Oil Pressure when Idling?
 

Got a few oil pressure and oil related questions

1) What is your oil pressure gauge say when you are idling at <1k, whatever the car idles at, because mine looks like 15 or something really low on the gauge

2) Is it normal to smell burning oil (or something) and other stuff after driving for a long time (example is when I drive to the local fast food place and line up in the drive thru)

The car is an 88 GXL, everythings stock on it, runs just fine, just a little worried when I watch that oil pressure gauge fall right down, when I start driving again it goes up to like 40 or 50, when I really push it, it touches 60..

Thanks for your time guys :)

Idle is supposed to be about 30psi at idle at around 60-70psi when you push it. I've never smelled burning oil on my car.

I have the same oil pressures as you do, MirageJHU. Sometimes it stays around 30 at idle, other times it drops around the 15 mark. Whenever i get on it tho, it always picks right up. Never over 60 tho. Just letting you know you are not alone:)

Pat

Im pretty sure its supposed to idle at 30 and level off at around 60 while driving. Just by looking at the marks on the gauge kinda gives that away. Not quite sure why youre guys is so low during idle. strange.

My manual says where the oil pressure should be at it says somewhere between 30-60 at 3k i belive i can't find the manual now but u might want to check yours

Don't believe oil pressure gauge is very accurate on decade plus old cars we have. Many have installed aftermarket gauges.

Sometimes the gauge get knockout of wack so you need to try to set it right...To do this just take ou the instrument panel and open the cover up(5 screws on the back) and push the needle (carefully) a little past the 110 psi mark. Next check the gauge with an ohm meter and check to see if it is within the specs of the manual (Body Electrical Section)...You could do the last step first so that you can see if it is already within specs(recommended)!
I just got through doing this to my car about 30 min ago!
EDIT:
P.S. Also check the other gauges while you have the instrument panel off!

Pat, thanks for lettin me know I'm not alone :D

nashman, thanks for the advice, I should be able to handle that

I guess as long as the car doesnt act funky its all good, probably just bad electrical in decade old cars as nash put it heh

thanks :)

You might be able to get more accurate readings by taking off the plug at the oil pressure sensor (below oil filter) and cleaning it off. Oil tends to drip on the plug and may cause weak/bad connections.

Your oil pump chain may be out of spec, and the oil pressure regulators do get worn out just like anything else over time...

How about an obvious question...are you using Mazda OEM oil filters?

Whenevr I fire up the car and let it sit for about 5 minutes, the oil pressure reads a hair above 60 PSI. I'm thinking this is a bit abnormal; am I right?

What were Mazda's Oil Filters?

I've got a Purolator on there now, 3k is creeping up on me however, so I can put on a different filter if you have a recommendation?

wow when i push it my oil pressure goes all the way to 110. now i'm wondering if thats normal. anyone else get a reading like that?

what do you idle at? your needle may just be off, like other members have said

I have been using K&N for a while and have no problems.

Personally I think the stock filters suck, yes they do flow more at idle but don't filter as well at high rpms, I have a the pure one puralator filter one my car and i'd have to say its the best bang for the buck.

Also your oil pressure will read high untill it reaches a certain temp then it will lower, usally take 5-15 mins for the oil to heat up

yea, but not as high as 110, no? Correct me if Im wrong.

I have some random brand on mine, and it idles rock solid at 30 when idle and goes up accordingly with the RPM's.

When getting some parts from Mazda today decided to pick up a Mazda Oil filter and I have to say looking at it, it looks TINY.

I wonder if this is normal or the guy in the parts department is full of it.....

The TINY filter is for FD engines but it does fit on FC too. I had the same (wrong) one on my engine when I bought the car. I would go for the original larger size filter - much greater volume - more oil cleaning element. The only advantage that I can see in using a smaller filter is to get the oil pressure 1/2 second quicker at the startup.

About the oil pressure I have around 35 psi on idle @ 750 rpm. Goes to 110 at high-end rpms. I use 20W-60 high grade mineral oil (recommended for turbocharged engines).

Hmm I should go back to mazda and pick up the bigger one then to run this on my FC ? I mentioned it looked a bit small to the guy but he checked it again in their books etc and it was the right part numbers... I saw the part numbers as well..... Strange...

According to Mitchell the oil pressure spec for my 91 turbo engine is 64-78psi@3000rmp. What it is at idle I'm not sure but I do know that it's 30-35psi in the average piston engine. If it's 80psi at 3000 then it seems reasonable for it to come close to 100-110 at WOT to me.

Yes it will read as much as 110 psi when cold, while reving the engine above 2k.

I wouldn't worry about it, the 13B's oiling system is almost as good as many racecars today

I too have only 15 PSI at idle. I noticed that happening after I installed a FRAM oil filter. Before I had a NAPA filter on there and had about 30 PSI at warm idle.

thats due to the fram oil filter. do some searches on the internet about oil filters. I used to only use fram, now i wouldn't put those on my cars if they were free. I was suprised to find out how badly fram filters performed. they are known to cause lower oil pressure and not filter worth a damn. The best ones that i found in my searching was Purolator, Mobil One and K&N.