hi guys quick question installed some after market gauges in my mav noticing that when i 1st start it up i have 50-55 readin on the gauge once it warms up thos it drops to 25 at 40 mph when i stop at a light or something it reads only 3 is this a faulty gauge or do i have some problems also noticing a lot of blow by drivers side valve cover is coverd in oil and the wires are as well the pcv valve is plugged into the right side cover and they have the hose running to the main vacum stem on the fron of my edelbrock carb is this correct as well ... thanks to all with any answer to this question
Sounds like your engine is getting tired. Nothing you describe makes me think it is going to expire soon, however it is tired. Make sure you keep a good PCV in it. Use thicker oil. Make sure the cooling is up to snuff, oil too hot can become thin (lower pressure) and burn, could also cause some smoking from the crank case. Use a different brand of oil filter on next change too. If you are truely burning oil and getting blow by from the crankcase after all you do/check... You might try one step hotter spark plugs. Just make sure that the cooling system is not the problem, because hotter plugs will make that worse. Your plugs could also be too hot, causing the engine to run hotter and affecting the oil thickness and therefore pressure. Lots of things it could be... Good luck Dave
It is normal for the oil pressure to drop some as the engine (and oil) warms up, but 3 psi? That definately is not good! My 250 6 cylinder with 213,000 miles holds about 60 psi when I first start it and after it warms up, about 50 psi going down the road and 20-25 at idle. I agree with Dave, I would start running some thicker oil in that thing.
Put a mechanical gauge on it to find out what your oil pressure really is. If the gauge you installed is a mechanical gauge (with a tube that runs from the oil passage to the gauge then you need to overhaul that engine. There are only a few things that cause oil pressure that low and most often it is worn bearings.
If you need to get by with it for a while before you rebuild it, go to wally world or the auto parts store and get about 2 qrts of Lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer and enough oil of a heavier weight, say 50 w, and change the oil, put in the Lucas and finish filling with oil. Then, every time it uses a quart, refill it with lucas one time, oil the next untill change time. I ran a Cummins semi truck engine this way for a year before I traded the truck off, without the Lucas it used a gallon a week, with Lucas it used a gallon every 2weeks, so it cut my oil usage in half. My oil pressure without Lucas was about 30-35 lbs highway speeds, 15-20 idle, with Lucas, 50-55 highway speeds, 25-35 idleing. A big Cummins holds 44 quarts, so my mixture was pretty low. I have run the Lucas over a 75% mix in gas engines with no problems, even in my lawnmowers. It is not a cure all, and you will eventally have to rebuild the engine, but it can prolong it for a while. Hate it if this sounds like a commercial for Lucas products, But I am a firm beliver in using them and have never had any bad results with them.
That oil pressure is way to low.. at that pressure you can prob hear knocks/rattles or lifter pecking.... Do you hear any of that? As far as the Lucas... it is good stuff. I run it in a lot of my toys and also use the gas treatment in my truck and it picks up mileage a little bit also. But liek they said, if it honestly is that low, better start saving for a rebuild and run thicker oil.
Thicker oil will make you feel better because the gage will read higher, but it won't do much to actually improve your oiling. You can drive it that way for a while, but start planning for a rebuild.
