Oil pressure 40cold/20-25hot, safe to drive?

[m1dn]

Hey folks!

Noticed i have lower than ideal oil pressure when yukon warms up.
Pickup tube seal most likely.

There is also small oil leak from the oil pan that i was going to tackle somewhere around April when it warms up and would be replacing pickup tube seal as well.

Wondering if it’s safe to drive with given pressure right now in shorter distances until April or park it and wait until i warms up?
Dont want to get down under the car for few days while it’s cold and ****** outside

 

[OR VietVet]

I saw where someone here said to overfill the oil by 2 quarts and park/run while pointed downhill and if oil pressure gets better, it is that seal. Make sure you are at a place where you can drain that extra oil out asap.

 

[Blackcar]

Hey folks!

Noticed i have lower than ideal oil pressure when yukon warms up.
Pickup tube seal most likely.

There is also small oil leak from the oil pan that i was going to tackle somewhere around April when it warms up and would be replacing pickup tube seal as well.

Wondering if it’s safe to drive with given pressure right now in shorter distances until April or park it and wait until i warms up?
Dont want to get down under the car for few days while it’s cold and ****** outside

What was oil pressure hot before?

 

[91RS]

That oil pressure is just fine. The oil pressure light doesn’t come on until 6 PSI. The aftermarket world says you need 10 PSI per 1,000 RPM so you’re good there too unless it can’t keep up at higher RPM.

 

[m1dn]

What was oil pressure hot before?

I think it’s been same since i got in September, didn’t pay much attention until i saw posts recently where folks had seal issue with similar pressure

 

[iamdub]

Hey folks!

Noticed i have lower than ideal oil pressure when yukon warms up.
Pickup tube seal most likely.

There is also small oil leak from the oil pan that i was going to tackle somewhere around April when it warms up and would be replacing pickup tube seal as well.

Wondering if it’s safe to drive with given pressure right now in shorter distances until April or park it and wait until i warms up?
Dont want to get down under the car for few days while it’s cold and ****** outside

+1 for the pressures being "safe". If it's a sudden drop from what it has always been, then you're right for being concerned and should perform some diagnostics to at least try to get an idea of the cause. As @OR VietVet mentioned, overfilling the oil by about two quarts and putting the car in a nosedive to ensure the O-ring is submerged is a surefire way to confirm or rule it out. Other possibilities are leaking VLOM gasket or (far less likely) a cam retainer plate gasket.

If the average pressures have been gradually dropping over a length of time and you're just now getting concerned, I hope you've at least checked to see if you're losing coolant and if your oil is milky.

 

[m1dn]

That oil pressure is just fine. The oil pressure light doesn’t come on until 6 PSI. The aftermarket world says you need 10 PSI per 1,000 RPM so you’re good there too unless it can’t keep up at higher RPM.

Gotcha, thanks! It’s about 20-25 when idling or cruising at 1000rpm when fully hot, going all the way to 40-50 when i hit the gas

 

[m1dn]

+1 for the pressures being "safe". If it's a sudden drop from what it has always been, then you're right for being concerned and should perform some diagnostics to at least try to get an idea to the cause. As @OR VietVet mentioned, overfilling the oil by about two quarts and putting the car in a nosedive to ensure the O-ring is submerged is a surefire way to confirm or rule it out. Other possibilities are leaking VLOM gasket or (far less likely) a cam retainer plate gasket.

If the average pressures have been gradually dropping over a length of time and you're just now getting concerned, I hope you've at least checked to see if you're losing coolant and if your oil is milky.

Checking everything periodically!
It has been the same since the purchase in September.
P.S the VLOM plate bolts were loose, i have new VLOM plate and bunch of gaskets ready, will be replacing in few weeks

 

[iamdub]

Checking everything periodically!
It has been the same since the purchase in September.
P.S the VLOM plate bolts were loose, i have new VLOM plate and bunch of gaskets ready, will be replacing in few weeks

Sounds like you're ready to tackle this from all angles.

Did you get the updated VLOM? Have a new oil pressure sensor and screen ready (or clean the old screen) to go in when you have uninhibited access to it during the VLOM replacement.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Another thing to consider is the last time you had your oil changed. My brother texted me because he was getting an oil light on his Tahoe but said he was long overdue for a oil change so I said start there and it ended up fixing his problem.

 

[swathdiver]

Sounds like you're ready to tackle this from all angles.

Did you get the updated VLOM? Have a new oil pressure sensor and screen ready (or clean the old screen) to go in when you have uninhibited access to it during the VLOM replacement.

He don't need no stinkin' VLOM, doesn't have AFM in that L92, you're slippin' man! LOL

Hopefully he just means a plain valley cover plate with new gaskets underneath and not an AFM part which is not needed but won't hurt a thing if he puts it in.

