Ross Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 What is the acceptable oil pressure at idle? Under acceleration pressure will go up to 40 lbs. Will idle down to 20 lbs and/or 15lbs. Have installed a safety cut off switch on the oil pressure line......at a longer than usually idling situation it will occassionally cut off the electric fuel pump. Recall questioning engine builder, Abacus Racing, they didn't seem too concerned. Any opinions/suggestions? Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHKflyer52 Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 20lbs is about normal when warm. 15lbs is about the min especially when very warm. 40lbs while accelerating seems low to me. I would check the gauge for acuracy first. I would also look at the oil you are using, maybe go to a different grade. If you have a low pressure cutoff switch you might want to wire in a light to the dash that will come on when the pressure drops below what the switch cuts out so you see it and can get it shut down before the engine is toasted. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 My low pressure problem turned out to be an inaccurate gauge: it reads 10-25 lbs low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RossD Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Low oil pressure does not necessarily mean a low oil flow rate. It just means low resistance in the system. Did the engine builder do anything to any of the oil passages or openings? (I'm just playing devils advocate; I'd be concerned too.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDingo8MyBaby Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Low oil pressure does not necessarily mean a low oil flow rate. It just means low resistance in the system. Did the engine builder do anything to any of the oil passages or openings? (I'm just playing devils advocate; I'd be concerned too.) High flow, low pressure is inherent in crossflows. My crossflow only runs at about 7 psi idle (warm) and 30psi at 3k. (though these are taken from the stock caterham guage which is inherently faulty) You can buy shim kits for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian7 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 My low pressure problem turned out to be an inaccurate gauge: it reads 10-25 lbs low. absolutely ditto !! I agonized over a "low pressure" problem that went away as soon as I scrapped the Caterham electric gauge and put in a proper mechanical one :-) I'd even shimmed the pump to raise the (electrically indicated) pressure from 15 to 30, then found the mechanical gauge was reading over 100 LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now