didnt do this until after 2 hrs of driving...my oil pressure is pegged WAY past 80PSI....during the 2hrs of driving it was normal...would be about 30psi while idleing and go up to about 60 when on the gas but it pegged out and has not come back down..even when the key is just on but not running. I can see the needle moving just a hair but it wont go below 70 AT ALL...on the gas, idling...nothing changes. WHat oil should I be running?..im on straight 30 Valvoline right not... could it be my sending unit on the back of the intake? or the one by the oil filter?

why did it all of a sudden do that?


is that bad? can I still drive like that?

 

That is why your pegging your gauge. There is a reason you don't run stright 30 weight oil. Keep it up and you will probably blow off your oil filter first, if your lucky.

 

dont drive it that way until you're sure that it is not actually having that high of a pressure. what i would first do is to make sure my sending unit was not broken and then i would check the harness to make sure that it isnt grounding out somewhere. if its doing this with the engine not running, i would be fairly positive its not a mechanical issue. the other thing i would do is change the oil filter to make sure it hasnt become clogged. if you still cant get it worked out hook up a mechanical oil pressure gauge and verify it that way, if it checks out alright with a mechanical gauge go back to step one and recheck the sending unit and the wiring.

as for running straight 30w oil causing a pressure problem while breaking in a motor... thats just nuts.

 

At normal engine operating temperature, straight 30-weight oil has the same viscosity as 0W-30, 5W-30 or 10W-30 oil. It is probably not the best oil choice for your engine - cold start oil circulation will be poor - but it has nothing to with your pressure problem.

When the sensor fails "open" (electrically speaking), the wire is disconnected, or the harness pins lose contact, the gauge will go to the max pressure.

 

My friend did a H/C/I swap on his TPI 350. He had straight 30 in that motor for break in of the new combo. When he floored it, by the top end of first(6spd swap) he was blowing oil out his dipstick tube. It wasn't because he had a loose fitting, he has a Lokar dipstick, it was the oil. Swap to regular oil and the problem stopped and his oil pressure also dropped to normal, and yes it was up to operating temp.

 

Ive now got 750 miles on the motor...what oil should I run in it now? can I switch to synthetic already? or should I run a regular good oil? what weight?

Im in NC and in the summer here it gets up to 90-95 and the humidity is unbearable..so what wieght is good for that climate?

Im pretty sure I figured out my problem...I checked the oil sending unit behind the intake and the little metal tap that goes into the sender came out with the plug when I pulled it....I tried to unscrew the sender but it just spins....and Im not going to take the whole top end just to switch it out...I'll just super glue it to the sender and hopefully it will hold for a while....I will eventually change it out but time is an issue. ..when I pushed it back into the sender and plugged it ..I went and checked the gauge after turning the key to on..and it was back down to ZERO..

 

10w30 will be just fine, and I would run dyno oil a little longer. At least until you get to your next oil change, 3000 miles.

 

cool!!..thanks!..I'll change the oil tomorrow.

 

you should be able to use a short 14mm wrench to remove pressure switch just reach under unit next to where it goes into block

 

Oil blows out of the dipstick tube because of high crankcase pressure, not because of high oil pressure. Sound like he had a massive blowby problem.

 

Not saying your wrong, in fact now that I think of it your are right, but why would it stop all together after the oil change?

 

maybe the rings finally seated or he had some sort of malfuntion with the pcv system.

 

I doubt the rings seeing as it is a 200k mile motor. Don't believe it to be the PCV either since that was not changed.