86 Wonder Wedge Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Hello USMB! Love the board and am extremely glad there is a place for the EA crowd to hang-out, unlike NABISCO over there... Anyway, I know my handle says 86 Wonder Wedge, and after a long, sad story, is no longer with us, but I HAVE however bought the deal of the century. It's a 91 Loyale sedan, EA82, SPI, 5speed, FWD with 115K miles and in "old lady on Sunday" condition. epic for $800 bucks! However, upon driving it back home, the oil pressure seems to play games. When it's started cold, the gauge reads approx 35-40 psi (just under the 45 mark) at any RPM. (FYI, no TOD, no knock, DEAD SILENT) Then it warms up, and the oil will exist near 0. The pressure will rise when I spin it past 3K, but only to about 15-25 psi, then slowly bleed off after it returns to idle. Here comes the ringer: when driving, it will hover around the 10 psi level from 1k rpm to 6K rpm UNTIL I engine brake (let the trans wind down the motor). When I do that, the oil pressure will go from near zero to the 20-25 psi mark quickly and slowly bleed back to 5 or 10 while accelerating or idling. Also, never a sound, tick, or anything other than that beautiful burble. I have NOT pulled anything apart, I DO see some wetness around the lower belt cover AND the under side is wet, but I was just wondering if that is a normal sign of either pump wear or the gasket failure OR if the sender is packing up... PO has a Fram filter and fresh oil, on the correct level, motor runs great, and the oil looks clean and amber gold.. Ideas? P.S. The "120K" service is planned (T belts, cam/crank seals, MM gasket, fluid swap, ect) so the front will be gone into regardless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l75eya Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Hook up an aftermarket oil pressure gauge if you want a more accurate reading. If I don't say it, somebody else is going to; The oil pressure gauge in the dash is not very accurate at all and should not be used to gauge oil pressure. Nice find though. Let's get some pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 reading near zero on the gauge is not uncommon or immediate cause for alarm by itself. i believe some of the EA82/ER27 owners manuals even talk about it. like he said - an aftermarket gauge will tell what is actually going on. or as you guessed the sender could have a bad connection or be failing. the sender wire isn't always in the greatest condition either, check it and the connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86 Wonder Wedge Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 Good to hear guys, thanks, and pics are coming! I was thinking sender/inaccuracies because even while cruising steadily, the gauge would fluctuate a bit as well... I looked into the Haynes manual for Ohm/test specs but came up short. Would the FSM have it? or is it just a "trust its bad" thing? Can an aftermarket gauge/sender be used in the idiot light hole on the pump or must it go into the factory sender hole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l75eya Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Can an aftermarket gauge/sender be used in the idiot light hole on the pump or must it go into the factory sender hole? Pretty sure you can't use the dummy light connection. And it's pretty much a trust it's bad type of thing with those gauges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maozebong Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 for a rule of thumb, 10psi per 1k rpm. also, that's how you judge what oil weight to use. if 10w30 doesnt give you proper oil pressure because you live in a warm climate, step up to 10w40. if you live in a cold area, get 5w30 or 0w30, because the "w" number is the oil's weight at 0*, so you want something that can be as close to 10psi per 1000 rpm at all temperatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86 Wonder Wedge Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 for a rule of thumb, 10psi per 1k rpm. also, that's how you judge what oil weight to use. if 10w30 doesnt give you proper oil pressure because you live in a warm climate, step up to 10w40. if you live in a cold area, get 5w30 or 0w30, because the "w" number is the oil's weight at 0*, so you want something that can be as close to 10psi per 1000 rpm at all temperatures. Well, I don't plan on changing oil mid year since Ohio sees -20F and 100F throughout the year (You would know, coming from Dayton! lol ) so I'll probably end up running 5W-30 after the oil pump reseal to (hopefully) get my pressure back.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maozebong Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 yeah, no kidding. it was nearly 90 a few weeks ago, it was 60 today. depending on when i do my oil change (typically twice a year) i go with either rotella t5 10w30 for summer, or mobil 1 5w30 for winter. i like the rotella 10w30 for summer. it really does well on extended trips where oil temps get extra hot and you get low pressure at idle because of it. during winter, my lifters make a ruckus on a cold start without 5w30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Can an aftermarket gauge/sender be used in the idiot light hole on the pump or must it go into the factory sender hole? You can hook up an after market gauge by using a T piece to add the extra sender into the system. This is what I've done with my EJ: This can easily be done on the EA82 as well. You can even make it a "remote" T piece where you move it away from that low position on the front of the EA82. You use some copper pipe or a flexible hose. This little oil gauge in the cab is great to know what's going on in your engine. Cheers Bennie PS: ignore all the oil on the block, I took this photo after fixing a blown pressure gauge hose! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivans imports Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 sound just fine its normal to have low oil preshure at idle with ea82 if you whant more stretch the oil relieve valve springs in the top of heads to bring it up as theese control the oil preshure in the ea82 engine. If its not ticken then no problems when oil preshure is to low they tick like crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasros Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 hey did you ever get that oil pressure thing figured out i have almost the same pressure symptoms 45 at start at the engine warms pressure drops to 0 at idle and 20-30 at 3krpm but i only have any ticking when the oil gets a quart low pretty much a audible low oil indicator im just wondering if i need to replace my oil pump or if it is just a seal issue or if this is just how the gauges read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86 Wonder Wedge Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Well, I did a number of things. I resealed the oil pump (and I think this was the main cause since the exterior was wet, and there were small brown "tracks" under the seals where it had been leaking), I used one extra washer under the pressure relief spring, and I installed a new pressure sender from BWD. And I still run a 5W-30 HM oil. I now get 50-55 when cold, 45-50 when cruising, and 30-35 at idle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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