05 Oil Pressure Question -
 

Hey all....

This is my first post here on the boards... Seems to be an excellent resource.

This is probably a very stupid question, but I haven't been able to find an answer.

My truck is an 05 Quad Cab 4x4, Automatic truck. CTD Obviously. 7000 Miles.

The problem is on the stock gauge my Oil pressure when Idling at operating temperature seems abnormally low. Like it's just barely in the green on the factory gauge.

When under load the oil pressure stays right at about the center mark, maybe a touch above.

I changed the oil to Rottella at 3600 Miles just to see if maybe DC had put a lightweight oil in for break-in purposes, but nothing changed.

I also took an Oil sample but the results are not back yet.

Now the only reason this concerns me right now is because my old 01 CTD on the factory gauge pulled alot more pressure than this.

Was the gauge in my 01 buffered more than this one in my 05?

Is there something wrong with my beloved CTD?

Thanks for the help guys!

There's nothing wrong with your truck.These engines use a high volume/low pressure oil pump,with large oil clearances.At low engine speeds the pressure will drop to about 20 psi.,& will climb up to about 50 psi at higher speeds.This is normal for all newer industrial,marine,& truck diesel engines.

Really the stock gauge is a total joke according to the service manual all the gauge needs to point in the middle is just more than 6 psi. making it a fancy idiot light. Below is what the service manual says.

"Engine Oil Pressure Message - The instrument
cluster circuitry restricts the oil pressure gauge
needle operation in order to provide readings that
are consistent with customer expectations. Each time
the cluster receives a message from the PCM or ECM
indicating the engine oil pressure is above about 41
kPa (6 psi) the cluster holds the gauge needle at a
point near the middle increment within the normal
range on the gauge scale."

Whats really scary is it will stay in the middle untill it gets a signal of oil pressure below 6 PSI. then it will drop to the red zone.

"Engine Oil Pressure Low Message - Each
time the cluster receives a message from the PCM or
ECM indicating the engine oil pressure is below
about 41 kPa (6 psi), the gauge needle is moved to
the graduation at the far left end of the gauge scale,
the check gauges indicator is illuminated, and a single
chime tone is generated. The gauge needle
remains at the left end of the gauge scale and the
check gauges indicator remains illuminated until the
cluster receives a message from the PCM or ECM
indicating that the engine oil pressure is above about
41 kPa (6 psi), or until the ignition switch is turned
to the Off position, whichever occurs first. The cluster
will only turn the check gauges indicator on in
response to an engine oil pressure low message if the
engine speed message is greater than zero.

I guess they just don't make them like they used to. I get a laff out of the customer expectations part. I expect my gauge to give me a REAL READING.

with 0w40 synthetic in my sump, with the engine hot idling, i am sitting at right around 20psi [a little lower (~17-18psi) until the oil cooler drops the lube oil temps after a hard run] that is with a mechanical gauge installed in the same gallery as the 6 psi glorified idoit lamp gauge switch