Tonight after a particularly high boost entrance ramp episode I realize that my oil pressure while cruising was reading well above 'normal' on both gauges, almost 80 psi on my aftermarket one...the engine was well warmed up, and after I pulled over to take a closer look it only settled down to 50 psi at idle, at 180F...normally it is about 25-30 psi idling...
did I suck in a seal in my oil cooler or something? Pulled something into my filter? I only have about 2K on this oil change (15-40) What should I check here...this worries me...

 

Should I Even try to start my rig in this cold weather with the oil pressure this high? Am I going to blow seals?...

 

Pull the pressure regulator valve and see if it's sticking. It's under the "bolt head" pointing straight up near the front edge of the oil filter mount. Remove that bolt, there's a spring and piston under there. You should be able to poke your finger down into the piston and pull it out. If not, it's stuck and you will need to free it up.

 

I've never blown a seal in the cold weather while starting.

 

So I pulled the pressure regulator, which seemed to slide up and down fine, and fished around below it in the cooler with a magnet and pulled out a few metal shavings?? The piston itself seemed fine, no excessive wear just a couple of shiny spots....I changed the filter too and both made a big difference in bringing the oil pressure down to normal...Should I cut the filter to see if there are more metal shavings in there? thanks to all

 

Can't hurt to take a look. Open it on a lathe or with a filter cutter (looks like a giant tubing cutter) so you don't add any shavings that weren't there in the first place.