What's good oil pressure at idle when warmed up?

[Chryco Psycho]

on my car it pegged the guage at 105 psi cold & dropped to approx 3/4 @75 lbs

[polarbear123]

My car is a 440 with 500HP it runs at 73 warm

[70 RAG TOP]

If it's ok ,I would like to ask for some input on this topic because, I am also concerned about the oil pressure on my freshly rebuilt eng.(383)
I finally got it running and did the break in on the cam .  Im worried because my mechanical gauge(after market) is only showing 22psi at 1000rpm(which seems a little fast for an idle) .  The manual states it should be  20psi@500rpm, but at that rpm, my gauge is only showing around 8psiand my "dummy"light is flickering.  I also took the line off of my gauge and allowed some oil to flow out, because it had some air bubbles in it.  ( A mopar friend suggested that I could have an issue with my oil pick-up possibly being too close to the bottom of the pan.  The funny thing is, is there are ticking noises or any other noises that would go along with low oil pressure.

WHAT I HAVE:
Stock rebuild, new hi po oil pump, new oil pan(from 440 source ,not an exact match to my old 402 pan. it did not have the same slope on the shallow end of the pan, which also caused a clearance problem with the steering control arm), oil pump pick up(440 source which I had to alter (shortened the length by cutting off a little of the threaded end) because pick up was hitting on bottom of pan and keeping the pan from seating on the block) , windage tray with 2 gaskets, Comp Cams break-in oil.   For my oil pressure guage and dummy light, I have a"T"  fitting coming off of one of the oil ports on the rear of the engine.


Could the gauge be bad?
Could the "T" fitting cause a problem?
Could the port be clogged (should I try the other port)?
What should the correct distance be between the pan and the bottom of the pick-up ?(if it is touching the bottom, could this be my problem)?

One other thing, the engine had the same problem(low oil pressure/dummy light flickering at idle)before I had it rebuilt.  I am wondering if maybe the guy who rebuilt it, hot tanked the engine but didn't run brushes through the oil gallies.  He hasn't had the courtesy to return my calls.

[422STROKER]

What was the actual clearance you ended up with between pick-up and pan?

Tom

[70 RAG TOP]

Well I don't really know, but I am guessing not very much at all.  If I remember correctly, I threaded the oil pick up into the block until it started to get snug then tried the pan.  I think the pan didnt seat  right away, so I turned the pick up in 1 complete turn, until the pan seated without resistance.  But it was awhile ago and I'm not 100% sure that is was not slightly touching the pan.  When I torqued the pan bolts, it might have brought the pan up into contact with the pick-up.  I just assumed that the pick up needed to sit as low as possible in the pan and that the indented pie shaped screen area was above the bottom enough to get adequate flow.(even if the bottom was touchingthe pan.

Also, with out the added thickness of the windage tray and a 2nd gasket I can't see how I ever would have gotten enough clearance for the pan to seat!

[422STROKER]

Some places recommend no more than 1/4" clearance to pan, but others recommend 3/8 or so.

Tom


Mine was in the 5/16" range or so.

[70 RAG TOP]

I want to make sure I have the correct oil pick up for a 383 with like stock pan.  The one that was in the engine when I tore it down and the one I bought from 440 source were shaped the same, each had 2 bends in it.  But the picture of the one that orielly's auto parts carries for my engine has only 1 bend(close to the pickup) then straightens out.

Do I have the correct one for my engine??

 
 

[Chryco Psycho]

if you have the 6 qt Hemi pan the 2-3 bend pick up is correct

[EMCD]

Ok, more strange oil issues. 1st of all, the car runs great. I hear no knocking or weird engine noises. However, today at highway speeds with my new 3.73 gears when I punched the gas at 50 mph or so, my pressure would drop very quickly from 40-50 psi, down to 20. Then when I got off the accelerator the pressure was jump right back to 40. any ideas? It has a melling oil pimp with a stock millidon pan.

[Chryco Psycho]

what oil filter ?

[Strawdawg]

Start with a new oil filter...not a Fram in case that is what you have at the moment.

If that does not fix it, I think you will have to drop the pan, make sure the screen on the pick up is not plugged with something, and is a 1/4"-3/8" off the bottom.  Also make sure the pick up tube is screwed in firmly and is not cracked.

Might check the high pressure bypass valve in the spring and make sure it is closing all the way and the spring is working properly in it, before you drop the pan...just to be sure

[EMCD]

Ok, i'll check to see what kind of filter I have. The filter assembly is tilted about 30* to allow the headers to fit, could this be the issue?

[EMCD]

ok, i changed the oil filter, (they gave me a ford motorcraft filter. is this the same make as a wix?) and the oil to 10w30. My oil presure is still at 10 psi at idle (in park or neutal) when it's in drive, it sub 10. I hear no knocking or odd engine sounds at the lower pressure. At highway speeds it ranges from 25-50lbs. when i get on it it drops a bit, to 40 psi, but goes no lower. when it's cold, the pressure is at 60-70 psi. also the first seconds of start up in the morning i have a bit of clattering noise for just 1-2 seconds before the oil pressure jumps up. is that normal to?

[72rtchallenger]

Guy on Moparts measured it.

Using an air regulator on the oil pressure sender I started at zero pressure & worked my way up as far as the compressor would go.

The gauge did not register at all at 17 psi then at 18 psi the needle went up to the mark as shown below, the needle wasn't stuck it did the same thing every time I tested it.

Winding up the regulator gave the pressures indicated below but I didn't have enough air pressure to get a reading for the top mark.

Gauges will vary but it gives an idea what pressure you are running.

my 340 pegs when cold and drops to 75 when warm according to this info

[EMCD]

Ok, what do I need to do now. Is it normal for the motor to tick for 1-2 seconds as the oil pressure builds when it's cold? The oil pressure holds at 40 psi even if I wind it up. At the low hot idle it drops to sub-10. It's a melling oil pump and a newly rebuilt 360. I have a mildon stock pan. One thing that I think is strange is when I get on the throttle the pressure drops and holds at 40 psi, then when I let off the gas, the pressure slowly rises.