1 over Motorcraft. Now I am producing about 25 psi at 650 rpm and 65 psi at 2,000 rpm at normal operating temp. I need to get the idle raised about 200 rpm.

However I still don't trust the stock oil pump.
From what I've observed so far it looks like I'll be staying with M1 5w-30 oil and M1 filter!

Thanks everbody for your comments and help!