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Low oil pressure (15 psi) !!

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Pep101 New Member

Pep101

Posted
Posted

Relating to this topic i  have 2015 5.3

lifters done at 220,000km and then went again at 335,000km limping it home on 7 cylinders for 21hr drive ecm shut down cyl 6

pulled motor and replaced with a 80,000km motor and was able to start tbis engine showing 275kpa hot

now installed in my truck it shows 1/2 that value using dealer supplied oil n filter. I plan to old skool my original engine and run with my existing tune cutting out v4 mode i tweeked my trans and deleted my downstream o2’s

runs great with the open exhaust as i have gutted cats

  • 1 month later...
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SnakePlissken
SnakePlissken

My 2 cents on this.  Cold start ~35-40 Idle at 210F on a cold day ~20 Idle at 210F on a hot day ~18-20 Cruising down a 55mph HW ~40 Punching it from 0mph, range from 40 to 65

79Mercy
79Mercy

My 2018 5.3 will drop to 15 psi at hot idle after it gets good and hot, usually after a run on the highway in FL heat.  Im assuming its normal operation considering how thin the oil is required to be.

Jacoby
Jacoby

2017 5.3L   I don’t run 0w-20 oil either. No reason to run an oil that thin in the TX heat. 

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JET Production New Member

JET Production

Posted
Posted

Reviving an old thread, what ever came of this did the truck last you?

I purchased a 2022 1500 Denali 6.2 and my oil pressure is roughly 18-20psi fully hot idle 20k miles.

my best friend who owns his own performance shop and builds ls and even done modern lt motors says it’s completely normal with the variable pump and low idle (500rpm). He claims I should run 5w30 ATLEAST, but I’m still on 0w20 for warranty reasons. My theory is every truck is different and aslong as your above 10psi idle and 40 cruise 60 WOT you’re in the green. But I’d love to hear from OP on how his truck is or was doing.

newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, JET Production said:

Reviving an old thread, what ever came of this did the truck last you?

I purchased a 2022 1500 Denali 6.2 and my oil pressure is roughly 18-20psi fully hot idle 20k miles.

my best friend who owns his own performance shop and builds ls and even done modern lt motors says it’s completely normal with the variable pump and low idle (500rpm). He claims I should run 5w30 ATLEAST, but I’m still on 0w20 for warranty reasons. My theory is every truck is different and aslong as your above 10psi idle and 40 cruise 60 WOT you’re in the green. But I’d love to hear from OP on how his truck is or was doing.

 

 

The 19-current 6.2 is a bit different than the 14-19 engines that this thread is about.

 

That said, 0w20 is the spec'd oil, and we see plenty day in and day out with well over 100k miles on them using 0w20.  Quality oil is a more important factor IMO. 

Grumpy Bear Senior Enthusiast

Grumpy Bear

Posted
Posted

In the 20's and 30's of the previous century oil was thick and untreated and was run total loss in some cases applied by hand pump to open valve gear. (30's HD Knuckheads and many English half liter singles). Many motors used 'dippers' on the rods tossing oil to trays or troughs that oiled cams and the like. Never filtered. Until the 50's filters were rare. Bearing pressure was zero. Much like your lawn equipment.

 

As the industry learned a thing or two full flow lubrication and filtration became the normal. Oil pressure insured 'flooding' and viscosity came down. Viscosity is a function of temperature. Full flow systems run cooler and thus oil viscosity in the bottle can be lower to keep the SAME viscosity in operation. Further reductions in viscosity were possible with finer finishes.

 

But there is a limit all of this and it has been reached a little over a decade ago. Today's motors are running Stovebolt 6 oil pressures of the last century with the wishes of viscosity for the next few decades. The OEM is no longer running at the peak of wear reduction viscosity but rather on the peak of fuel efficiency viscosity which shortens motor life. Period! 

 

This isn't even a debate. What is the question is...does it matter? How long is long enough and that kiddo's is a question for you.

 

I posted a few links some weeks ago showing the 'Spec" oil is the oil they qualified the EPA stickers with. It has NOTHING to do with durability, reliability or longevity. It has to do with COMPLIANCE. It may be what GM calls for, but it wouldn't be what I'd use even under warranty. 

 

10 centipoises at the bulk temperature I'm running at is my minimum and I don't mind a bit of cushion. Not even all W30's will met that requirement. A few W20's will. None that have a DEXOS license.     

 

 

:rant:

 

  • 5 months later...
17 truckster New Member

17 truckster

Posted
Posted

I'm new here, but have the same oil pressure problem w/my 17' 5.3. Never had this issue until I thought my truck was fast and raced someone. Now it drops all the time after warm up. So 15psi can't be good on dudes truck. My low oil pressure, is due to my stupidity. Something is going wrong in valve train

newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted
30 minutes ago, 17 truckster said:

I'm new here, but have the same oil pressure problem w/my 17' 5.3. Never had this issue until I thought my truck was fast and raced someone. Now it drops all the time after warm up. So 15psi can't be good on dudes truck. My low oil pressure, is due to my stupidity. Something is going wrong in valve train

 

 

How are you reading 15psi.  Gauge on the dash?  Live OBDII data?  Oil pressure mechanical gauge hooked up to the engine?