 

[m1dn]

He don't need no stinkin' VLOM, doesn't have AFM in that L92, you're slippin' man! LOL

Hopefully he just means a plain valley cover plate with new gaskets underneath and not an AFM part which is not needed but won't hurt a thing if he puts it in.

Haha yes just the cover plate, i just call it vlom since it’s easier

 

[iamdub]

He don't need no stinkin' VLOM, doesn't have AFM in that L92, you're slippin' man! LOL

Hopefully he just means a plain valley cover plate with new gaskets underneath and not an AFM part which is not needed but won't hurt a thing if he puts it in.

Rookie slip-up! I'm always stuck in 5.3 mode!

@m1dn But, yeah, on the same note, the O-rings set in the valley cover seal the unused oil towers in the valley. If the cover is loose (gasket collapsed from age), then the O-rings might be leaking. A new cover with its fresh O-rings and gasket would eliminate this factor.

 

[m1dn]

Rookie slip-up! I'm always stuck in 5.3 mode!

@m1dn But, yeah, on the same note, the O-rings set in the valley cover seal the unused oil towers in the valley. If the cover is loose (gasket collapsed from age), then the O-rings might be leaking. A new cover with its fresh O-rings and gasket would eliminate this factor.

Thank you for the help!
Will take cover along with valve cover gaskets in a week or two and see if anything changes, before i get into ordering oil pan

 

[Charlie207]

Does the high-volume oil pump (HD towing package, right?) provide lower oil pressure compated to the standard-volume oil pump?

 

[CaptainAmerica1]

Oil change with fresh filter gets mine back up to 30-35 hot idle. I can tell when it’s been a while bacause mine starts drifting down to 20-25 hotidle.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Does the high-volume oil pump (HD towing package, right?) provide lower oil pressure compated to the standard-volume oil pump?

@Charlie207 The high volume oil pump is to run the AFM/DOD lifter system so if your motor had AFM it came from the factory with a High Volume oil pump.

The higher volume oil pump does not produce lower oil pressure than the standard version, it does the opposite it provides more oil but I think the general consensus is that once the AFM system is deleted the engine does not need that much oil pressure to operate thus a standard volume oil pump does just fine.

If you do not have oil pressure concerns before a AFM delete I would reuse the factory high volume oil pump or use a new standard volume oil pump if you want a new part.

 

[iamdub]

@Charlie207 The high volume oil pump is to run the AFM/DOD lifter system so if your motor had AFM it came from the factory with a High Volume oil pump.

The higher volume oil pump does not produce lower oil pressure than the standard version, it does the opposite it provides more oil but I think the general consensus is that once the AFM system is deleted the engine does not need that much oil pressure to operate thus a standard volume oil pump does just fine.

If you do not have oil pressure concerns before a AFM delete I would reuse the factory high volume oil pump or use a new standard volume oil pump if you want a new part.

Agreed. High volume and high pressure pumps when not needed just put extra, unnecessary stresses on some of the seals and more load on the engine, reducing net power.

I retained a high volume pump and even ported it when I did my delete because I knew I'd be beating on it like a red-headed stepchild and was willing to sacrifice a few ponies to ensure the +200K mile engine had great pressure.

 

[Charlie207]

Agreed. High volume and high pressure pumps when not needed just put extra, unnecessary stresses on some of the seals and more load on the engine, reducing net power.

I retained a high volume pump and even ported it when I did my delete because I knew I'd be beating on it like a red-headed stepchild and was willing to sacrifice a few ponies to ensure the +200K mile engine had great pressure.

I guess I'm just confused/not 100%...

My DoD was turned off via my BlackBear tune, and for as long as I've owned my Yukon it's had slightly lower than average pressure than normal (if that's a thing) .


30-35 psi at idle when engine up to temp, and 35-40ish cruising around. I don't really beat on it so I'm not looking at whatever it's max would be in 3rd gear at 6200 Rippems*.

I read here a little while ago that a high volume pump will give slightly lower oil pressure numbers across the board, and took it at face value.


*Rippems = RPMs

 

[donjetman]

I guess I'm just confused/not 100%...

I consider the following "normal" from what I've experienced and read here at TYE for the past 4 yrs.

My 07 aluminum block 6.2, w/VVT, w/184k miles now, didn't come from GM with AFM.
Oil psi is:
35 psi hot at 1500-2000 rpm.
20 psi hot idle
cold idle (80*f) has 55psi

If you have an iron block, run the Melling M295 (12710303) oil pump, if aluminum block run the M365 (12710304) oil pump.

Doesn't matter what weight oil I run. Currently running 0w-20 but I have run 5w-30 and 5w-40 in the past.

I always run a Fram Ultra XG10575 filter

I drive conservatively and no towing.