My newly swapped in EA82 has a lot more oil pressure than the last engine. It runs between 55-70 depending on RPM's and cold/warm. I assume by the guage that 45 is ''normal'' oil pressure. Can this much oil pressure cause problems? I can see that there is a small oil leak I didn't notice before - looks like the oil pump gasket by the location I'm guessing (middle of motor just behind the timing covers).

too mutch oil pressure can on some more primitive cars break the oil pump driveshaft by the amount of power needed to make that pressure. other than that no. that sounds fine except for the leak.

ya, I've lived with leaking engines all my driving life and I hate it I'm assuming that a leak there might cause problems with the timing belts and should be fixed soon? I wish it would have shown that it leaked before we put the motor in - it would have been lots easier to put a new gasket there with the engine on the hoist

Well, the mantra around here seems to be that every time the engine is out change the timing belts and reseal the oil-pump.

 

Assuming that your oil guage is accurate (big assumption), I don't think that the indicated pressure is worrisome. Also, if you bumped, disturbed, or breathed-on the pressure sender before during or after the swap, or if you just have bad kharma, the sender could be way off. My car (formerly my wife's) has read oddly since its swap: It reads 0-5 when cold and -15 hot idle. :-\ The sender body has issues, and can be turned by hand...

If your pressure goes above what the MAX on the guage is; I'd say thats too high.

Well, the mantra around here seems to be that every time the engine is out change the timing belts and reseal the oil-pump.

 

I know - my bad. Hubby and I were trying to get it done ASAP. There are several things I would have LIKED to do too (like degrease the engine compartment!) before the swap, but we just tried to get it done - being w/o a car is a major PIA. Hubby started to change the tranny fluid in his Suburban and the parts store had given me the wrong seal/filter for it, grrrr. So, I had to hitch a ride with hubby at 3:30am on his way to work in his log truck so I could borrow a car to exhange the kit so he could put it back together. What a pain Never again do I want to be a one car home!

 

At least the seal/belts are something I feel like I could personally tackle during the week sometime.

Typical oil pressure is just as you see it. When the engine is cold the pressure is near the top of the scale. When warm, pressure will drop to around 10 to 15 psi (some cars read close to 0) at idle and 25-50 at cruising speed. It's not likely that the oil pressure is too high and the only way to tell for sure is to put a mechanical oil pressure guage on it and compare the readings to your electrical guage. Oil leaks are common on the EA82 (and EA81) engine; most commonly from the valve cover gaskets. If it's leaking from the front a re-seal might be in order when you do the timing belts. I'm glad you found a running engine for it; best of luck with it. Just a comment on timing belts, genuine OEM belts last the longest. Also, since it's a non-interference engine, it won't damage itself if the belt(s) break; but the engine will stop instantly which can be exciting if you're in the middle of traffic. Worst case I ever had was on I-405 during afternoon rush hour; luckily, nothing else happened other than the belts but it was scary for a few seconds.

Eh, depends on your engine / oil.

 

My 92 loyale idled at like 5 PSI I swear...

 

My 87 idles at like 20 PSI... cold mornings with the 20W50 get the pressure up NEAR the top, but not pegged.

20W50? Wow...

 

I've just run with the assumption that if my Subaru isn't leaking, I don't have any oil in it.

 

-=Russ=-

20w50? thats like honey right?