()__1337_CRAYOLA__()> Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 When Should I Change My Oil Pump. Currently My Car At Idle Has 4-5 psi Of Presure Is That to Low? At 1500 rpm and above it is about 50 psi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 Too low - change the pump. You should have at least 10 psi at idle. If you are going by the dash guage then get another guage to test with as they are not accurate. Even subaru says that it is "normal" for them to read 0 at idle.... of course there's no way the engine really has zero oil pressure (wouldn't run for long if it did) - it's just a matter of a cheap guage and sending unit. Good oil pressure for an EA82 should be above 10 psi at idle, and 50-60 at cruise Good pressure for an EA81 is around 20+ at idle, and 50+ at cruise. The experience I have had with oil pressure (I've managed to get decent OP from at least 6 different engines - EA81 and EA82) is that you will get a slight (3 - 5 psi) increase from changing the pump seals, another slight (3 - 5 psi) increase from changeing the sending unit, and a BIG (10 - 15 psi) increase from changeing the pump itself with a new one. All the engines I've done had over 100k on them so my general rule is to change the oil pump every 100k miles. The added difficulty with getting to the pump on the EA82 (timing belts must come off) makes it more worth just replacing the whole pump as this way you don't have to spend a second 2 hours of your life if just a reseal isn't enough. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 Too low - change the pump... my general rule is to change the oil pump every 100k miles. GD Yes! That is the Answer... Go change it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 I wouldn't run out and change the pump. If you're using the stock guage, your oil pressure is probably fine. They tend to read really low at idle. If you're worried, you can get an aftermarket gauge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
()__1337_CRAYOLA__()> Posted May 22, 2006 Author Share Posted May 22, 2006 alrigh i'll go get a after market gauge befor i replace the pump just to see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
()__1337_CRAYOLA__()> Posted May 22, 2006 Author Share Posted May 22, 2006 - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatchsub Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 I had a similar thing with mine. Is your car leaking a lot of oil from around the pump? I just replaced the oil pump gasket and my PSI at idle never goes below 15..and most of the time its at around 20-25 at idle unless its the hotest of summer days. Also since you have the pump out you could examine it and see if its still good or if you dont know bring it somewhere and a have a shop decide for you. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
()__1337_CRAYOLA__()> Posted May 23, 2006 Author Share Posted May 23, 2006 my car doesn't leak any oil except for maybe a drop or two i still need to go out and buy a aftermarket oil pressure gauge still Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Once again - always people trying to save you money at the vast expense of time I guess. That, and there's a few folks on here that haven't played much with EA82's and are basing their opinion on the EA81 - changing the pump on an EA81 is about a 15 minute job.... vs. 2 hours on an EA82. Seriously - the dang pump is $60, and will take you 2 hours minimum to get at. If you pressure is low just do the whole pump and be done with it. They need to be replaced every 100k. New seals, New pump, and possibly a new sending unit if it's leaking at the screw on the bottom. If you don't have pressure after that your engine is seriously fubar inside. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[HTi]Johnson Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 How about he gets a more dependable/accurate oil pressure gauge and then reassess the oil pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 How about he gets a more dependable/accurate oil pressure gauge and then reassess the oil pump. Sure - awesome idea in principle. I have aftermarket guages on my EA82, and on my lifted EA81. Here's the catch - cheapest guage you can get - $10 from wall mart. Then you need to plumb it - it doesn't come with the appropriate adaptor so you are forced to either make one (I made one from an old sender) or buy a whole package of "metric" adaptors which runs about $15. Second cach is that the cheap tubing you get with the guage is too short to reach into the cockpit as the sender is all the way on the front of the engine so you have to buy more tubing. That's a trip to wall mart for the guage and another trip to some other parts store for fittings and tubing..... now your looking at being $40 into this silly aftermarket guage foolishness..... $60 would have got you a new pump and complete peice of mind. As for the dash guages - they aren't bad except they have no markings for accurately telling the pressure. They have 0, a halfway mark, and a top mark. Pretty much 1 step above an idiot light.... GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 The gauge wont go to waste either way. Lets humor him. GD's advice on the $60 pump is pretty good though. If you put a new one in and your OLD gauge reads higher now you know what was bad. IIRC that wire to the sender, if you ground that you should register 60PSI? Sorry if thats wrong but give it a try. If your gauge points at 55 you'd know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 IIRC that wire to the sender, if you ground that