When I accelerate my oil pressure will drop from 50 to about 32 when I hit 4k rpm till 5.5k. The oil level is about a 1/4" over full. Oil pressure is around 25psi at idle when warm. When I rev it up while in park, it will stay around 50 psi the whole way up to redline. I'm think that my the oil is not making it the pick up under hard acceleration. I just put a autozone oil sending unit in it and I heard they're alittle low. Should I put alittle more oil in it, or should I not worry about it?

 

We'll I added some more oil. Its about 3/8" over the full mark and it seems like it has gotten worse. The pressure is dropping down into the 28 range at 5k . I don't know why I lost pressure when I added more oil. I'm gonna try taking a quart out so its 3/4 full. What do you guys think about it?

 

I am experiencing this problem as well. A good friend of mine had the same exact problem in his 93 LT1, he pulled the motor, changed the pump to a high pressure pump, it STILL does it, just not as bad.... When I pull the motor, I will inspect it a little more than just replace the pump, I will also be changing to a Miledon Oil Pan, my first thought was maybe its sucking the oil pan but, that answer just doesn't seem right to me. I will keep you posted.

 

What are the chances of spinning a bearing with 28 psi's at 5k?

 

From what I see there's a lot of LT1s that are doing this...I haven't had that problem at least not the 1 time I checked my pressure when I romped it...I've heard a wide variety of guesses as to what may cause it...I don't know that anyone really knows for sure... and it could be a number of variables that are different from one car to the next...

 

Man this is a mystery. What do you guys think about adding an oil additive to thicken up the oil or should I try flushing the engine out with some cleaner? Do you guys think it’s safe to spin it up to 5500 rpm with only 30 psi's?

 

Too much oil is not a good idea.It can cause air bubbles in the oil.Could be your problem.

 

I just removed a quart this morning so now its 1/4 below full. Still the same I think I might remove my oil cooler tomorrow. I don't know if thats gonna help though. The engine only has 73k on it and has always had oil changes every 3k.

 

Dont go and spend alot of money on something so ordinary to these cars. most all lt1 cars i have ridden in do this. When you romp on it at a slow speed, it sloshes the oil back in the pan momentarily. I wouldnt worry about it unless it got down into the red

Maybe some other members will chime in soon and tell you the same thing I am.

 

Thanks for the input Brad I'm not freakin out as much now

 

Too much oil is worse than not enough because your slamming oil into the crank at a huge force, this in itself causes the engine to shake.Mine stays at 40 at idle and 65 when I nail it. Get a mechanical gauge on it before you go taking anything off because you could just have a lousy oil psi gauge( nail it=vts go up/gauge goes down) and if its a real oil psi issue its gonna get exspensive.

 

sounds liek the pickup is being uncovered upon acceleration, cause the oil is all sloshing to the back.

Id take too much oil any day over not enough oil. No clue what you are talking about, sure you might lose a little horsepower with the extra oil, but isnt that better than a motor?

 

mines kinda the same way. right above 20 at idle and around 40 on the highway but when i nail it, the needle goes to maybe 45-50 and stays there. at one point i even saw it dip down under 40 for a sec. and then jump back to where it had been so i am suspecting a bad gauge possibly. i find it strange how the psi doubles from idle to 2k but then hardly picks up any pressure from 2k-5k.

 

I'm gonna try putting a mechanical gauge on it. I just put a sending unit on it so I'm pretty sure the gauge is ok.

97 SLP company car......Whats VTS mean?

nail it=vts go up/gauge goes down

 

Vlts volts