Sorry if this has been discused before..... I tried to search with "Oil" and it wouldn't allow it.

Anyway, my new 04 when up to temp 195 to 200 is reading just barly above the black bracket on the gauge. Is this normal? Once the engine is at about 1300 or so, it appears to have about 45 to 50psi? The low presure at idle concerns me a bit.......... Should I be?

Thanks,

Rich

 

I'm not too sure about your question but hang in there a mod will probably come along and move this to 3rd gen engine and drivetrain so that it gets better exposer and more answers for you. Sorry I can't help with your problem but I'm sure someone will chime in shortly.

 

the only way to know whats going on is hook up a real live oil p. guage even if tempory to see whats going on for sure!

 

If you are truley concerned and want peace of mind. Add a oil pressure gauge to the list of must haves. They are very easy to hook-up, and I would recomend the electric ones. I monitor engine oil pressure and on start up I see 75-80psi at an idile.
Dodge is famous for it's IDIOT LIGHTS AND GAUGES, most don't read any value, they just sit there and bounce around in the safe zone. I had a dodge that compleatly blew-up, water gone head craked, and the gauge never read anything but normal. When we took it in to the dealer, I told the head mechanic about the gauge and he said that is right, they don't read anything, just in there for looks. What a crock of shitt. So don't go by any of the standard Dodge gauges, they are useless. (of coarse the fuel gage works?sort-of)

 

Dodge guages aren't guages at all, in that they don't connect to anything but the computer.
The computer tells the guage where to swing to, there isn't a connection between the guage and what it is measuring.

There is a computer reflash that Dodge does if a customer comes in complaining about the Oil Pressure moving around too much.

The reflash makes it read right in the middle all the time.

People like to see what they expect to see.

Even the speedomoter and tachometer aren't connected to anything but the computer nowadays.

If I had my druthers (and cash to pay for said druthers) I'd replace all the guages with "real" ones, better to know what the engine is actually doing.


phox

 

it's not that I was overly concerned with it..... Just more curious of how everyone elses are reading. I figured they could calibrate it at Dodge and make it "seem" higher..... A true gauge is on the lest along with a pyro (EGT) was well.......

I built my buick from the ground up so adding gauges and such is a cake walk.......


Thanks for the reply's / help guys!

 

Update......

Had the service manager check some others for me, and from what he said, they all act the same as mine..... I guess I don't have anyhting to worry about.

Rich

 

been there done that...........hook a guge up!!!!

 

Right they all act the same, but remember it is only an act. The guage isn't reading engine oil pressure at all, it is simple there to make you feel good. It is useless and worse then an IDIOT LIGHT.

 

I've had my aftermarket gauge hooked up for some time now, and I can say that the factory el-fako gauge is usually not even close to reading right. On the rare occasion that it is reading correctly, it's just by coincidence.

Pressures I normally see are:

Cold idle: ~75 psi
Warm idle: ~20 psi
Warm engine >~1200 RPM: 60 psi or more

Personally, I "expect" to read oil pressure when I look at an oil pressure gauge. Dodge can shove their "customer expectations" gauge you-know-where!

 

Even the speedomoter and tachometer aren't connected to anything but the computer nowadays.

Given the fact that that same computer controls the rest of the engine and trans I don't see how it's tach or speedo readings are any less "real" than any other sort of gauge. As far as the rest of them, temp and voltage, the ECU needs that info for fueling as well. But oil pressure is a diagnostic.

I thought the reflash for the dash was to get rid of some bugs with the data link from the computer to the dash. Bad data would make lights light up, and gauges read funny.

If it's moving at all it's better off than the Ford setup, where they replaced the sending unit with a switch and the gauge either reads "normal" or nothing. A pretty stupid setup, but they claimed that too many people were confused by the moving gauge.

Nice Buicks BTW. A good friend had a '87 WE4 "Turbo-T", sort of an oddball option package, not a T-type, not a GN either. We used to make a yearly trek to the Buick Nationals in Bowling Green. It was a wonderful weekend, nothing but turbos spooling and 455's rumbling everywhere. Nice track, nice town, a great time.

 

Steven,

That's just it: the sending unit IS a switch! There is no oil pressure transducer on these engines. The switch just tells the computer if the oil pressure is >6 psi and <75 psi! An idiot light in the truest sense of the word.

 

I think to be correct here gang, tho O.P guage reads real time and real O.P. UNLESS you reflash and use the dumb switch. AT least for 98.5 to 2000 models.
chec your cummins bulliten on this...
so the moral of the story is do not reflash for a bad switch problem (which they all seem to get- just replace it) and get the sender from cummins.

 

The pre-03 trucks do have a rheostatic oil pressure sender. 03-and-up trucks just have the "idiot sender".

 

That's just it: the sending unit IS a switch! There is no oil pressure transducer on these engines. The switch just tells the computer if the oil pressure is >6 psi and <75 psi! An idiot light in the truest sense of the word.

Great, so they copied ford.

Oddly enough, in the Ford SD, you get a trans temp gauge. But instead of replacing the oil idiot-gauge it replaced the functional voltmeter.