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Low Oil Pressure on Buick 3.8L V-6

15K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  TravisT 
#1 ·
I have just rebuilt my buick 3.8L engine and it seems to be running pretty good now. I got the carb tuned after much trouble, but now I have a new problem. I searched and didn't find anything on this specific motor, and not sure if I can take advice on another motor since this one seems to be quite unique.

On cold startup, oil pressure is between 30 and 50 psi at idle. After driving for a little while (5-15 minutes) I noticed a low oil pressure at idle (around 12.5 psi). At about 1200-1500 RPM, all is good again. When this first happened, I thought the oil might be thin from the engine break-in, so I went ahead and changed the oil and filter. Same thing happened after the oil change.

The first time this happened, I immediately stopped and checked the oil level which turned out being fine. When I started it up after sitting for about 5 minutes, there was white smoke from the exhaust only on start-up. Should I switch oil, or do you think I have another problem? (using 10w30 now)

TravisT
 
#9 ·
I did not pack the gears with petroleum jelly, but I did prime the pump with an oil pump primer. I would imagine that it isn't quite the same thing, but I have also heard people say that isn't really necessary. The gears were cleaned out, and again the pressure is good on a cold startup, but after the water temp reaches 180 and stays for a few minutes, the idle pressure drops. I will check out the websites and see what I can find.

Also, does anyone have any recommendation on which t-stat I should use? I am running a 180 now, and it doesn't overheat, but it is not very hot here yet. Should I switch it out for a 160?

TravisT
 
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