Idle Oil Pressure Thoughts (Currently sitting at 20 PSI fully warm).

[SNES Avalanche]

Hey all,

Just got back from my Chevrolet dealer who told me everything is within specifications for my 2008 Avalanche 6.0L. While the compression test came back perfect the Oil Gauge test showed something interesting. At the filter I'm getting 45 PSI at idle but by the time it reaches the top end it's down to 23PSI. (The truck has a new O Ring Gasket, Oil Pressure Screen and Oil Pressure Sensor).

With that said I saw a video (See at 6:45) where the uploader claims that by blowing compressed air through the Oil Galley to clean out whatever gunk is in there fixed his lower pressure.

Is this something I should give a chance?

See at 6:45

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@SNES Avalanche In my limited experience those galleys that he is talking about aren't usual places for oil or sludge to build up, the video author mentioned he also replaced his oil pump at the same time so scientifically he failed in proving a theory.

He also failed to address the main issue his engine is having, It seems he believed that increasing his oil pressure would be the solution to his failed lifter which proved to not be the solution.

What problem are you trying to solve and what steps have you taken so far? You concerned your oil pressure gauge showing lower than 40?

 

[SNES Avalanche]

He also failed to address the main issue his engine is having, It seems he believed that increasing his oil pressure would be the solution to his failed lifter which proved to not be the solution.

What problem are you trying to solve and what steps have you taken so far? You concerned your oil pressure gauge showing lower than 40?

My main concern is that I'm showing 45 PSI at the oil filter and 20 PSI at the top end when fully warmed up. The Dealer technician's note that this is lower than what they usually especially after a recent oil change.

I'm thinking of giving this a chance before replacing the oil pump as I'm convinced the oil pressure gradually dropping to 20PSI is what killed the first engine.

The engine is a replacement with 40k Miles and is running fine but I want to get ahead of it.

 

[Foggy]

That's pretty normal... Try a different oil filter brand maybe - like a wix, they have
higher flow rates than most - even the acdelco's.
Also, make sure you have good quality clean synthetic 5w30

20 psi is ok at hot idle... I'd be more concerned if your oil pressure was only 30 ish
at 2,000 rpm...
But the rule of thumb is 10 psi per 1,000 rpm's
And I wouldn't introduce pressurized air to the oil galleys either.. You are just asking
for a can of worms

 

[SNES Avalanche]

That's pretty normal... Try a different oil filter brand maybe - like a wix, they have
higher flow rates than most - even the acdelco's.
Also, make sure you have good quality clean synthetic 5w30

20 psi is ok at hot idle... I'd be more concerned if your oil pressure was only 30 ish
at 2,000 rpm...
But the rule of thumb is 10 psi per 1,000 rpm's
And I wouldn't introduce pressurized air to the oil galleys either.. You are just asking
for a can of worms

Running AC Delco Full Synthetic and the UPF48R per the TSB to increase oil pressure.

My larger concern is that 15k miles ago it was sitting higher at hot idle and when I was looking over the receipts from when GM replaced the engine block it seems like they reused the same exact oil pump which means it now has 152k miles on it

 

[Dustin Jackson]

My main concern is that I'm showing 45 PSI at the oil filter and 20 PSI at the top end when fully warmed up. The Dealer technician's note that this is lower than what they usually especially after a recent oil change.

I'm thinking of giving this a chance before replacing the oil pump as I'm convinced the oil pressure gradually dropping to 20PSI is what killed the first engine.

The engine is a replacement with 40k Miles and is running fine but I want to get ahead of it.

@SNES Avalanche Wouldn't your new engine have a new oil pump? Or did you reuse it?

 

[Geotrash]

My main concern is that I'm showing 45 PSI at the oil filter and 20 PSI at the top end when fully warmed up. The Dealer technician's note that this is lower than what they usually especially after a recent oil change.

I'm thinking of giving this a chance before replacing the oil pump as I'm convinced the oil pressure gradually dropping to 20PSI is what killed the first engine.

The engine is a replacement with 40k Miles and is running fine but I want to get ahead of it.

I have two Yukon XL Denalis - one with 224K on it and the other with 132K. The latter has a new high volume oil pump, new sender with deleted screen, courtesy of a cam swap job last year. My hot idle on both this time of year is ~20 psi. And a significant pressure drop from the pump to the sender is normal because it passes through several passages enroute.

 

[THarber]

Has anyone replaced the oil screen below the oil pressure sending unit behind the intake manifold?

Also, what oil filter?

Try running the Wix XP filter, it has a different pressure relief valve internally.

 

[donjetman]

Also, what oil filter?

Fram XG10575 for me. My wifes Lincoln uses this filter too.

 

[Geotrash]

Has anyone replaced the oil screen below the oil pressure sending unit behind the intake manifold?

Also, what oil filter?

Try running the Wix XP filter, it has a different pressure relief valve internally.
View attachment 379677

Oh yes. Many of us with higher mileage rigs have replaced that sender and the screen in the first 150K or so. In my case, I removed the screen in my 2012 entirely because I was doing a mechanical AFM delete and no longer needed to worry about anything fouling the VLOM.

I run the Wix 57045 filter. Longer and hence easier to install and remove.