you should register 60PSI? Sorry if thats wrong but give it a try. If your gauge points at 55 you'd know. Actually that's a fabulous idea Shawn! Grounding that wire will peg the guage.... which is like 75 on the EA81, and 60 or something like that on the EA82. That will tell you if the guage is capable of reading higher numbers or not. It should actually go up above the red mark at the top. The one on my EA82 did that a few times when the wire was flopping around after I installed the mechanical guage.. BTW - the cheap wall mart model has really crappy tubing and tubing fittings. They leak if you leave them loose enough not to damage the tubing, and if you tighten them more they will cut into the tubing and then you have a serious leak. The guage itself is cheap as hell too, but it seems to work ok. It was all an experiment to see what it would take to install one for me - parts list and such. Just a weird thing I do sometimes. The VDO brand guages come with plenty of tube for a soob - they are designed for older VW's with rear engines, so lots of tube (15 feet I think) is included. Only get like 5 or 6 with the silly wally world model. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbobdole Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Here's the catch - cheapest guage you can get - $10 from wall mart. Then you need to plumb it - it doesn't come with the appropriate adaptor so you are forced to either make one (I made one from an old sender) or buy a whole package of "metric" adaptors which runs about $15. Second cach is that the cheap tubing you get with the guage is too short to reach into the cockpit as the sender is all the way on the front of the engine so you have to buy more tubing. GD I disagree.. I got my cheap $20 gauges at wally mart. I plugged the oil pressure into the port for the turbo oil light which worked with the provided adapters and used the included cap tube for great success.... I have no issues at all and it was cheap... and the gauge is right on it seems:banana: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffast Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 it doesn't change the fact that:mad: :mad: walmart sucks:mad: :mad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 I disagree.. I got my cheap $20 gauges at wally mart. I plugged the oil pressure into the port for the turbo oil light which worked with the provided adapters and used the included cap tube for great success.... I have no issues at all and it was cheap... and the gauge is right on it seems:banana: Could be a different guage than what I got. And where is this turbo oil light port? I don't have any turbo soobs (right now), so is it somewhere other than on the pump? GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
()__1337_CRAYOLA__()> Posted May 23, 2006 Author Share Posted May 23, 2006 well i'll get a aftermarket one and plumb it under the hood just start the motor and see what the pressure is then if it's low I'll install a new pump sound good lol? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[HTi]Johnson Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Look what you started LEET. GD, I know what you mean about that whole walmart gauge shiz, what a PITA. I am looking for a digital one, they seem to be pricey though. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
()__1337_CRAYOLA__()> Posted May 23, 2006 Author Share Posted May 23, 2006 i didnt know oil pressure was such a big topic O.o Sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 1986 GL Wagon, 275,000 miles, never replaced the oil pump. Resealed twice, still puts out 15PSI at idle. The Subaru pumps just aren't that crappy. I've owned 14 Subarus now, and I've never replaced a pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 1986 GL Wagon, 275,000 miles, never replaced the oil pump. Resealed twice, still puts out 15PSI at idle. The Subaru pumps just aren't that crappy. I've owned 14 Subarus now, and I've never replaced a pump. And you have owned this wagon for all of the 275k? It could have been replaced before you got it.... I've owned some that had good oil pressure too. But I also threw a rod because of a bad oil pump. Also the oil change interval has a lot to do with it - if you do the 3k interval it would probably last a lot longer. Subaru says (and still does!) to change the oil every 7500, and the filter every 15k..... GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 I've owned it since about 90,000. And yes, I change my oil every 3,000 to 3,500 miles. My point is simply that he might want to make sure he has a problem before he goes through the hassle of replacing the pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
()__1337_CRAYOLA__()> Posted May 26, 2006 Author Share Posted May 26, 2006 well i went into my engine compartment and was looking around and found several vacum hose disconnected i reconnected them and my gauge started to read 20+ psi of oil at idle ...... WIERD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 Gauge itself is not vacuum operated in any way.... so I'm guessing that you increased the idle speed and this caused the increase in oil pressure. The pressure is related directly to engine speed. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
()__1337_CRAYOLA__()> Posted May 27, 2006 Author Share Posted May 27, 2006 nope it didn't change the idle speed at all im lost it has always idled at 850 i guess i have a retarded morot or a retarded oil pressure gauge... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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