Low oil pressure / inconsitant oil pressure

landyacht318 wrote:
My original OP gauge decided one day to start reading low, causing alarm.

I installed a mechanical gauge, "T" ing the line so the original gauge still works.

Mechanical gauge revealed OP was fine.

Little correlation between the two gauges. The stock gauge takes about 45 second to respond to a steady rpm, the mechanical gauge is nearly instant.

Neat seeing how different weight oils affect PSI, cold, hot, and at different RPM's. I actually determine when my engine is fully warmed up, not by the temp gauge, but by oil pressure.

I know it goes against everything we are taught, but oil pressure is not a more is better thing, it is a long as it is above the minimum spec it is fine thing.

If More OP was better, than we'd all be running 80w140 gear oil in our engines, and it seems many of the 20w50 diehards out there always want their oil pump bypass, in bypass.

UNless of course the engine or the temperatures it is driven in calls for 20w50. And old timers love their thicker oil and nothing can change their minds.