Oil pressure alarm, home on a flatbed

[AlfromNH]

I’m going to connect the pressure tester to the low pressure port, beneath cylinders 3-4.
With that switch’s lead disconnected, I should see the led flashing continuously?
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‘88 2wd Auto Westy project

[Ahwahnee]

[zerotofifty]

[MarkWard]

I remembered the 60wt half. In theory oil too thick creates friction, creates heat, lowers oil pressure. It’s a balance. I try to run the thinnest oil I can to keep oil temps low, but not at the expense of pressure.

60wt seems like overkill, but is part of the GW engine warranty. Not sure of their reasoning.

[Wildthings]

[AlfromNH]

Results of my test using the Harbor Freight tester:

Cold start it went to 58psi at idle, revving the engine got it around 70

Once warm(rad fan kicked on):
11psi at idle
35psi at 2500 rpm

I did not drive it, just stationary in the garage.

I’m thinking this is the lower end of “ok”? I can’t find a spec in the Bentley

I never got any alarms, but these numbers wouldn’t trigger any, correct?

Thanks,
Al
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‘88 2wd Auto Westy project

[DanHoug]

[crazyvwvanman]

Those warmed up pressures are way above the thresholds for triggering an oil pressure warning with the current spec wbx 2.1 pressure switches.

Warning, various parts places show the wrong spec for the high pressure switch.
It is supposed to be .9 bar but shows up as double that, 1.8 bar in some places.
The 1.8 bar switches are used on various VW inline engines and sometimes one of these gets mistakenly put in a 2.1 wbx engine.

Mark

[dhaavers]

Dan is spot on. Your idle test suggests you’re not in eminent danger, now take it out on the highway & really warm it up to full operating temp, 15-20 minutes on the highway & report back.

As always, Mark chimes in with a super valid point.

- Dave
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86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[jimf909]

[clamay]

my lowest OP is at a stop light after driving for a while a higher speeds. I have an automatic so it is in gear and idling. Between 9 and 12 psi. The only reference to OP in Bentley, I have found, is on page 17.9 and it says that OP should be 29 psi at 2000 RPMs.
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91 Carat, automatic, GW 2.2, GW EFI, Peloquin TBD

When you come to a fork in the road, take it. --Yogi Berra

[zerotofifty]

[AlfromNH]

[Wildthings]

[dhaavers]

^^^ THIS.

- Dave
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86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[?Waldo?]

Couple points to ponder.

I hope that your oil pressure is decent, but you have not yet shown that definitively.

I would not consider a Harbor Freight oil pressure gauge to be high enough quality to trust. I haven't specifically used their oil pressure gauge but have used two of their diesel compression test kits and they were both disturbingly inaccurate.

The pressure that actually matters is when the warning buzzer is actually going off. The fact that you tested it at idle in the driveway and the pressure was within spec AND the buzzer was not going off would actually be an indication that the warning system IS working and you DO have a hot oil pressure issue.

Get it out under load and get the buzzer going off again to see the pressure that matters.

[AlfromNH]

Drove 50+ miles today after replacing both OP senders. Mix of back roads and highway speeds, still pretty hot here, uppers 80’s.

No oil light or buzzer, temp gauge stayed right in the middle the whole time.

I have the RJ sender manifold on order and plan to add an oil pressure gauge, but for now I’m calling it a win.
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‘88 2wd Auto Westy project

[dhaavers]

So, no OP gauge on this last drive?

If so, missed opportunity…

It’ll be great to have it when you get it.

- Dave
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>