February 19, 200719 yr Hey Subaru Freaks! I have another survey for you. What does your oil pressure guage read at idle and at max? Please state your engine model and year, N/A or turbo and whether or not your oil pump leaks. The reason I ask is I have noticed a lot of problems with the oil pumps leaking like crazy and wondered if It has to do with the oil pumps running at higher then normal pressure causing the oil pump seal to rupture. If the pumps run at a higher then normal(other make automobiles) pressure, I wonder if subaru did this intentionally to support a turbo system. Thank you very much for all of your replies!
February 19, 200719 yr EA82 SPFI 1987, its leak free(from the engine at least) and my car runs LOTS of pressure... I have an aftermarket gauge that pegs out when its cold, but usually it'll "click" down to either 80 Psi or 60 Psi at high RPMs. At idle it runs about 20 or so IIRC
February 19, 200719 yr 1984 Subaru Gl hatch 4wd, when cold, the stock gauge is maxed, at hot, idle is zero, and cruising at 3000 rpm, about thirty. Consequently, I am replacing it (oil pump) tomorrow. Edit:Oops, meant to put the (oil pump) in the post originally, sorry about that. Replacing it instead of the sender first, because my car has only 76,000 miles on it, and probably has not been done. I'm gonna see where this gets me.
February 19, 200719 yr Author 1984 Subaru Gl hatch 4wd, when cold, the stock gauge is maxed, at hot, idle is zero, and cruising at 3000 rpm, about thirty. Consequently, I am replacing it tomorrow. replacing the pump, pressure sensor or guage?
February 19, 200719 yr 1983 EA81 sedan Resealed engine so no leaks anywhere at hot idle it will be around 20-25psi at highway speeds (3000rpms) it will be around 50-60psi (not sure without looking at the gauge right now)
February 19, 200719 yr 86 Ea82 wagon runs minus 30 at idle and minus 30 at 3000rpms. My sending unit crapped out on me
February 19, 200719 yr 83 ea81t, newly rebuilt. 10W60 oil, no oil cooler. around town, when oil is coolish: 20psi idle 40-50psi @ 2000rpm At open road speed, oil very hot: ~10psi idle 40-45psi @ ~3200rpm Cold (10-20degC, its summer here...), fast idle @ 1800rpm: 80psi
February 20, 200719 yr 90 Loyale Spfi EA 82, non-turbo. 5 at idle hot. 45 running. 85 at cold start, cold temp. Pump replaced at about 150K miles. Sending unit replaced. Doesn't leak.
February 20, 200719 yr 88 RX Coupe= Newer JDM EA82T engine that was totally resealed, but has an oil cooler. 80 PSI when cold, 25+ at warm idle, 45-60 PSI at 3k rpm cruising (depending on how hard I was boosting before I get to cruising speed, as I keep it at cruise it will go up as the oil cools a tad from the cooler). 86 Lifted GL Sedan= 160k on an EA82 that was carb'd now FI..original oil pump leaked good, had terrible oil pressure all the time like below 10-15 PSI even at 4k rpms. Put in a brand new oil pump and seals...will peg (100 PSI) the aftermarket gauge when cold, 25-30 PSI or so at warm idle, 60-70 while cruising.
February 20, 200719 yr 89 EA82 NA - 247,000+ miles, no known leaks at the pump (and none since i bought it at 142K) lol - oil leaks every where else, but not at the pump! Cold start up - 80+ warm idle - 15+/- warm at speed - 45+/-
February 20, 200719 yr 86 EA82, 231,000 miles. Aftermarket mechanical guage, resealed oil pump, new cam case seals. Cold idle: 90+ Hot idle: 25 Cruise: 60-80 GD
February 20, 200719 yr SPFI EA82, 220k miles, all original engine I think when warmed up -- about 10psi idle, 40 - 50psi cruising on the highway (2,900 to 3,500rpm) when cold, I've seen it up to 85psi (almost maxed out), and will idle about 40psi. No oil leaks amazingly enough (but it doesn burn a quart (5W40) every 400miles or so.
February 20, 200719 yr 1986 Subaru RX EA82 Turbo, Engine with about 30k on it. Cold idle is about 70, warm idle is about 20, and 3k at 60 is about 40-50. and my Lifters are quiet. Max iv seen driving it cold and it hit about 80
February 20, 200719 yr 1987 ea82 spfi, 144K on the engine (gross, huh?) occasional ticking when the oil is low somehow.. and I've got no bleeding idea what my oil pressure is, ever, because of the F@<ing DIGIDASH!!!
