Oil pressure question

Heads, valves, pistons, rods, crankshaft, etc...

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legacy93
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Oil pressure question

Post by legacy93 »

k i put a piller on my legacy and attached a oil pressure gauge and its reading at 75 PSI at 3k rpm and about 15 at idle is too much bad or is that normal?

the reason i put it in was because my engine light never came on when i lost my oil drain plug hehe :)
bmxkelowna
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Post by bmxkelowna »

bump, i would also like to know how much psi is normal in these cars. i just got a gauge since my last car dumped all the oil as well and never told me
Threshld1
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Post by Threshld1 »

Ive been looking for this spec aswell. I believe from what i found in the 92 FSM is ~22psi at idle and ~45psi @5k rpm is what is says for the turbo.

Did you use a mechanical or electrical? Im looking at getting an electrical aswell just to monitor such an important thing. Any suggestions on a cheaper one? Also what can be done about the pressure sender light with a new electronic sensor? Do they output a 12v source when there is pressure or am i going to have to rig something up
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dscoobydoo
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Post by dscoobydoo »

93 SS 143000 miles new oil pump
running autometer electric sender.

when warm ( 210-240 degrees in the oil)
the car runs about 75 psi at 2800+

at idle, it sits at about 20-22 psi

My Nissan Maxima runs about the same PSi at idle, but does not get near as high at 3000 rpms

if you go below 17psi at hot idle, I would start to worry.
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napphappy
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Post by napphappy »

All of this is dependant on what wieght oil you are running. And the quality of it. Cheaper oils tend to loose alot of viscosity at higher temps.
1997 White BG Ltd 5MT, EJ22T with Wiescos, EJ20R Heads, Two large dents R.I.P
1995 Impreza EJ22T DOHC Hydra EMS, 20g, EWG, 3in APS TBE, AWIC
drftsub
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Post by drftsub »

these pressures are close to most i have seen as well. subaru's run a lot of pressure once off of idle.
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dscoobydoo
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Post by dscoobydoo »

Specifically the legacy turbo runs high oil pressure due to its specifications.

not all of the other Subaru cars run as high
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drftsub
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Post by drftsub »

yes, the observed engines I had were all turbo ( only ones I ever bothered to hook a pres. guage too )
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Subtle
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Post by Subtle »

As I recall, on the turbos the oil jets open to squirt the "underside " of the pistons at 57 psi .
Subtle (normally aspirated engines suck):
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Bane
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Post by Bane »

on a cold start... it's around 80psi
after warmup... around 15psi at idle

highway cruising is arount 20'ish
pressure goes up during acceleration

usually around 50psi

autometer gauge, electric sender.
pressure sensor hooked up to the block where the stock low oil light sender used to be.
James L

'07 Magnum SXT - not stock
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'93 Legacy Turbo SS - 5spd conv, vf34, intercooled, K&N, dual stage mbc 11/16psi, hks 3" turbo-back w/hi-flow cat, kyb's, ADR 18" rims w/225/35/18zr's, 7" touch screen w/race camera
All_talk
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Post by All_talk »

From the FSM:

14psi @ 600rpm
43psi @ 5000rpm

Pressure relief valve:

85psi Turbo
71psi N/A

Warmed up, mine runs about 15psi at idle and 55-65psi above 2500rpm (depends on ambient temp and how hard i'm workin it). Gauge: VDO electric. Oil: Castrol GTX 10-30, pressures run slightly higher fresh, slightly lower when its due for a change.

Gary
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rally370
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Post by rally370 »

The rally car runs at about 75psi at 3000ish and drops to 55psi at the same rpm after a good stage trashing in CA hot sun. At idle it's about 20psi . I always use a mechanical oil gauge. I use the oil pressure as a good yard stick to see how the engine is. After Laughlin last year the pressure cold at 3000 had dropped by 20psi hence my engine rebuild. Oil is Mobil 1 15/50 cuz the engine had done 250,000. I plan to use a lighter oil after the rebuild , but may still use 15/50.
Cheers

Chris

Rally Legacy AWD #370 gone! Rally Suzuki swift GTI N1 #370 parted out. Now Mini Cooper #370 with STI suspension in Costa Rica
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