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2002 Avalanche Oil Pressure

J

james58

GUEST
My oil pressure in my 2002 avalanche with a 5.3 seems to run on the high side. Generally 60lbs. or more. Has anyone else seen this on yours? Having just purchased this vehicle, I'm not familar with where it should run. I have however, never had a vehicle that carried that much pressure.
 
I am a non-wrench type of guy so will leave the answer to others. I can tell you however that the gauge in my truck has a large swing to it depending on the engine RMP. Larger than I am used to
 
I got my dealer to take a look at this myself. I'd noticed when it was cold out, the oil gauge would peg at 80 and stay there for a couple of miles before coming back down. The service guy was extremely not concerned in the least. He said as long as there is pressure, it doesn't matter.

It doesn't seem right to me, but whatever; the issue is on record if something goes wrong. Still, what's the purpose of the gauge if it doesn't matter what the oil pressure is?
 
When cold, mine reads 60 at idle and nears the 80 mark with higher rpm's. Once warmed up it stays around the 60-70 mark.
 
Thanks for the quick reply's

I have heard in the past that too much pressure can start blowing out seals and gaskets. But it sounds like everyone's is about where mine runs. Thanks again
 
When I first got my av. I felt the pressure was on the high side as well.

But after reading some other posts regarding the oil pressure it looks like this is normal.

I still think it shouldn't be this high, but what can you do??
 
It is hard to have too much oil pressure. That would be almost like having too much money! No such thing. If your head gaskets, etc. can withstand the pressures associated with combustion, I don't believe that 80 pounds of oil pressure will bother them. I wouldn't be concerned unless the pressure stayed over 80 pounds, hot or cold, even then I would suspect an inaccurate gauge or sending unit rather than something wrong with the engine. What you need to worry about is low oil pressure.
 
My 02 was around 40 at start up and is now falling to 20 psi. I just did a flush and oil change before this started happening. I did this as i was getting a little lifter noise while it warmed up, it Would then clear up and sat around 50 at 2000 rpm. Now it drops to 20 psi and sweeps up to 40 on acceleration but drops to 25 psi @ 2000 rpm. Any help would be - helpful
 
killianslair said:
My 02 was around 40 at start up and is now falling to 20 psi. I just did a flush and oil change before this started happening. I did this as i was getting a little lifter noise while it warmed up, it Would then clear up and sat around 50 at 2000 rpm. Now it drops to 20 psi and sweeps up to 40 on acceleration but drops to 25 psi @ 2000 rpm. Any help would be - helpful
Click to expand...

Not sure which came first for me - drop in oil pressure due to pump going bad or junk from failed lifter taking out pump.  My pressure would fluctuate from about 25 to 40 running down the highway at about 2000 rpm.  Ended up replacing pump which brought my pressure back to where it was supposed to be but didn't take care of lifter noise.  Upon examination found a lifter with the roller pushed up too high in the body - probably failed needle bearings - and a worn down cam lobe.  Replaced the cam and lifters, as well as 4 of the 5 cam bearings that I could get to without pulling the engine.
 
Like Big_Don said...

Most likely the sending unit or the gauge is a little off, the important thing is what is the normal reading for your vehicle. If it has allways read 80 psi when cold, 60 psi when warm and 40 psi at idle, that's normal for your vehicle. If you see a change in any or all that's when to be concerned. A low reading can mean worn/excessive bearing clearance or a broken part. A high reading is not to common unless you have changed the oil pump to a high pressure so a high reading is probably the sending unit, my old truck allways read around 60 psi then all of a sudden it started reading 80 psi, I changed the sending unit and it was back to 60 psi..


Randy
 
May I ask for the one who asked the question what model your Avalanche is ? Mine is a z66 1500 2002 acalanche. What does everyone think my oil pressure should be ? I add 6 quarts. I get 40 psi at cold. I don't have the best memory so I will have to check but I'm pretty sure it's 40. But doesn't go Lower it does go up when I accelerate and etc like it should. But now that I think about it more and more I think at cold it's probably like 45 psi.
 
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