High Oil Pressure

[Borinqua Bronco]

Quick oil pressure question,

V8/302
Right now my pressure dances around from 40-70PSI sitting still or driving at typical speeds/RPM. Way to high in my opinion. I'm planning on putting an actual pressure gauge on the sender and then move on to the relief valve (in the oil pan on the pump i think) expecting that everything is working properly, what would be the 1st couple steps you all would take to fix the issue? Probably sludge buildup ect... Anything else you would test before digging in further? Thx.

 

[sykanr0ng]

What weight of oil are you using?

With your thought of sludge maybe a flush then oil and filter change would be a good idea.

Another thought is a thinner oil, tight engines do not need thick oil to get decent pressure.

 

[Apogee]

Are you running a high-volume oil pump? My 429 generates numbers like yours...certainly higher than necessary, but it hasn't caused any issues, at least that I'm aware of.

 

[Rustytruck]

You want to drop oil pressure change to a fram oil filter. If you think its a sludge issue put a quart of ATF in your oil just a couple hundred miles before you change it.

 

[Broncobowsher]

That kind of pressure a lot of people wish they had. I know of newer engine designs that can exceed 100 PSI on a cold start. I don't see anything wrong with what you have.

The last engine I built I got one of the nicer Melling pumps. Standard volume, but the relief valve was adjustable. I cranked in a little extra pressure. That was almost 15 years ago.

 

[spap]

My stock 1990 5.0 runs 40/70 psi has about 39000 miles on the motor. I run 10w/30
No issue

 

[DirtDonk]

That 40-70 psi is actually the factory expected rating.
I don't remember where I read it, but remember it coincided perfectly with what my gauge always read.
Why do you think it's too much? What is too much?
Concerned about the distributor roll pin maybe? Going that high never hurt mine.

If you're going by the old "minimum safe pressure" expectations of 10psi per 1000 rpm, that's not a rule-of-law. It's just a recommended safe minimum. We all can hope for more, and if mine read 10psi at idle I'd be nervous.

Mine was with 20w/50 most of it's life with that pressure. Never really tried thinner oil, but would not have lost sleep if I'd lost only a few pounds. But never considered 70 to be too high.
I worried about bulging out filter housings with the 100-110 psi cold startup pressures in an old 327 Chevy engine I ran, but never had any trouble with it.

Paul

 

[Justafordguy]

Mine has always been right between 40 and 70.

 

[Borinqua Bronco]

Thx everyone!!!