High oil pressure

[djohn]

How high should oil pressure be? I always thought somewhere in the middle of the gague was ideal. My 2003 8.1l engine is almost at the top end of it, between 70 & 80. Is this a bad thing?

[djohn]

How high should oil pressure be? I always thought somewhere in the middle of the gague was ideal. My 2003 8.1l engine is almost at the top end of it, between 70 & 80. Is this a bad thing?

[edgray]

djohn: Do you have an "added" OP guage? My dash only shows the OP as a digital readout option inside the LCD screen of the Actia instrument panel. Using the recommended 5W30 conventional motor oil, the highest pressure I see, at highway speeds, is around 47 PSI, and only 15-17 at hot idle.

I would suspect your guage "may" be faulty, as I doubt the pump will produce that much pressure, unless you are using some very high viscosity oil, which would not be a good thing IMO. ED

[TandW]

What is pressure with ignition on but engine off? Check resistance at sending unit with engine off and again when engine is running. If no or little change replace it. Although sending units tend to become sluggish in response they can fail "high" after a cold start. This is because, similar to an analog guage, the bib has within it an orifice which meters fluid flow, preventing destructive hydraulic shock, but which can commonly become clogged with debris.Good luck!

[MikeT]

Until 2003, earlier chassis had analog guages, including oil pressure. My 454 used to run almost at the 80 psi portion of the guage, but a mechanical guage can be attached to see if the reading is accurate.

10th digit of VIN denotes chassis year.

[John-D]

There are a few posibilities

First I have had a bad sensor give me false readings.. A new sensor fixed it

Second, The pump pushes way more oil than the engine needs at high speeds. (At low speeds it may be a bit anemic) so they use a bypass (Pressure release) valve to control the pressure. It can clog, also other things can clog, causing a higher than normal pressure.

The wrong grade of oil can affect pressure as well

You should have it checked out.