Oil Pressure Gauge Finally Working, 3S-GTE Oil Pressure Options

[Fastbird]

Tuner Toys adapter came in today. Just got it hooked up after the wife came home from work with the car. Now my question.....

What's oil pressure supposed to be at for the 3S???? Right now it's at 10-20 PSI at idle and at 1500 RPM's it's come up to around 40 PSI, and on a free rev up to about 3500-4000 RPM the pressure comes up to about 58 PSI. The load (if you want to call an idle rev that) pressure responds for what I consider to be fine (approx 10 PSI per 1K rpm), but I'm left wondering if the idle pressure is low at all. Eighteen PSI at idle to me just isn't the best.

Which leads me to this question: Obviously the oil pressure sending unit is on the head. But where on the head does it actually take the pressure reading from?? Is it a open area on the head with oil flowing around it or is it actually in an oil passage?

Thanks guys.

[alltracman78]

It reads directly from the passage. The sender is in the end of one.

Pressure is supposed to be 5 psi or more @ idle and 36 - 70 psi above 3k rpms.

[lagos]

it takes the oil from an open area.

at idle you should be at about 12.5psi or more once the car is all warmed up. i think at 3k it sould be something like 35psi or more.

[Fastbird]

Ok, looks like we're good then. The mofo was still H-O-T as I was doing this (good 30-40 minute drive with about 10 minutes of cool down before I tore into it). Thanks guys!!!!

[jgreening]

It reads directly from the passage. The sender is in the end of one.

Pressure is supposed to be 5 psi or more @ idle and 36 - 70 psi above 3k rpms.

This is correct.

[lagos]

It reads directly from the passage. The sender is in the end of one.

Pressure is supposed to be 5 psi or more @ idle and 36 - 70 psi above 3k rpms.

This is correct.

mine is based on real world and not just bgb specs . i would worry if i got 5psi at idle haha

[alltracman78]

it takes the oil from an open area.

Where did this come from?
If it did, it would have no pressure....

[Fastbird]

68 PSI pressure on a cold start. 18-20 once warmed up, and anywhere from 40-65 PSI depending on throttle inputs. I think we're good.

[lagos]

it takes the oil from an open area.

Where did this come from?
If it did, it would have no pressure....

i think he was asking if it takes oil from some type of oil passage or a large open area (like the one under your valve cover) where lots of oil gets to move around. thats why i said "open area" .


fastbird, what type of oil are you using?

This post has been edited by lagos: Aug 10, 2006 - 8:03 PM

[Fastbird]

Whatever Doc put in it. Haven't hit the oil change time yet. I'm probably going to run a Dino oil, something like Valvoline Max Life (I swear by this stuff, it's good oil) high mileage oil. Probably a 10W-30 or thereabouts.

[Bitter]

Whatever Doc put in it. Haven't hit the oil change time yet. I'm probably going to run a Dino oil, something like Valvoline Max Life (I swear by this stuff, it's good oil) high mileage oil. Probably a 10W-30 or thereabouts.

i suggest synthetic on a FI'd motor. generally synthetics are more resistant to getting cooked by hotspots in the engine and turbo.

[Dr_Tweak]

Glad you got it going. Sounds like your oil pressure readings are right on. You're running dino 10W30 in it right now, and I recommend dino oil with a shorter timeframe in between changes over using synthetic and waiting two or three times as long to change it like they say you can.

-Doc

[Bitter]

Glad you got it going. Sounds like your oil pressure readings are right on. You're running dino 10W30 in it right now, and I recommend dino oil with a shorter timeframe in between changes over using synthetic and waiting two or three times as long to change it like they say you can.

-Doc

what about syn with 3-4K intervals? i would worry about the oil getting cooked in the turbo or in any engine hotspots. even my dumpy 7afe gets syn or syn blend, right now im going on 4 or 5K with 7.5K mobil blend, it'll get changed before it gets too cold, then i can ride on one change over winter without having to worry.

[Dr_Tweak]

Glad you got it going. Sounds like your oil pressure readings are right on. You're running dino 10W30 in it right now, and I recommend dino oil with a shorter timeframe in between changes over using synthetic and waiting two or three times as long to change it like they say you can.

-Doc

what about syn with 3-4K intervals? i would worry about the oil getting cooked in the turbo or in any engine hotspots. even my dumpy 7afe gets syn or syn blend, right now im going on 4 or 5K with 7.5K mobil blend, it'll get changed before it gets too cold, then i can ride on one change over winter without having to worry.

The turbo is water-cooled, so there's no issue with oil coking. While we could write an entire thread on the choice of oil, Toyota recommends 10W30 dino oil with a 3k miles change interval under "severe" conditions, and it works perfectly for well beyond 200,000 miles when it's kept up with.

That said, everyone thinks that they're an expert on oil because of something they read on the internet, or something their uncle's best friend's fiance's nephew told them, and there's no end to very strong opinions on the subject. My father-in-law, for example, will use NOTHING but Amsoil sythetic in his cars with a 10k mile change interval, and he'll go on for hours about why it's the best if you let him. Make your choice, but in the end, most choices have the same end result.

-Doc

[Bitter]

i didnt know the turbo wasnt oil'd, that makes all the difference.

[Fastbird]

I'm sticking with dino oil because I'm a firm believer in NOT switching to synthetic on a higher mileage motor that hasn't been run on synthetic prior. I do oil changes religiously at 3K miles so I really don't think it's going to be an issue.

[hitcachi]

I'm sticking with dino oil because I'm a firm believer in NOT switching to synthetic on a higher mileage motor that hasn't been run on synthetic prior.

Could not agree more! Thank you. Although what the doc said is true about people and their oils, that statement is what I've always preached and heard from technicians.

[Dr_Tweak]

i didnt know the turbo wasnt oil'd, that makes all the difference.

It is oiled, that's what lubricates the bearings, but it is also water-cooled, so oil-coking problems don't exist with it. Even if it wasn't water-cooled, letting the engine idle for a minute or two before shutting it off will prevent coking most of the time. However, water-cooled turbos are still better in nearly every sense.

-Doc

[Fastbird]

i didnt know the turbo wasnt oil'd, that makes all the difference.

It is oiled, that's what lubricates the bearings, but it is also water-cooled, so oil-coking problems don't exist with it. Even if it wasn't water-cooled, letting the engine idle for a minute or two before shutting it off will prevent coking most of the time. However, water-cooled turbos are still better in nearly every sense.

-Doc

All the more reason for a CT27 step there instead of an aftermarket unit.

[alltracman78]

The turbo is water-cooled, so there's no issue with oil coking. While we could write an entire thread on the choice of oil, Toyota recommends 10W30 dino oil with a 3k miles change interval under "severe" conditions, and it works perfectly for well beyond 200,000 miles when it's kept up with.

Even though it's water cooled it still CAN coke. Highly unlikely, but still possible. Just good to be aware of.

Toyota actually recommends 2500 mile changes for REGULAR conditions for the 3SGTE. Not 3000 miiles for severe conditions. This is with regular oil, not synth.
I run Mobil 1 synth, but I still change every 3k or so. It's nice to have a larger window for changes.

And for the record, the previous owner didnt' run synth. My engine now has 165xxx. Still runs like a charm.
I have replaced all the seals, but the bearings and rings are still the original ones.