Low oil pressure!

jmroy6

Hello All,

I've noticed my oil pressure is reading lower than normal at idle. i would normally see anything from 25-20psi at idle on my defi gauge. Now it reads 15psi and even dips down to 10psi. the Oem oil pressure light hasn't came on yet, and ive parked it till i can find the problem cause this isnt normal. Oil analysis came back perfectly fine, so im thinking oil galley gaskets. Has anyone seen oil galley gasket issues on later models? (post 2012) I'm open to suggestions before i decide to rip the the rear timing cover off.

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2012 370z GTM SC

Jayhovah

Sounds like I need to add an oil pressure gauge. Hey Nissan - that would have been better than a volt meter or clock that doesn't keep good time.

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jmroy6

Whats more funny is the older 350z with the hr motors came with oil pressure gauges

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2012 370z GTM SC

Jayhovah

I think it's one of those things where we all know its a good idea..but if you put it in you are going to get droves of ignorant customers coming in for warranty service thinking something is wrong when the reality is that Jiffy Lube just put in a different oil weight.

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TopgunZ

Even the 350z with the DE motors came with it...So all of them did. It is my least favorite part of the 370z.

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NissanTracker

IMHO,

I believe they purposely removed the oil gauge to mask the gallery gasket problem. It happened to my buddies 370z right after mine. I went to check for the gauge to see what the start up pressure was... nothing! I just chuckled. "If you don't see a problem, there is none".

I believe a lot of people mistook this as "oil consumption". Those gallery areas hold the pressure for the oil passages in the head. The oil pressure allows the components to essentially "float" while they are moving.

I started noticing it when pressure was at 15psi when warmed up and idling.... then it went to 10. Nissan still called this "OK". The problem gets worse when your in mid->high range RPM's and your not seeing more than 40psi. The components that are supposed to be "floating" by high pressure oil barriers are now going to start touching. On a couple of occasions, I would hold the rpms at 3K and I could hear an ugly tick... was losing oil pressure and something was rubbing.

Your really on the line when the VTC sensors start tripping Cels. Unfortunately, many that ran into this didn't catch it and had to replace the engine.

jmroy6

update:

i replaced the sensor today, unfortunately i was unable to drive it for a proper warmup due to a snow storm. On cold startup I'm getting 85psi< 1350rpm. i let it idle for a good 15mins in the garage, oil temps wouldn't go over 160f (prolly due to oil cooler) and my idle pressure was bouncing at 15-18psi. when i rev it to 4.5-5k its at 65psi at 160f.

do you think a mechanical gauge from auto zone would show something different, I'm taking the reading from stock sending unit location btw.

otherwise i might just take the timing cover off and see if there is any visual damage/ oil leakage from the gaskets.

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2012 370z GTM SC

Rusty

If it was me. Think I would be changing galley gaskets.

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TBatt

It could be the sending unit for your oil pressure gauge. If the idiot light hasn't come on but the pressure is reading that low that could be the problem. The light has it's own sending unit.

I have an AEM oil pressure gauge and it reads about 30-35psi at idle with the oil around 180°F.

Keep in mind that the Z runs very high oil pressure. The bypass valve kicks it at about 105 psi so if you got a oil pressure sending unit that can't go above 100psi it could have been damaged. When picking out the oil gauge I almost made the mistake of getting a 0-100psi gauge. I did a little research and found that a 0-150 is better suited for the Z.

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redondoaveb

My oil pressure at 220 degrees was 24psi at idle. I emailed Seb about this because I was getting a low oil pressure light on my gauge. He said at that temp, anything above 15psi is good. I need to adjust the low pressure set point on my gauge.

40 to 332

I agree. The problem may be with your oil pressure sensor. Another member (Spearfish) reported similar symptoms using an AEM pressure gauge. After some investigation, he traced the problem to the transducer in the sensor crapping out. You can order a replacement Defi sensor, albeit they are pricey.

jmroy6

Just seems weird that it would read low at idle but function fine on cold startups 90+ psi. A replacement sensor is on its way, hopefully it does the trick. The sensor reads 150psi BTW and its tied into the stock sending unit location. Where is your AEM located? Is it manual or electronic?

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2012 370z GTM SC

mults

It makes sense that the pressure is higher at cold startups because the oil is thicker and takes more pressure to move it around the engine. As the oil warms up, the viscosity changes (gets thinner) and the pressure drops accordingly.

I don't see a mention of the oil you are using, nor the viscosity (10W-30) for example. Maybe your oil is old and just needs to be changed?

Keep us posted to see if the new sending unit changes anything...

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mults
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jmoneyz34

Just so you know there is no such thing as weight when it comes to oil. The W stands for winter... also the viscosity goes up when the oil gets hotter not down. When the oil sender goes to max usually an indicator the sender is bad.


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jmroy6

i understand a higher pressure on start ups, but if the gauge is "faulty" and causing a lower reading at idle i would assume the gauge would read incorrect all the time not just at idle.

you know what im saying?
always used redline 5w-30

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2012 370z GTM SC