Oil pressure problem...

[Bass Man]

Straight to it.... When I start my 87 LX in the morning, it stays around 60-65lbs@1100RPM. After it is warmed up a bit, it goes down to about 40lbs@1100... It's been like THAT since I got it, but just yesterday, I took it up a hill and drove it fairly hard and noticed it went down to 20lbs@ 3000rpm, and about 9-10lbs@Idle!!!!!

Right when I noticed it, I checked my oil and found that it was almost a quart low, and I just happened to have a quart handy and filled it up... Still had low oil pressure...

I have an aftermarket gauge in the stock idiot light position, but that isn't leaking and had consistant flow to my gauge. I also replaced my vavle cover, but didn't put sealer around the gasket and it is now leaking slightly (I'll fix that today...)

Today, I started it up this morning and had about 50lbs all the way to 210 degrees, then picked my brother up and went for a pretty long drive. After a good 30 minutes and some regular driving, it was at 20lbs again (I didn't watch it go down) and my temp gauge was at at around 212 degrees.

[2oodoor]

dam getting fancy with the OP guage huh.. lol
hey those oil pumps have seals in them, very very simple to replace, there is one in the middle of the two parts of the OP that I believe could cause oil pressure problems by creating an unwanted relief inside the pump itself if it developed a split. I just did mine, almost spent the 70 bucks for a new pump then I decided to just get the seals from HOnda, about 10 bucks my cost. IT worked out great.
This is a cool motor, you dont have to drop the pan to service the pump.

[buzzbomber88lx]

my 7mgte in my supra had about the same problem. the motor hasnt had different weights of oil ran through it has it? may have some sludge on the sump pickup. def. want to check stuff out before you run into what i did and have a rod cap come off and have a rod slapping the crank.

[Bass Man]

I think I will just change the oil soon and see where that takes it.

[Bass Man]

Did an oil change today.
It has great pressure till it warms up then it will stay at 30lbs after 3k Rpms, but if I let it idle, it'll stay at 9-10lbs...

I don't get it!! It was an awesome engine, then I took it up the hill once and I hit a LOT of bumps, and that might have done something.

[cygnus x-1]

Sounds like this is a mechanical gauge right? Maybe something happened to it. Is it an Autometer or some other cheapie one?

C|

[russiankid]

Are you leaking any oil? I agree with Roodoo, if the pump leaks, it can cause the pressure to drop when the engine warms up.

[Bass Man]

Damn... I need to pay closer attention to early posts!!

I bought a set of 3 Equuis Gauges... $40...
I thought Autometer was good stuff!

The reason I don't think it is the gauge, is that it stays at 60lbs for quite a while.

If I have a crack in the O-ring, does that affect what my gauge reads, or is my OP really only 9-10lbs????

Roodoo! Do you have a write up on changing this O-ring?? I have no idea where to start.

[Oldblueaccord]

Well it does seem quite low but I think you can still get away with it. As long as it reads when at idle you will prolly be OK.

Im not so sure a O-ring leak would make the pressure that low. I had one for a while and I never saw a pressure differance but lets hope I am wrong.

I guess you changed the fliter as well? Try and cut the old one a part and see whats if anything is in it.

Also run 10w40 oil.

[Bass Man]

I bought a Fram filter and Vavoline High mileage 5w30.

I hope I don't have to take my OP line off again... That thing was a Major PITA to put in.

[cygnus x-1]

Autometer IS good stuff. That's why I asked if they were Autometer or some other brand that's not so great. But since it still goes up to 60PSI at startup that points to something other than the gauge.

How old it the oil pump? Could be that it's starting to wear. That seal is also a possibility. The pump is towards the bottom of the engine behind the lower timing cover. To get it off you have to remove the crank pulley and lower timing cover. Then you have to undo the timing belt tensioner. When you do this find a way to hold the belt onto the cam and crank timing gears so they stay synced. Otherwise you have to make sure everything lines up again when you put it all back together. Not a big deal, but makes it easier.

C|

[cygnus x-1]

I bought a Fram filter and Vavoline High mileage 5w30.

I hope I don't have to take my OP line off again... That thing was a Major PITA to put in.

High mileage I think just means it has different additives. What 'roo meant was to use thicker oil. That will bump the pressure up a little.

C|

[Bass Man]

I couldn't imagine the pump has been touched, but the car is 216k miles old. Where are these O-rings at??

[Bass Man]

High mileage I think just means it has different additives. What 'roo meant was to use thicker oil. That will bump the pressure up a little.

C|

Should I put more additives in to help the pressure?

[greentee76]

What did the oil look loke when you drained it? smell like? Mine tends to put fuel in the oil thinning it out. I think I have this problem licked with a new choke spring.
I can recommend Lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer. It helped keep my pressure up even with the fuel thinning it out.

[russiankid]

Damn... I need to pay closer attention to early posts!!

I bought a set of 3 Equuis Gauges... $40...
I thought Autometer was good stuff!

The reason I don't think it is the gauge, is that it stays at 60lbs for quite a while.

If I have a crack in the O-ring, does that affect what my gauge reads, or is my OP really only 9-10lbs????

Roodoo! Do you have a write up on changing this O-ring?? I have no idea where to start.

Changing the O-rings is straight forward. After you pull the oil pump, you will see an O-ring on the outer part of the pump, and also a weird looking O-ring. There are two philip screws that hold the two halves of the pump together, remove those and you will find one more O-ring. There is a total of 3.

[Civic Accord Honda]

omg u bought a fram oil filter =O
bad boy!!!!
fram is one of the worse filters
i use bosch or K&N

[Bass Man]

I know... I've heard horrer stories about fram, but I only had $20.

Greentee: I bet I am getting fuel in my oil because I have the manuel secondary mod and I know that too much gass will lead to Gas in the oil.

RussianKid, that was all the info I needed.

[2oodoor]

part numbers for all three gaskets for the oil pump

https://www.3geez.com/forum/showthrea...t=60975&page=2

[cygnus x-1]

Should I put more additives in to help the pressure?

I don't know what the additives are but I imagine they are most likely detergents to help fight sludge buildup. Like those stupid commercials for Castrol.

Here are the gaskets. #4 and #11.

https://www.hondapartsdeals.com/hond...omponent=E++13


C|

[Bass Man]

Thanks a lot!! This helps big time.

[russiankid]

I don't know what the additives are but I imagine they are most likely detergents to help fight sludge buildup. Like those stupid commercials for Castrol.

Here are the gaskets. #4 and #11.

https://www.hondapartsdeals.com/hond...omponent=E++13


C|

He also needs number 9.

Don't forget to put a dab of blue locktite on the bolts that hold the pump halves together and on some that hold the pump to the block.

P.S. The bolts that hold the pump to the block are to be torqued to 9lb-ft and the ones that hold the halves together are 5lb-ft.