Oil Pressure

[richamer1]

I was looking at a 99 Suburban last night 350 V-8 The oil pressure was about 30psi when cruising and about 15psi at idle in gear. I was wondering if this was low. It had 112k miles on it , 5w-30 oil and about 3500 miles since last oil change. I have seen these engines go 180k to beyond 200k without a rebuild but I was wondering how much life this might have with the pressure there. Maybe this is totally normal I hope so but not sure.

[777stickman]

Minimum oil pressures out of the GM service manual for the 5.7 (350).

1000 rpm = 6 psi
2000 rpm = 18 psi
4000 rpm = 24 psi

Not sure if your pressures are normal, but they're sure above minimum.

Hope this helps..............Steve

[1990 Suburban]

I put a fresh 350 in my burban and opted for the Melling 55HV. This high volume oil pump idles at 30psi and jumps to 60psi off idle. While it is true that small block Chevys are known for their seemingly lower-than-normal oil pressure, it's really just the nature of the beast for them. I personally get nervous with their low pressures and go with the pump mentioned above, but thats just me being anal I suppose.