February 20, 200719 yr 92 loyale spfi ea82, resealed pump recently, no leaks. 121k +/-80 cold start +/-45 hot cruise +/-15 hot idle I did the seafoam not so long ago, and it seems like my hot pressures have dropped slightly. Perhaps closer to 40 and 10 psi hot.
February 20, 200719 yr I think that you Forgot to Ask About which Oil we Use... it can Change the Oil Pressure Ratings... Well... my 1985 EA82 Weberized White Wagon, Usin` Motul Minerally Oil, 20W-50, does: "Near" to 65 PSI at Runnin` Speeds ... (Around 3,000 RPM`s) and just Around 15 PSI at Idle... ... it is the Original Oil Pump, no Oil Leaks, but at over 21 Years Old, and over 240K... it needs a Replacement Oil Pump to make the Original Pressure, that I remember, it Was: 75 PSI on Higher RPM`s, and +/- 25 PSI on Idle... The Yellow Wagon... I`m not Sure, `cos it has the Oil Gauge Damaged by a Short Circuit... but I think it`s near to the White One...
February 20, 200719 yr and just Around 15 PSI at Idle... ... i Dont worry about that, even 5psi at idle is OK.
February 20, 200719 yr 88 XT6 ER27 23K miles..no leaks that I have found yet 85 Cold 15-20 warm idle 45-60 at 3K rpms 92 Loyale EA82 202K miles ..oil pump rebuilt and engine resealed a year and a half ago..leaks from valve cover and cam seal...also sucked the mickey mouse gasket again 60-70 cold non exsistant at idle( probably around 5-7) 30- 40 at 3K rpms
February 21, 200719 yr I've had so many of these. The best: I've ever seen was with a new pump/seals in an '86 carbed Wagon. 30 at hot idle, 50-60 at 3000 RPMs hot The worst: another (different) '86 carbed wagon a little below zero hot idle, a little above at 3000 RPM's hot(that was how I bought it, replaced that pump quickly.) The one I've got now: 89 Turbo wagon unknown milage on pump/seals. 5-10 at hot idle. 25-35 at 3000 RPMs hot. Ticks like a sonnanabich! (that really is from some crappy lifters I HAD to install at the time I built up this motor for a hasty cross country trip) Everything else(4 others) has been somewhere in between
February 21, 200719 yr Dont worry about that, even 5psi at idle is OK. Actually it's not. But this has all been discussed before. A simple search will yeild all the info you could want on oil pressure. I'll just finish by stating that anything below 15psi hot idle is SCREAMING for a diagnostic. And personally I don't like anything below 20. GD
February 21, 200719 yr Actually it's not. But this has all been discussed before. A simple search will yeild all the info you could want on oil pressure. I'll just finish by stating that anything below 15psi hot idle is SCREAMING for a diagnostic. And personally I don't like anything below 20. GD So far anyway, my old girl is screaming all the way to the bank. My oil pressure at hot idle is maybe 5-10. I said 5 above because it's not exactly scientific when you have a pressure guage replete with three numbers: 0, 45, and 90. If I'm on the brink of disaster, I've been living there for 122,000 miles - so far. And that's just the miles I've personally put on. The old geezer who owned the car before me logged an additional 98K.
February 21, 200719 yr Once you've had a rod go through the block you'll be a lot more careful like I am. Blind ignorance of the true oil pressure might be alright in some cases, but it will eventually catch up with you - maybe not on your current engine, but eventually. "A man that doesn't read great books is no better than a man that can't" -- Mark Twain. Not knowing your real oil pressure is as bad as not knowing what oil pressure is. Both scenarios end the same way. GD
February 21, 200719 yr Actually it's not. But this has all been discussed before. A simple search will yeild all the info you could want on oil pressure. I'll just finish by stating that anything below 15psi hot idle is SCREAMING for a diagnostic. And personally I don't like anything below 20. GD Yes and no..... pressure is just an indication of whats going on, it really has no relevance in itself. As long as oil is flowing to all parts of the engine, no pressure at all is required, since the bearings etc can operate hydrodynamically, and the subaru engines dont rely on squirters or other silly things like that. A low oil pressure can indicate a crap pump, which will obviously decrease flow, and requires attention. However, low oil pressure can be caused by a number of things - for example low viscosity oils. Running a high quality, say 0w30 synthetic will drastically lower oil pressure compared to a 0w40, but will do your engine no harm whatsoever. 15psi is absolutely fine for engines such as these, and 5 will do no harm, unless of course it is caused by a bad pump or some other condition where FLOW is effected. Saying that low oil pressure is always bad is a misleading and simplistic view of a much more complicated situation.
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