oil pressure gauge question

[waltham41]

I have the 92 Caravan with a 3.3L with 178000 miles on it. Engine keeps consistent oil pressure but it is on the low side.

I have the dash with the tach and all gauges and the oil gauge has High with a red mark, Low with a red mark, and 5 more marks in between with the third one being in the middle. My van runs on the notch below the middle one.

Does anyone know approximately what the psi's are for the notches?

I am not really worried, because it never falls below that notch even after many miles of driving in the hottest weather, and it has stayed there consistently for the 3000 miles that we have owned the vechile so I suppose it could be worse for a vehicle with that many miles, but I am wondering if it may help to put a little thicker oil in if it would boost the pressure a little.

I currently run Castrol 10W30 oil.

I live in Oklahoma so thicker oil wouldnt be much harder on startup in the winter I suppose.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[neon_rt]

The oil pressure should be about 45psi, warm at highway speed. At idle it probably settles down to around 20psi. Hope this helps.

[waltham41]

Originally Posted by neon_rt

The oil pressure should be about 45psi, warm at highway speed. At idle it probably settles down to around 20psi. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the quick reply,

Is that on my vehicle going by what I have described it as showing or what it should be on a "normal" engine of this type?

BTW on my vehicle the needle on the gauge never moves from where it goes to after startup. It goes from 0 to the second mark and stays there all the time when the motor is running no matter what RPM or how warm or cold the motor is.

If what you have said is an estimate for my motor, I am not going to worry about it then because its been my experience that the motors in older model chevys ran about that pressure and lasted for years and years.

Thanks!

[B33p3r]

I would think if your gauge is holding steady and you're not having any problems then you're all right. I'm in Pa and I would always use different weight oils in summer and winter. 10w-40 in summer and 5w-30 in winter. The thinner oil gave me better starts in the single digit weather. I just had to be sure I got the thinner oil out come March.