Turns out the swap of my extra pressure relief valve was only a
temporary fix. After driving it for a few minutes, again the pressure
dropped, but it was higher than it was before. At running temp & speed
it would hold at 20lbs, 10lbs at idle.
So I took out the valve and took it apart with a torch. I checked that
the piston had free movement then added two washers under the spring
and soldered the assembly back together. This only brought the
pressure up to about 25lbs at idle. So I took it apart again and added
two more washers (4 total). Now I have 40lbs at running temp and speed
and 35lbs at idle. While the idle pressure seems right, the running
pressure seems a little low, though nothing to be concerned about.
Looking inside the oil filler, it appears that plenty of oil is
splashing around in there.
One thing did concern me. Immediately after turning off the engine
after getting the 40lbs reading, I took off the oil filter. When I did
that there was a release of pressure, like opening a shaken soda can.
Is it likely that my oil pressure gauge is faulty and that my pressure
is actually now too high? Didn't Steve Sage experience a similar
incident? Perhaps the valve is not opening at all now. Am I risking
serious damage to my engine?
Christopher
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