What is normal oil pressure

[Windsor58]

What oil pressure are you all seeing at idle in gear (engine warm)?
Mine seems low at idle, but ok while driving. I bought the car in December, so I am not sure what is low and what is ok.
Thanks.

[fastblackmerc]

I assume you have a "real" gauge...

Cold at idle 100+ lbs

Hot at idle 25+ lbs

[Marauderjack]

HOT oil can give you less than 10 PSI at 600 RPM's and about 50 PSI at 2500-3000 RPM's!!:cool:

Keep in mind that 5W20 oil is pretty thin to start with and flow is more important than pressure......within limits!!:beer:

Marauderjack:burnout:

[RF Overlord]

Windsor58, if you have a real working (i.e. replacement) gauge, as opposed to the OEM fake gauge, then you should see approx 75-100 lbs on cold start-up, and about 20-25 lbs when warmed up idling at a stoplight. Actual numbers depend on whether you're using 5W-20 or 5W-30. The rule of thumb is 10 lbs (or more) for every 1000 RPM is considered safe.

[Marauderjack]

RFO.....

With 5W30 Mobil I I can see 12-15 PSI (Hot Idle) at 600 RPM's and 25 PSI at 900 RPM's.........at 3000 RPM's (Hot) it sticks around 50 PSI and no more at 5000 RPM's??:confused:

Of course I have very high miles but as I recall the OP hasn't changed any except the loss of about 5 PSI when I installed the remote filter!!:cool:

"Normal" OP is ALWAYS 62.5 PSI with the OEM gauge!!:D

Marauderjack:rolleyes:

[Breadfan]

Yeah I see as low as 15psi w/ 5w20 mobil 1 at idle. Cold startup between 75 and 100.

I have a half-sweep autometer. I suspect some of the discrepancies between reports are probably more due to the guages being slightly off from each other than anything else...

[Krytin]

I suspect some of the discrepancies between reports are probably more due to the guages being slightly off from each other than anything else...

And "That's the Fact, Jack!"
No accounting for individual calibration between gauges - one good drop during shipping/installation can make a difference.

[Joe Walsh]

RFO.....

With 5W30 Mobil I I can see 12-15 PSI (Hot Idle) at 600 RPM's and 25 PSI at 900 RPM's.........at 3000 RPM's (Hot) it sticks around 50 PSI and no more at 5000 RPM's??:confused:

Of course I have very high miles but as I recall the OP hasn't changed any except the loss of about 5 PSI when I installed the remote filter!!:cool:

"Normal" OP is ALWAYS 62.5 PSI with the OEM gauge!!:D

Marauderjack:rolleyes:


Yeah I see as low as 15psi w/ 5w20 mobil 1 at idle. Cold startup between 75 and 100.
I have a half-sweep autometer. I suspect some of the discrepancies between reports are probably more due to the guages being slightly off from each other than anything else...


Those psi readings are exactly what I see at COLD start (75-80 psi) and at HOT idle (12 - 15 psi).

[Dennis Reinhart]

What oil pressure are you all seeing at idle in gear (engine warm)?
Mine seems low at idle, but ok while driving. I bought the car in December, so I am not sure what is low and what is ok.
Thanks.

With a stock guage you will never see normall OP, with a after market on a hot day in gear at idle it can be as low as 10 PSI

[Dragcity]

I have a Mechanical gauge. Very ambiant temperature dependent as well as other issues. I was just out on lunch and we had very lite SNOW flurries. My O.P. was 25 psi at 700 idle... Cold starts are over 100. I use Motorcraft 5/20.

On a hot day, cold start is still over 100, but idle goes to about 15 or so. I can give more accurate readings if you need.

My gauge runs off a line going from the block, directly to the gauge, if that helps...

[RF Overlord]

RFO.....

With 5W30 Mobil I I can see 12-15 PSI (Hot Idle) at 600 RPM's and 25 PSI at 900 RPM's.........at 3000 RPM's (Hot) it sticks around 50 PSI and no more at 5000 RPM's??:confused: 'jack, I know you're fond of using the smilies, but since you put this one :confused: at the end of that statement, I'll assume you're asking me to comment... :D

Zack had similar pressure readings to yours with his first aftermarket AutoMeter gauge. IIRC at some point the first sender went bad and AutoMeter replaced it under warranty and his readings came up about 10 lbs.

