Fresh D16A6 rebuild, when cold builds 60 psi when warmed up and going down the road at 3,500 rpm has 28 psi. Is this a problem??? If it is what should I look for?


Modified by Ecugrad at 5:19 PM 2/28/2005

 

sounds low to me but i dunno what it should be on Honda's. It should however climb about 10psi for every 1000 RPM.

 

3000 RPM should be around 50psi. 28 sounds way too low. Did you replace oil pump? Is your oil pickup clean?

 

According to the service manual:

http://www.binghamtonlife.com/...6.jpg


20psi at 3,000 rpm is spec, I will have to check it without load today. That is without load, will a load going down the road make a difference?

 

Nobody else have anything to say? 28 psi just seems low....


The oil pump is new but is not OEM Honda, oil pickup is the original 186K mile one. I will buy an OEM Honda oil pump if I have to, but dont want to unless it is necessary.

 

sounds like when it warms up the rod or main bearing tolerances are changing drasticley once engine is warmed up it should almost create peak pressure after 3000rpms what bearing were used for rebuild and were they plastigaged
i've never seen oil pump cause this type of problem let me know what you find out
anthony

 

at 3000 im at 50psi.. 4000 and up its 75psi.. this may even be at 3500 i cant remember.

This is with or without load..

Hows the bearing clearance?

 

Bearing clearances were plastigauged by me and all were within spec. I am gonna get ahold of a mechanical pressure gauge this weekend and see if maybe my electronic one is reading funky. I am also gonna change the oil and see if there is any metal in the oil. I hope like hell the bearings arent bad

 

that electronic oil pressure guage could have a ground problem or just might have taken a sh-t. check oil youll see silver metal flake in the oil you should use like a see through bowl if you're still not sure drop the oil pan pull main caps off and rod caps check your bearings.

 

I am getting ahold of a mechanical oil pressure gauge this weekend to check it as well. That should tell the complete story.

 

Ok, more data.

I hooked up the Mech OPG and fired it up. BOOOM! 70 psi vs 60 psi on the Elec OPG. I did a mini happy dance....

I let it warm up, at idle I have a nice 10 psi of oil pressure, this is good, just like the manual says.

The car doesnt get "fully" warm until you drive it or idles forever, so I take it out for a spin.

Oil pressure looked good, 4,000 rpm I had 45-50 psi of oil pressure, to begin with. I drove around for about 10 mins the pressure kept getting lower and lower. Towards the end of the trip, I was getting readings of about 20 psi at 2,400 to 2,600 rpm (52-55 mph in 5th).

Ok, here is where the funkyness begins. Around the same time that the oil pressure begain to fall. If I held the motor at a constant RPM, the oil pressure would fluctuate 5-7 psi. Something just dosent seem right here....

I take it back home and rev it in netural. Above 5,500 to 6,000 rpm I have 50 psi of oil pressure. At 3,000 rpm I have about 28 psi.

Ok, so I shut it down and jack it up and drain the oil into a clean container. I took two samples from the container. 1 went into a oil analysis contain to go to Blackstone tomorrow.

I took the remaining oil and ran it thru a new filter/strainer used for automotive paint to get out dust/impurities. I found NOTHING in the strainer. The oil did have a "sheen" to it but it looked "normal" to me.

I also got my big spot light out and crawled under the car. There is oil everywhere. Mainly undereath the alternator bracket and motor mount. There is some on the timing belt cover and side of the oil pan. There is ZERO oil on the timing belt or alternator belt. It was about 10 mins from the time I parked until I jacked it up to drain the oil. In that time there was a puddle of oil about the size of my palm. Oil level doesnt seem any lower than it was Sunday. I did have a little too much oil in it though.

What now? I know something is leaking from SOMEWHERE, I think that is the next place to look.

 

AFTER YOU REBUILT THE MOTOR WHAT KIND OF SEALANT DID YOU USE WHEN PLACING THE OIL PUMP BACK ON THE BLOCK, AND DOUBLE CHECK YOUR OIL PAN GASKET SEAL MIGHT NOT BE SEATED CORRECTLY

 

On both the oil pump and oil pan I used Grey RTV sealant (Hondabond Clone).

I am gonna try to get it on a lift and check things out. Its just really weird that oil is UNDERNEATH everything (motor mount, alternator bracket) and there is ZERO oil on the belts (upper timing belt cover is off as well).

Thanks

 

Could be the front main seal or the oilpan gasket leaking.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 91civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Could be the front main seal or the oilpan gasket leaking.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Does the oil pan see pressure?

 

THE ONLY TYPE OF PRESSURE IN THIER IS FROM OIL VAPOR NOT MUCH BUT IT DOES NOT TAKE MUCH PRESSURE FOR OIL TO LEAK PAST ANY SEALS THAT ARE LOOSE OR RIPPED. DOES THE OIL LOOK LIKE IT COULD BE COMING FROM THE HEAD GASKET YOU MIGHT WANT TO PULL OFF CAM GEAR COVER OFF TO CHECK AND SEE.

 

I have a new Honda Valve cover gasket on the way. It would not surprise me if it were the head gasket, everything else in that ebay kit was junk I learned a valuable lesson there.