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how good are the stock chevy gauges?

Kinda agreed on the 20psi being normal for a stock motor. My '81 Jimmy with a wore out '79 350 pushed 30 when warmed up at speed, and 20 at idle. My '99 Yukon with 350 pushes 50 warm at speed and 30 at idle. The Jimmy went to 50 at a cold start, and the Yukon nearly pegs the gauge at 80 on a cold morning.
 
I've had two different readings just from swapping out oil pressure sending units. Mine used to run at about 50psi all the time, would fluctuate slightly when warmed depending on engine rpm, but them swapped it out cause it started leaking, and the pressure reading went to 50 cold, and about 40-45 warm.

Still does this even now, and i just switched to a fully synthetic 10/30 oil.

everybody says 20 is "normal" and may be fine, personally every Chevy motor i have ever had, either used or rebuilt, including this new one always runs around the 40-50 mark.
 
Matt J. said:
I run Castrol GTX 20/50 in both. Is that why my pressure reads higher?
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Yup. There's no need to run that thick of an oil in those engines. All you're doing is losing power and mileage. A 10w30 will work and maybe a hotter climate go to a 10w40.
 
496truck said:
Yup. There's no need to run that thick of an oil in those engines. All you're doing is losing power and mileage. A 10w30 will work and maybe a hotter climate go to a 10w40.
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Interesting. It was my understanding that if you do more stop and go driving than you should run a thicker mix. More highway driving=thinner mix. Maybe I'll try the 10/30 on my next oil change. I'm curious to see what my oil pressure gauge reads also with a different oil.
 
I run 10W40 high mileage oil and my gauge reads about 20 psi when the engine is warmed up. I don't know if the gauge will go any higher though:crazy:.
 
Matt J. said:
Interesting. It was my understanding that if you do more stop and go driving than you should run a thicker mix. More highway driving=thinner mix. Maybe I'll try the 10/30 on my next oil change. I'm curious to see what my oil pressure gauge reads also with a different oil.
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I'm sure the guage will go down. Normal everyday driving your engine is designed for a specific oil weight. If you were flogging that thing like a race car, then yes, I would bump up the weight as well. With my derby cars I will always use 20w50 cause it's foot to the floor, high stress, and high heat. I have yet to lock up an engine even with total coolant loss. But for the everyday driver, you're not gaining anything with that higher viscosity, unless you drive it like you hate it.
 
the truck i need this for is a 86 k10 with a 305 carb. there is no plug back by the distributor. where else can i put a gauge?
 
there will be a pipe plug above the oil filter on the side of the block that you can pull.... but there should be a stock oil pressure sender to the driverside of the dizzy... it's right behind the back of the intake, pointing up...
 
I worried about the oil pressure in one of the buses I drove last summer, and the mechanic said that as long as it makes pressure, it's ok:rolleyes:
 
84CUCV said:
got it done both of the gauges read the same. warms up its 24psi:(
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rule of thumb is 10 lbs for every 1000 rpms..... 25 at idle isn't horrendous, not great, but could be worse... does it go up when ya rev it?

change the oil and put 20/50 in.. should bump that up at least 5lbs....
 
84CUCV said:
got it done both of the gauges read the same. warms up its 24psi:(
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Turn that frown, up side down! 24 psi is good, stock engine, at idle, at operating temp. This is coming from 4 years of automotive repair training and 16 or so years in the field.

Putting 20w50 in there would be a misrepresentation of the engines proper pressure with the correct oil in it. Once the new owner changes the oil and then the pressure is lower he's gonna call you saying "WTF?!"
 
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