Downhill - How Steep is too steep?

[Ryan]

Okay, the K5's climbing abilities are awesome. I've climbed hills my buddies swore couldn't be done. My question is how steep is too steep when going downhill in a 90 K5 w/ TBI. Uphill is no problem, but I'm worried about running the oil pump dry on steep downhill grades (dropoffs). Is this something I should be worried about? I can shut off the engine IF the oil pressure gets too low, but there goes my power brakes. Anybody?

 

[Hossbaby50]

I don't know about the oil pump, but if it came down to shuting the engine off, then that is where gearing come into play. The lower the better.

 

[BILLY RAY]

RUN M.O.A. IN YOUR OIL IT IS A B.G. PRODUCT IT WILL HELP SAVE THE MOTOR FOR WHEN IT HAS NO OIL PRESSURE AT ALL. I HAVE SEEN ALL THE OIL PULLED OUT OF A MOTOR THAT HAD M.O.A. IN IT AND THEY RAN IT FOR ABOUT 30MIN. WITH NO OIL. AT THAT POINT I WAS HOOKED TO RUN THIS IN MY K5 IT SURE COULD NOT HURT.

 

[Danno]

If you're worried about losing oil pressure driving down the the incline, back down. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

I'm sure there's a dual pickup oil kit out there, or you could always convert to a dry sump oil system for your K5 if you're concerned about those really steep hills.

 

[Sandman]

You can install a Moroso Oil Accumulator. These are just pressurized cylinders that hold either 1.5 or 3 quarts of reserve oil. When your oil pressure drops they start squirting oil into your engine. When the pressure comes back, they recharge. You can also use them as a pre-luber before you start your engine. It would not work for a long period of time but it might do the trick. Summitracing sells them, looks like for around $180 in parts you can get set up. We used to use them in circle track racing and they worked great. Hope this helps.

 

[Mudzer]

I have an Autometer Pro lite which comes on at 15psi and lower. The light is very bright and I always know when I loose oil pressure because of steepness. You could buy a baffeled pan or a pan baffle from Moroso. The Accumilator is also a good idea.

 

[Overkill]

I'm pretty sure 90* is too steep. j/k

 

[pcorssmit]

I wouldn't worry about it. Anytime you will be in that situation, you'll just be idling and not applying any power anyway. If you get stuck, and are gonna be there for a while, and its reading 0, turn it off. Losing oil pressure on an uphill is much worse, because you are using a lot of throttle, however this rarely happens with a rear-sump oil pan (though I have seen it happen in some pretty extreme situations--not on mine personally, though).

Pete

 

[rampage]

I thought that if there was zero oil pressure then the engine automatically shut off.