93Cavalier

It's me again.

Same car. ('93 Cav, 3.1 V6)

When I first start the engine, from a cold start, the oil pressure guage shows about 2/3. (I think that's about 310kPa.)

Everything's fine until I start driving and the engine warms up. The oil pressure drops to 1/4 of the guage (about 130kPa), and only rises to 275kPa when I'm accelerating...

I have checked for leaks in the oil pan, and of course checked the oil level. Everything looks good. In fact, I just changed my oil, so I know it's not because of bad oil.

I have read some information on products like Lucas, additives for your oil that can help with this, but I don't want to put any of that shit into my car unless I have to.

What do you guys think?

Ryan

KJRich

Oil pressure drops when the oil gets warm and is thinner. However, if your used to your gauge giving higher readouts than it does now, there could be a problem, possibly a weak oil pump. I'm not too familiar with the Kpa system, I'm used to oil press being measured in pounds.`

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1999 Chevy Venture LS Extended 3.4 V6 Intake Gaskets Replaced
2003 Cavalier LS Sport Coupe, 2.2 Eco, 5 speed Getrag, all black

93Cavalier

It's the same guage as your car apparently. Whatever your 1/2 mark is the same as mine. Just that mine's in kPa.
Normally I wouldn't worry too much about this, but a friend of mine noted that it should be higher... So I thought I'd ask.

//Edit//
What's the regular idle oil pressure for the V6 engine? PSI or kPa, either one, I'll just convert it.
//Edit//

godenm

for 93 3.1 oil pressure is only 8pounds @600 rpms;not sure what that is in kpa

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93Cavalier

Perfect. Nothing to worry about. 8 psi is 55kPa.
Us crazy canucks with our metric system...

Thanks for the quick reply.

KJRich

So is everything cool then? They don't put factory oil pressure gauges in the '95 and newer Cavy's but I have a mechanical aftermarket oil pressure gauge on one of my Mopars with a 318 V8 and oil pressure is always higher when the engine is cold.

__________________
1999 Chevy Venture LS Extended 3.4 V6 Intake Gaskets Replaced
2003 Cavalier LS Sport Coupe, 2.2 Eco, 5 speed Getrag, all black

93Cavalier

Yep, everything seems fine. If the 3.1 is supposed to have 8 psi oil pressure (55kPa) at 600rpm idle when warm, then I'm right on the mark.
Now does anyone know anything about the problem I'm having with the heater motor?

Ryan

KJRich

Do only a couple speeds on the heater fan work? Its a relay, a common problem.

__________________
1999 Chevy Venture LS Extended 3.4 V6 Intake Gaskets Replaced
2003 Cavalier LS Sport Coupe, 2.2 Eco, 5 speed Getrag, all black