well the stock oil pressure gauge is toast, so i hooked up an aftermarket gauge tonight.. its reading 50psi at idle and almost 70 at 2500-3k.. the engine is warm too, since i jsut drove it home from work..

 

any reason this could be?? is it a bad thing or a good thing??

 

this oil pump was on the engine that had sat for several years before i stuck it in and started usin it..

50 at idle sounds bogus, if you're talking about when the oil is already warmed up. 50 with cold oil might be right. 10-15 psi at idle with warm oil is probably about right. Sounds like your gauge is goofy. But 70 could be accurate for when you're moving.

I lnstalled one in my hatch, and it reads any where from 50 to above 75 untill the temp needle gets on the gauge then it never reads above 75, even at 5k. it gets down to about 10-15 when warm though.

well, i was diggin through my FSM... found this

 

 

1800cc engine, 50psi, 500rpm, 167-185 temperature

 

1800cc engine, 57psi, 2500rpm, 167-185 temperature

 

pressure relief valve starts to open at 64psi

 

oil bypass valve opens at 21 psi

When the engine is at full operating temp, I get 11-12 psi at idle (700 rpm) and 55-60 psi at 3000 rpm (cruising speed). Been like that for 3 years and has not changed after I replaced the oil pump's O ring and resealed. So I guess it's normal.

At idle when the engine is cold it gets as hign as 80-85 psi.