Ok, so it's been a great ~year or so of having my built 2.2 - no major problems whatsoever. So I take it tonight and boost around a bit, I'm on e85 and am on my low boost setting all night, not hitting over 30 PSI. My oil pressure looks fine the whole time. I even hit up some country roads and carve up some turns. So normally when at full temp, my oil pressure is around ~30 PSI, sometimes ~25 and it NEVER drops below ~20. I idle at ~1k RPM's. I run AMSOIL 15w50 dominator oil. So on the way back home, I stop at the gas station, pop my hood and decide to check my oil level just for peace of mine. I check the oil level and it's perfect. So I get back in my car start it up (sounds just fine) and start to drive off and I noticed at idle my pressure has dipped tremendously to like 8 PSI. I drive back to the gas station double-check my oil level and it's fine, and make sure the dipstick is sealed. I drive off home and it's still low but if I get my RPM's up it's around ~50 PSI so its doable. I noticed as I'm on the highway though going home, the oil pressure is very very slowly creeping down. By the time I get home, I have to keep my revs up at stop signs to prevent the gauge from reading 0. I have an AEM digital gauge just FYI. Also, the car seemed 100% normal cruising home and obviously I stayed out of boost.

So my first thought is that it's bearings. I find it weird though that the engine sounds 100% fine and that this problem would happen so suddenly. Another thought is maybe somehow when we welded shut the piston oil squirters maybe that messed something up but it's highly unlikely, like I said I've been built for a year now with no major problems.

Any thoughts / suggestions guys? I'm hoping it's just a bad gauge or something but I know that's unlikely. I am very scared and obviously I have A LOT of money in this car so I don't wanna see my brand new built motor go like this :-(

 

As for your source of low oil pressure it could be a number of things. But it sounds like your gauge is reading correctly bc the 4b11 is known to idle like crap when the oil pressure drops, causing one of the cams to drag, resulting in a very poor idle if it does at all. Seems odd the oil pressure is bad even when cruising... sounds like it could be something other than a bearing to me. Maybe not though.

 

Any updates?

 

It was wiring on the back of his gauge, no more issues lol

 

Good deal... I read his stuff again... and when he said he had to rev the car to keep it from registering zero, I assumed it was wanting to stall. Glad to hear it wasn't anything major!