Chris,
Your oil pressures seem to be well in the acceptable range. The 50 psig top
end suggests this is probably not a Melling hi volume pump, in which case
it would run 65-70 psig. I don't know your idle rpm, and oil pressure is
very sensitive to rpm below about 1000. If your idle is about 600, then 20
psig is not bad. The type of oil you use and how hot it is are other
factors. Incidentally, the current thinking in the industry is that multi
grades are bad and you should be using straight 30W oil. Back to the
future!! You question suggests you are concerned about the health of your
motor. Tight bearing clearances will produce generally higher pressures,
especially at lower rpms. I would suggest that you drop the pan )it's easy
on a Tiger) and check the oil pump and replace it with a Melling or
equivalent "hi-volume" pump. Also, replace the drive shaft with a sturdy
aftermarket one. This should bring your oil pressure up a little higher and
possibly make you feel better as well.
Good luck,
Bob
At 08:18 AM 8/24/98 -0400, you wrote:
>
>
>
>
>Chris S. Mottram@ECCI
>08/24/98 08:18 AM
>
>I have a rebuilt 260 with a mild cam and 289 heads. It is supposed to have
>less than 1000 miles on the engine. I have only had it for a couple of
>weeks. The oil pressure moves around between 50psi (at start up and at
>speed) and 20 psi (at HOT idle) what should I be expecting?
>
>Also,
>I was in downtown Decatur, GA on Saturday night and saw an really nice
>restored red Tiger with exhaust exiting in front of the rear wheels and an
>Upson county license plate reading TIGRRR. Anyone know this car?
>Here in Georgia (metro Atlanta) I have only seen 2 Tigers and 1 Alpine "in
>the wild" since 1989 (excluding mine and car shows).
>
>Thanks,
>Chris
>B382001587LRXFE
>(My wife thinks I'm a weirdo because I know the VIN# of my car)
>
Robert L. Palmer
Dept. of AMES, Univ. of Calif., San Diego
rpalmer@ames.ucsd.edu
rpalmer@cts.com
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