Oil Pressure Testing

Oil Pressure Testing is another strong  indication of your engines overall internal health. Just as blood  pressure can be used to determine the health of a human being.

The oil pressure test is used to determine the wear of an engine’s internal parts. The testing procedure is performed with a mechanical gauge that measures the pressure of the oil as it circulates through the engine.

Basically, the pressure of the oil depends on the efficiency of the oil pump, along with the clearances through which the oil will flow.

 

Excessive  clearance is most often caused by worn bearings and will cause a  decrease in oil pressure. The most common worn bearings would be either  the crankshaft main bearings or the connecting rod bearings. In some  cases I have also seen worn camshaft bearings cause a  low oil pressure reading.

Reasons for oil pressure testing

 

A loss of engine performance, flickering pressure warning light, excessive engine noise, and even poor starting can be caused by abnormal or low oil pressure

When the engines oil pressure is too low, premature wear of its internal parts can be one of the results. Any of the above listed problems mentioned will cause me to break out my mechanical pressure gauge and get a reliable reading.

Personally I do not trust the oil pressure gauge on the dash. This is because there is a lot of room for error between the electronic sending unit and the gauge itself.

 

Oil pressure testing procedure

 

The easiest way in my opinion, to be sure that you will get an accurate mechanical reading from your

oil pressure tester is to remove the factory installed sensor. Whether your vehicle has an idiot light or gauge, you will have an oil pressure sending unit .

You will want to make sure that you follow the instructions provided with the fluid pressure tester. The tester I own on the right does both transmission and engine oil. 

 

Remember if you do not have a good connection you may have a large mess to clean up. I use Teflon tape on the connection fittings. You should also look up the specifications for your engines pressure in a car repair manual.

 

Also note that the pressure is read when the engine is at normal operating temperature and results are recorded at idle speed, and usually around 2000 RPMs.

Excessive bearing clearances are not the only possible causes for low oil pressure readings. Sometimes they can be oil pump related problems. An example would be a restricted pump pickup screen.

 

This can be commonly blocked by sludge from lack of maintenance. Also note that a week or broken pressure relief valve, low oil level, contaminated oil, or even a low viscosity oil (wrong weight) can all cause low-pressure readings.

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