As far as the high-rpm pressure not getting above 50, that might be due to the Motorcraft FL1A you have on your remote filter setup (I think that was the filter you were using when you first put the kit on)...since it was originally intended for older Ford OHV motors, it might have a lower bypass setting than the FL820S which was intended for high-volume OHC engines? Another thought: does the remote adaptor itself have any sort of bypass?

[Egon Spengler]

The rule of thumb is 10 lbs (or more) for every 1000 RPM is considered safe.

You stole my thunder

[Marauderjack]

'jack, I know you're fond of using the smilies, but since you put this one :confused: at the end of that statement, I'll assume you're asking me to comment... :D

Zack had similar pressure readings to yours with his first aftermarket AutoMeter gauge. IIRC at some point the first sender went bad and AutoMeter replaced it under warranty and his readings came up about 10 lbs.

As far as the high-rpm pressure not getting above 50, that might be due to the Motorcraft FL1A you have on your remote filter setup (I think that was the filter you were using when you first put the kit on)...since it was originally intended for older Ford OHV motors, it might have a lower bypass setting than the FL820S which was intended for high-volume OHC engines? Another thought: does the remote adaptor itself have any sort of bypass?


I know several have reported sender problems but mine has done about the same since it was installed 4 years ago (except for the drop with the remote).....and my :confused: smilie was because after I reach about 50 PSI (Hot) that's it...no more up to 6500 RPM's or so!!:cool:

The remote uses an FL-1A and I checked with a Ford tech as to bypass pressure differences and he claims they are all about the same.....and with the 820S OP was about the same +5 PSI or so without the remote.

I was tempted to take the remote adapter off and put an 820S on to see if there was any difference but it is such a PITA with the blower plumbing I haven't messed with it!!:shake:

Funny side note......I really expected oil temp to be higher than water but not at all....usually 5*-10* lower so far.

Marauderjack:bandit:

[Krytin]

Funny side note......I really expected oil temp to be higher than water but not at all....usually 5*-10* lower so far.

Marauderjack:bandit:

You would really want the oil temp to be lower than jacket water temp.
Depending on crank/rod/cam bearing material, the old babbit metal in shell bearings starts to flow at pretty low temperatures!

[gmtech]

RFO.....

With 5W30 Mobil I I can see 12-15 PSI (Hot Idle) at 600 RPM's and 25 PSI at 900 RPM's.........at 3000 RPM's (Hot) it sticks around 50 PSI and no more at 5000 RPM's??:confused:

Of course I have very high miles but as I recall the OP hasn't changed any except the loss of about 5 PSI when I installed the remote filter!!:cool:

"Normal" OP is ALWAYS 62.5 PSI with the OEM gauge!!:D

Marauderjack:rolleyes:
my oil pressure is exactly the same,i have a real gauge, motor has 11k miles on it now,5w-30 with motorcraft filter...and yep the rule of thumb is 10 PSI per 1000 rpms....:D

[Dragcity]

My PSI were 65 at 2500 RPM this morning on the way in. (80 mile drive) It was only 42 degrees outside though...

[chrish]

Windsor58, if you have a real working (i.e. replacement) gauge, as opposed to the OEM fake gauge, then you should see approx 75-100 lbs on cold start-up, and about 20-25 lbs when warmed up idling at a stoplight. Actual numbers depend on whether you're using 5W-20 or 5W-30. The rule of thumb is 10 lbs (or more) for every 1000 RPM is considered safe.

what does the factory guage read? It does move SO.?

[Dragcity]

0 when car is not running - 62.5 when engine is running.

So, yes the needle does move, but will not fluctuate as RPM/Psi rise and fall....

As said before, it is a glorified idiot light. I think it is set to detect 5 Psi, if it does, needle goes to 62.5. If it don't, needle will stay at 0. In other words, the OEM is ON or OFF...

[RF Overlord]

^^^what Dragcity said^^^

The OEM gauge is not driven by a variable sender, it's controlled by an on-off switch. If you have more than ~6 psi, the switch closes and the gauge reads somewhere slightly above half.

One of Ford's stupider ideas...

[J-MAN]

It's an oil pressure INDICATOR not gauge.

[Windsor58]

Thanks everybody.
I do have an aftermarket guage, and it is showing around 10psi at idle in gear with full synthetic oil.