 

6psi at 1000rpm is the minimum oil pressure.  15psi is above that minimum.  

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  • 5 months later...
Mohammed a New Member

Mohammed a

Posted
Posted

I had some like this oil pressure the gauge read around 20 and sometimes 18 I use oil 0w20 in the hot weather in Saudi Arabia, I read many article some of them say normal and some of them said it’s not normal. Some of them recommend for me to change the oil pump to high function  pressure same like mailing I’m not sure if I have to change my oil to be 5W 20 or I stay in 0w20 my car is Chevrolet, Silverado, 2014 LTZ.  THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Grumpy Bear Senior Enthusiast

Grumpy Bear

Posted
Posted
On 3/25/2024 at 8:50 PM, newdude said:

 

 

How are you reading 15psi.  Gauge on the dash?  Live OBDII data?  Oil pressure mechanical gauge hooked up to the engine?

 

6psi at 1000rpm is the minimum oil pressure.  15psi is above that minimum.  

 

Are you kidding me? 🤨 That is Stovebolt Chevy pressure. Tap the gauge to see if it is off zero. Lord, this is my last GM. 

newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted (edited)
8 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

 

Are you kidding me? 🤨 That is Stovebolt Chevy pressure. Tap the gauge to see if it is off zero. Lord, this is my last GM. 

 

 

I should correct myself a bit.


Older LS engines they show 6psi @ 1000rpm: 

 

6 psig at 1,000 engine RPM

18 psig at 2,000 engine RPM

24 psig at 4,000 engine RPM

 

At some point they did change it so if you looked at like a 2013 LS 6.0 or any of the new LT engines they do publish as follows:

 

22 psig at 1,000 engine RPM

30 psig at 2,000 engine RPM

33 psig at 3,000 engine RPM

 

 

Edited by newdude
  • 2 weeks later...
Cole Shannon Enthusiast

Cole Shannon

Posted
Posted

Found this read as I have the same question as the original poster… hopefully y’all can help.

 

I have a 2018 5.3 with 140,000 miles. I recently noticed that at idle after the engine gets up to temp my oil pressure gage on the dash reads 10 psi. When driving or accelerating I’m hovering around 40 psi.
 

Around the same time I had the dreaded P06DD code show up, but I replaced the oil pressure sensor and the filter screen behind it, changed the oil and oil filter, cleared the code and so far it has not come back. But the oil pressure reading still shows low when I’m idling. 

 

I’ve always used the recommended 0W-20 dexos approved oil and changed it every 5,000 miles or less. Never let the oil level get low, always make sure it’s topped off.

 

my question is, is the low oil pressure at idle normal? Or could this be a sign of a failing oil pump? Or something else entirely?

Cole Shannon Enthusiast

Cole Shannon

Posted
Posted
On 9/15/2024 at 11:21 AM, Cole Shannon said:

Found this read as I have the same question as the original poster… hopefully y’all can help.

 

I have a 2018 5.3 with 140,000 miles. I recently noticed that at idle after the engine gets up to temp my oil pressure gage on the dash reads 10 psi. When driving or accelerating I’m hovering around 40 psi.
 

Around the same time I had the dreaded P06DD code show up, but I replaced the oil pressure sensor and the filter screen behind it, changed the oil and oil filter, cleared the code and so far it has not come back. But the oil pressure reading still shows low when I’m idling. 

 

I’ve always used the recommended 0W-20 dexos approved oil and changed it every 5,000 miles or less. Never let the oil level get low, always make sure it’s topped off.

 

my question is, is the low oil pressure at idle normal? Or could this be a sign of a failing oil pump? Or something else entirely?

 

I also read recently that the oil pickup tube has an O-ring that can get dry and brittle over time and fail. Is that a known problem on these trucks? 

  • 3 months later...
iambyron12 New Member

iambyron12

Posted
Posted

Hey my truck is having the same problem.(2015 gmc sierra,1500,5.3,4wd) It takes about 30mins for it to start dropping to 15psi but when I accelerate it picks up to the middle. I feel like it's the oil pump failing. Has anything ever happen to your truck ever since you posted!? 

  • 1 month later...
The Leo New Member

The Leo

Posted
Posted

Hello friends 

I own a chevy suburban 2016

I use to never notice the oil pressure till my truck had an AFM lifter failure after changing the whole set of lifters and i changed the oil pump with the oil pressure sensor i began to notice that my truck is going at 15 to 20 psi at idle depending on the drive

So i think this is normal 

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