BigJim

Yea ive had "low" oil pressure since i got my car. It would only be anywhere near 60 psi if it was over 3000 rpm for a few seconds, other wise it would dorp to like 10 or 15 psi. Well i decided to change my oil perssure sensor, wow. I now get like 50 psi at idle and a nice 60 at anything above idle. If your worried about your oil pressure, spend the 36 bucks at Autozone to get a new sensor, definately worth the feeling of knowing i actaully have oil pressure.

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Yeah, my bro's GSL-SE, and a friend's '82 GSL both had 0 or a little above 0PSI oil pressure. It was just the senders or the guages.

peejay once said something like if the engine still runs, it's got enough oil pressure.

RX7145

iTrader: (1)

I have a autometer gauge and the stock gauge. The difference between the two is huge sometimes. The stock gauge is very inaccurate.

eddierotary

iTrader: (7)

yeap same as mine, i have a VDO gauge because i dont trust the stock one

cdrad51

Wow I don't know how you get those readings because per the manual oil pressure is supposed to be 64-79 at 3,000 rpm and 12.8-38.4 at idle.

FB II

agreed, get an aftermarket gauge. you will see what your pressure really is.

Lt. Dan

autozone sells 'em?!?! I've been waiting on an OEM one for TWO WEEKS now!!!

Dan

BigJim

im runnin over 60 at over 3000 and likea cm below the 60 mark when idleing. Guages are my next tihng, but im still tryin to decide on where to put, pilliar pod or in the guage cluster

inittab

What are some of the typical causes of low oil pressure in your engines? Bad pump? low oil? All I've ever read about is bad oil pressure sensors but never bad oil pumps. Do the oil pumps ever fail? I'm sure the can but it doesn't seem like a failure point for the rotary. Any thoughts?

BigJim

On my time on the forum ive never heard of one going bad, just the sensors

Siraniko

iTrader: (13)

thats dangerous especially on long trips....

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Heh, yeah.

I took a core engine apart that had a broken rotor in the oil pump. It had cracked in the thin spots and was in two pieces. If I hadn't taken the outer rotor out, I never would have discovered that the inner rotor was bad.

I have pics, but I won't bother to upload them to this forum due to all the problems. Here is a link but I think you need to be a registered member to see them. http://www.nopistons.com/forums/inde...0&#entry460349

adsinger

I'm new to this forum having just bought a Maxton Rollerskate, a limited production, Lotus 7-like car built in the early 90's (see my website).

The Maxton uses a 13B motor, mine has about 1300 miles on it from the time the car was assembled. At that time the motor was rebuilt by Tony Rivera of the Mazda Shop in Englewood, CO (he now runs TRRotorsports). It's street ported and runs a Dellorto carb and Reacing beat intake and header.

So much for background. The car runs fine with no apparent issues, but the oil pressure readings seem strange. I've read a few threads here looking for a similar problem and/or solution. I've got a VDO gauge, don't know about the sensor or the pellet thingie. I get a reading of near 30lbs cold at idle, about 25 warm. This is pretty similar to what I understand to be correct. But at revs, it never quite gets to 40lbs.

I'd appreciate the thoughts of those better schooled in rotaries than me. Is it most likely sensor/guasge related or engine? And how should I proceed?

Thanks much.

alan.
http://members.aol.com/mxtnrollerskate

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

If it's got an electric guage, then I'd say the guage or sender are wrong. I like mechanical guages for exactly this reason. Infact, I'm going to instal one probably today. Gotta deal with the nylon tubing etc.

peejay

How long is long?

Yesterday I drove 210 miles to a Rallycross in the opposite corner of my state. In about 2 hours 45 minutes, and there were construction zones and the final 30 miles were city. Oil pressure was about 30-35psi according to the gauge, running an indicated 4200-4500rpm for long stretches.

On the way back I had to cut down my speed, since it was late afternoon/early evening and the roads were toasty hot, and I have the awful cooling combination of a small radiator and beehive oil cooler. Temps would go up to about 220ish on the uphills, so I'd slog up the hills and then accelerate up to about 80mph at the creat and then coast with the engine at idle in order to cool things back down - usually to about 180ish before the next uphill. And it wasn't even *hot* yesterday, I was wearing a jacket! (only 70-72deg!)

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

I'm reminded of my beehive with a short radiator experience. The oil in the pan would get past 220. I only put 6 miles on that combo before I pulled the engine.

peejay

Did I mention that I'm running 5W20 oil?

In theory the thinner oil should work better - more oil gets passed through the engine instead of just being bled off at the pressure regulator. (I have a hard time believing that the gauge is accurate) This means more oil taking heat from the bearings and more oil getting sprayed into the rotors pulling heat away. So yeah, the oil is hot, but there's more oil flowing through to pull heat away.

MosesX605

My SA doesn't have an oil pressure gauge.

I guess I'm running on faith...

peejay

Really, you're better off not knowing.

coldy13

I don't care about knowing. I havn't had my oil pressure gauge connected since I went turbo. I used that port for my oil feed and didn't feel like making another trip to the hardware store for a T fitting