Do you have an oil pressure gauge?

solarice

Ex. Club Member
Ok ive got a question...for those who've got a oil pressure gauge installed in a 1.3, what readings are you getting?.

Im asking as apparently the standard engine should have a pressure reading of :

At idle between 0.8 - 1.2 bar (11.6 - 17.4 psi)
The 1.3 engine At 2000rpm between 2.9 - 3.7 bar (42 - 53.6 psi)

now i know ive got my gauge running from the oil filter relocation via a sender relcocation to the firewall...so its mounted away from the engine (both of the relocation hose parts head up hill).

So this brings me to my problem, upon starting the car i was getting a 100psi reading, which slightly baffled me so i figured id let idle and see if it was just air in the system after the oil had warmed up i gave it a few quick blips on the throttle and eventually it settled down to about 30psi (still high for the above figures).

After this i raised the revs to 2000rpm and it shot up to about 90psi this seemed to be consistent and decided to check over all the connections for interference...now theres only three wires for the gauge (pos,neg and sender) and they are all connected properly.

So do you reckon ive got a bad gauge or sender (im leaning more to this) or do you think the pipe restrictions/being placed away from the engine could be causing such a highish figure or is there something else up (as in oil pump related)...or dare i say it, is this normal? (though im highly doubtful).

i must also stress i havent driven the car so cant say if it'll settle down after a run, mainly as the cars not allowed on the road yet.

i plan on getting a mechanical gauge for the engine bay to double check those readings, but for now any ideas would be appreciated.

Cheers and thanks for taking the time to read all this, lol.
 

frank

Club Member
solarice

most engines a have pressure relief valve that dumps anything over about 70 psi ( pump should push more than that if the oil is cold).
that 100 psi reading sounds VERY high.
 
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solarice

solarice

Ex. Club Member
yeah i know what you mean its actually near the max of the gauge :eek: im running thinner oil aswell so it should be slightly lower than standard...im planning on double checking everything today anyways (again), though as said im leaning towards a faulty part...i think.
 
I think the reading may be naff, but at least the oil pressure pattern is correct (rise and fall with engine rpm)
Is there any other signs of excessive oil pressure or is it simply the incorrect reading? Is it spitting the oil out of anywhere?
 

Ed

Fusion Motorsport
MSC Founder
Official MSC Trader
Also depends on what oil. The engine has to be properly upto operating temp before you can rely on those figures, i.e. let it idle for ages until the fan comes off and on then try agian.
 
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solarice

solarice

Ex. Club Member
well ive took off the oil return line as it didnt drain away as quickly as it had previously (before fitting the senders), so figured id make sure it wasnt blocked with any crap...and so far nothing odd.

nope rest of oil is fine...its still being directed to the oil filter as the temp reading doesnt really change once its warmed up (70c or so)...id of also thought (aswell as my dad) that somthing would of gone bang if it was as high as it was saying...but didnt want to test that theory lol...you can also hear it draining back into the sump once the engines switched off.

yeah ed i did this...once warmed up still read high but after a few revs it would hit 90psi then level out at idle to 30psi...which is still high, if the figures by the haynes are anything to go by.

will stick a mechanical one on tomorrow and see what it reads...im hoping its the gauge/sender as that would seriously reduce the headache.
 

Fordy

Ex. Club Member
you will find it you should be testing oil pressure at the oil pressure sensor and not at the oil filter!
 

Ed

Fusion Motorsport
MSC Founder
Official MSC Trader
I wouldn't worry that much to be honest, if it was low then I would. The car has obviously been fine for x miles.
 
