oil pressure

[Bill Ford]

Did a search to see what oil pressure you guys a getting. I just restored my P-15S and did not do anything to the motor. The car has 75K miles, starts and runs smooth, does not smoke but uses a quart of oil about every 500 miles. We did see that the head had been off, maybe a overhaul. My oil pressure is 60 which I think is good. Do you suspect a bad oil guage? What is normal?

[1949P17BC]

Pressure is good, I hate to say it thye just burn, drip and suck up oil

[Captain Neon]

1 qt. oil / 500 miles travel is not unusual in an L6.

[greg g]

Probably pumping it past the rear seal. 60 when all the time? Should be like 20 to 30 at sidle and 40 to 60 going down the road at highway speed.

[Bill Ford]

Greg, I thought something was wrong. It is 60 all the time. No less when it is at idle. What do I do to correct this?

[greg g]

Your pressure relief valve is probably sticking. But to be sure get a cheapie aux gauge and plumb it in to make sure you gauge isn't giving a false reading. If you get the same reading you will probably need to pull the plunger and clean it up or attend to a broken spring. Don C had that problem on his way to North Carolina and he can talk you through it. that uch pressure isn't a good deal since it will find those leak prone places and exagerate the situation. You might pop the line to the gauge and get a hot oil bath while trying to shut down your engine to keep it from oil starving.

[Niel Hoback]

I had the same problem, too much pressure. I pulled the regulator spring out to find that the PO had stretched it to raise the pressure. I replaced it with a spare one and the pressure runs about 30 at idle and 40-45 at speed.

There are, I think 3 different strength springs, color coded to indicate strength. It was an old trick to raise the pressure in an older worn engine by putting small washers at the end of the spring to make it stronger.

My luck, I found one owned by a gorilla who thought of a permanent fix.

[Zeke1953]

The '53 truck shop manual says that the oil pressure should be between 30-45 psi at speeds above thirty mph. I guess it would be the same for cars. Zeke

[aero3113]

I think My 50 Plymouth manual says any pressure above 0 psi at idle is good and 40 psi at 30mph.

[Bill Ford]

Niel, are you talking about the coil that is behind the gauge? Is there any thing on the end of the line that goes into the block?

[Niel Hoback]

The oil pressure regulator spring is right behind the plug that screws into the block. Its just below where the oil filter lines screw into the block. Stretching the spring, or shimming it, will raise the pressure. Shortening it or replacing it with a weaker spring will lower the oil pressure.

Remove the plug, remove the spring, pull out the valve spool and make sure its clean and doesn't stick. A little magnet on the end of a thin screwdriver should slide it out.

[norrism1]

Unpainted spring is for normal pressure.