SuzukiSavage.com - Oil pressure check

JOG Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 1483 Longview, Texas Gender:	Re: Oil pressure check Reply #15 - 12/04/24 at 16:21:45 If it's steady,and the rpm vary, yes.
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Re: Oil pressure check
Reply #16 - 12/05/24 at 03:14:30

verslagen1 wrote on 12/04/24 at 15:36:44:

I'm getting 60psi at the lower front pressure tap and 20psi at the top right rear head cover bolt. oil is 70°F or so.

I'm concerned about the 60psi reading... do you think it's because I'm using a compression tester and it's holding peak pressor?

The oil pressure drops considerably as the engine oil warms up. The pressure tester I used on the filter cover would easily go over 70psi when at ambient air temperature - but dropped down to 15psi at 3,000rpm when the engine was fully warmed up (10W-40). Once warmed up with the overdrive pump gears the pressure at idle at the filter cover was around 3-4psi.

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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28931 L.A. California Gender:	Re: Oil pressure check Reply #17 - 12/05/24 at 11:31:57 Ok, I took the check valve out of the compression tester and started the bike. It again rose to 60/15 psi (bottom/top) but within a minute dropped to 30/12 psi. And once it warmed up became 28/7 and steadied out to 25/5 psi at idle. At 2-3000 rpm it rose to 30/12 again.
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ThumperPaul Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 1943 Houston, Texas Gender:	Re: Oil pressure check Reply #18 - 12/05/24 at 13:43:13 Versy, where are you heading with this info? Are you thinking of an upgrade of some sort? Y’all have pretty well documented that oil pressure is pretty low at idle. I think about Youzguyz with over 222,222 miles on his bike and I don’t think he upgraded the oil pump or did anything special.
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Re: Oil pressure check
Reply #19 - 12/05/24 at 16:23:16

If you are running a stock oil pump drive, that is fantastic pressure.

Do you know exactly what temp your oil was at when you got the 25/5?

My oil pressure gage is currently tapped into the left side of the head cover (most remote bearing). I also am running an external feed to the head cover. As you have observed, the drop in pressure from 70F to normal operating temp is dramatic. With 20W-50 oil, mine will max out the 0-30psi gage at idle when oil is below 75F. With oil at 200F it runs 6 psi at idle and 14 psi at 4K.

What weight oil are you running?

Is your pump drive stock?

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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28931 L.A. California Gender:	Re: Oil pressure check Reply #20 - 12/05/24 at 18:37:07 It's a stock bike and I'm trying to figure out a cam wear issue. Oil pressure is my 1st guess. My next thought is to remove the oil filter and see how the pressure goes.
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Re: Oil pressure check
Reply #21 - 12/06/24 at 00:34:09

Maybe you have an obstructed oil passage in the head cover, or possibly sealant in the cam bearing chamfers. Your oil pressure at tha head cover is off the hook high for a stock setup with 10W-40 (assuming the oil was at least 200F when you took readings). A stock motor runs close to zero at idle and only about 6psi on the freeway (measured at the head cover).

The only thing that would cause the pressure to increase to the value you are seeing is an obstruction in the head cover or plugged up bearing chamfers.

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Re: Oil pressure check
Reply #22 - 12/06/24 at 05:01:13

Clogged arteries and high blood pressure. Start with 40mg of Pravastatin and 20mg of Lisinopril before bedtime.

Are you doing these oil pressure checks with the worn out camshaft installed or did you install a new or good used cam?

Could you run some thin 20w oil for a short while and try to clean it up? Or maybe add a pint of alcohol to the oil. I know, I’m full of bad ideas…

Oil filter new? Would a new filter improve flow and lower the blood pressure? Interested to see what your next test of removing the oil filter reveals.

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Re: Oil pressure check
Reply #23 - 12/06/24 at 12:31:04

The previous test was run after being out of town for a month, so there maybe some affect on that test.

I reran the test, I don't have a direct way to measure temperature so I used my ir temp gage on the oil filter cover which is how I did it for my previous oil temp tests.

the test will be conducted at idle (no tach) with occasional blips

start 60F 40/15 psi
1 min 63F 35/12 psi
2 min 66F 35/10 psi
3 min 73F 30/8 psi
4 min 80F 28/7 psi
5 min 88F 25/6 psi
6 min 94F 24/5 psi started fan
high idle 30/10 psi
7 min 98F 20/4 psi
8 min 105F 20/4 psi
9 min 108F 17/3 psi
high idle 30/8 psi then shut off.

After a few minutes of being shut off I measured the temp at 118F.

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DragBikeMike

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Re: Oil pressure check
Reply #24 - 12/11/24 at 11:47:07

You can see from your readings that the trend is not good, however it is typical of a stock LS650 oil system. You need to get your oil temp up to normal operating temperature (200F).

After a long ride yesterday, I checked my filter cover with a IR thermometer. It correlates perfectly with my TrailTech unit which utilizes a thermo-bulb immersed in pump discharge oil. The IR read 205F while the TrailTech read 203F (engine running). Your temp measuring method is perfect.

Get your oil up to 200F and I bet you have zero psi at idle and about 4 to 5 psi at 3500 to 4000 rpm. If the pressure is significantly higher, then I would suspect an obstruction. You are chasing a pitted cam lobe problem. Any obstruction in the cam bearings will result in higher pressure at your gage while limiting lubrication to the cam bearings and lobes.

Are you running 10W-40?

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Re: Oil pressure check
Reply #25 - 12/12/24 at 08:40:27

Reply #16 = 10W/40. Good discussion here - following.

Add 16oz more oil. Blow out that clotted artery and cross your fingers that the gaskets and seals don’t blow out! Shocked

Humans have blood thinners and antihypertensives for this condition. That’s all I got. Carry on please.

Good luck figuring this out before replacing the cam and head (and/or head cover).

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Re: Oil pressure check
Reply #26 - 12/12/24 at 12:54:48

DragBikeMike wrote on 12/11/24 at 11:47:07:

You can see from your readings that the trend is not good, however it is typical of a stock LS650 oil system. You need to get your oil temp up to normal operating temperature (200F).

After a long ride yesterday, I checked my filter cover with a IR thermometer. It correlates perfectly with my TrailTech unit which utilizes a thermo-bulb immersed in pump discharge oil. The IR read 205F while the TrailTech read 203F (engine running). Your temp measuring method is perfect.

Get your oil up to 200F and I bet you have zero psi at idle and about 4 to 5 psi at 3500 to 4000 rpm. If the pressure is significantly higher, then I would suspect an obstruction. You are chasing a pitted cam lobe problem. Any obstruction in the cam bearings will result in higher pressure at your gage while limiting lubrication to the cam bearings and lobes.

Are you running 10W-40?

Yes, Rotella 10w40

I replaced the head and cam last year, don't want to do it again.

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