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solarice

solarice

Ex. Club Member
lol...yeah when it read high the first time i though "ah well at least its not low" im not sure if all it needs is a good drive as it has been standing for a bit...which might help it flush the system of any small deposits.

fordy ive relocated the oil filter to up along side the engine and the adaptor (which is supposed to be off road use only in japan apparently :eek:) has ports for the pressure/temp senders which is why im at the oil filter and not the pressure sender...

that had also crossed my mind as maybe the different locations could be causing it, as it now needs to move the oil further up but would of thought the pressure rating would be consistent across the whole engine :)

hopefully tomorrow i'll have good news :D
 
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solarice

solarice

Ex. Club Member
well tiny update on this, i checked it with a mechanical gauge today and i get the same pressure so the sender/gauge is good (which is good)...still quite unsure as to why its so high...only thing i havent done is to a pressure check from the back of the engine mainly as the cars so low i cant really get access to it anymore.

After starting the car again, turn out i hadnt fully tightened one of the oil pipes (oops) it started dripping oil reasonably quickly...pressure went from 90psi (on cold engine) down to 50psi so its deffo doing its job...will just keep an eye on it and see what it does after its had a proper run, i just hope it doesnt blow anything up/out, lol.
 

Antony

Ex. Club Member
i have just baught an oil cooler and re-location kit off the flea bay and am also fitting a pressure guage so i can see exactly how little oil pressure i have..

can i use the plug on the front of the head to mount a temporary sender to? as its a ball ache to fit the sender to the back of the block (well untill i get the re-location kit that is)

any help?
 

Retepetsir

King of Subsonic
i have just baught an oil cooler and re-location kit off the flea bay and am also fitting a pressure guage so i can see exactly how little oil pressure i have..

can i use the plug on the front of the head to mount a temporary sender to? as its a ball ache to fit the sender to the back of the block (well untill i get the re-location kit that is)

any help?

How about using an oil filter sandwich plate? :)
 
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solarice

solarice

Ex. Club Member
antony im assuming youre referring to the allen bolt at the front, if so i dont see any reason why not, its a high pressure port (as far as im aware)...in fact im tempted to fit the mechanical one ive got in there so i can see if theres any pressure difference between front and back of the engine, purely as another avenue to go down.
 

Antony

Ex. Club Member
thanks solarice, i may just drill it out and stick me gauge in.

retepetsir.....i am getting a sandwich plate for my oil cooler, but not yet, and i need to see why my oil pressure is low first.. thanks though
 
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solarice

solarice

Ex. Club Member
it'll unscrew...so drilling it out shouldnt be needed unless somthings rounded off the edges, in which case id be very careful :)
 
Suggest you fit a gauge to the same location as the oil pressure warning light.

In fitting this external filter, have you somehow blocked or eliminated the pressure relief valve?

Some Nissan engines have the pressure relief valve built into the oil filter (e.g. some factory turbo SR20 motors).

Running with too high an oil pressure will cause scouring inside the bearing journals.
 

Antony

Ex. Club Member
isnt it the tube at 45Deg to the pump with a 17mm nut on top of it on the inside of the cam chain cover..??
 
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solarice

solarice

Ex. Club Member
yeah i was thinking about doing that (incase its just cos of where im taking the reading from), though without a proper lift and the coilovers on its gonna be a ##### :D ...as it happens the car isnt being driven at the moment, so its not like im driving it while the engines reading high... :)

The pressure relief valve you mentioned is in along side the oil pump in the sump, so it shouldnt have been affected by the relocation...but it could be blocked by crap i guess, which will be a sump off job and again wont be to easy to achieve.

Im gonna get a reading from the front (as its easy to reach) and if that reads lower then theres a good chance the rear will to however to top it off the engines super quiet and seems overall to be in perfect condition...

starting to wonder why i put one in, as sometimes i think ignorance is bliss lol :D
 
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solarice

solarice

Ex. Club Member
lol, well yeah...but you were very happen up until that point :D im gonna make myself bald with all the head scratching im doing, on top of the puzzled faces ive been making recently.
 

Antony

Ex. Club Member
thats possible....that means dismantling the engine again...doesnt it..lol

i knew i would be under there again at some point.
 
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