That I'm not sure about.  erhaps grit lodged on the relief valve(?)…can't remember if that and the spring was replaced
Others will know better than I
Sounds like you have a healthy running engine though

Spitz......I've been using the K&N Oil filter and use Kendall 20W-50 oil. I also have the car on the road know. Cold idle is 70psi, when running hot I'm in the 65-70 PSI. Hot idle which is 1100, I'm at 40 psi. But......At hot idle sometimes the pressure stays up at 60? This seems like the only thing that concerns me. Why? Any insight?


Thanks for all the input everyone, much appreciated.

The lower one tb, it's in the Haynes manual or the factory workshop manual.

One other thing MightDog......
Good oil and a good filter will also reflect a better/constant pressure.
Many use VR1 20/50 or Castrol 4 stroke Motorcycle 20/50.

Use a good filter....WIX or K&N come to mind

Sir Mal, where is the spring located? Im not quite familiar with that spring,I may need to check mine too. 

Two arrows, which one? Thanks

 

Thanks Ian....Looks like I will not change anything untill I start running it down the road. Time to hit the wheel bearings/rotors next. Winter projects, love'em!

 

Thanks again.

There are known knows ..and unknown unknowns..and...

Your spring MAY be shorter because someone replaced the standard plunger with a ball ???  A shorter spring MAY lower oil pressure if its allowing the shuttle to come off its seat ..or maybe the bearings are worn??

The numbers you quote in your original post look fine by me.  eople quote all sorts of numbers at "idle"... but that may mean anything from 600+ to 1200 rpm.. the difference will have quite an impact on what the gauge shows.

You will see 10psi/thousands revs quoted as ideal.. this probably means 60 psi at 6K.  However, I don't think I've seen a (healthy Mini engine that doesn't register its maximum pressure once you get to about 3K revs.

Mine runs a tidge over 25 at idle (900 rpm) and the same over 75 at anything over 2.5k rpm once the engine is warm.  I set it that way when the engine was built over 20 years ago and it doesn't vary.

Before you go and buy one of the fancy adjustable fittings just be aware that you can get the same result from a couple of copper sump plug washers....

Good luck, Ian

It should raise it. You could install a washer of the correct thickness to see if it does raise it while you are waiting for the new spring to arrive or install an adjustable valve.

Thanks everyone for the great information, I should of seen that in the manual. Once I get the car back on the ground, I will be able to tell more. I do know that my spring is shorter then what is recommended by the Haynes manual (72.5mm/2.854") and should be replaced according to the Haynes manual. So If I do replace it with a longer spring, this will lower the idle pressure?

Mine was kinda way down to 15lbs on hot idle , but the car pulls strong i dont see any irregularity in the performance or any rougness, so i remove that tiny nut that holds the copper tube to back of the oil pressure gauge and to my surprise i saw some dust, and some strands of i dunno what that was, i clean it thouroughly and put it back together, now my pressure at hot idle is back to 40-50lbs. 

My 998, 1380 were 70-75 psi at startup 60ish at highway cruise and 45-50ish at hot idle.  Can't tell with the 1098, no Oil Press gauge.

However, my early experience with the 998 headed south to MMW in Vallejo in 1997 was that as Coolant Temp rose towards very hot as indicated by Smith's gauge, the running oil pressure would drop significantly below 30 psi as indicated by the Smith's gauge...this was while climbing the steeper hills on I5 in southern Oregon in very warm weather.

Being an older fraidy cat I added both an oil cooler and an extra radiator to better manage engine coolant/oil temps and oil psi as needed in the circumstances (like Mojave Desert, climbing the Halleran Grade to Los Vegas etc.).  Also added extra radiator in Australia, saw steady 45 C/113 F crossing the Kimberley in Western Australia with loaded Van.  Worked.

I don't think you will really be able to warm the oil without running on the road.

I have noticed in our new build that the oil temp lags behind the coolant temp on my way to work in the morning.

Oil temp will modulate oil pressure at some point. Certainly there is a drop in pressure after the first 5 minutes of running even at a standstill, so a little bit of temp increase will cause a drop in pressure.

Dunno Matt my segment is from a Rover manual..maybe they got it wrong! interesting this cross check

"MINI WORKSHOP MANUAL
Publication Number RCL 0193ENG - 2nd Edition Date: 12/96 "

I checked two different Haynes....both say 15lb @ idle.  Idle and fast idle range from 500 - 1200 for different years

Also checked a 1978 Driver's Handbook....15lb @ 750-950 rpm and 40 - 60lb normal running

7Ibs??? That's way to low. At 25Ibs I'm thinking rebuild time. But as long as the pressure comes up off idle to at least 50Ibs I'd be happy to run it on the road. My sons mgb shows zero at idle and 50max hot and he's run it like that for years! Still doesn't rumble at all and he's got no money to rebuild it anyway..........

a quick look at the manual says

Pressure at idle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.5 bar

thats around 7lbs

Your numbers in your original post are normal.

Haynes does indeed state oil pressure in the engine section....at least mine does.  I think their hot idle presure is 15lb

So...Finally added a Smith analog oil pressure gauge. Fired it up today, I'm getting 70PSI cold idle. Then sits at 70PSI after being warmed up. Did not take it for a cruise due to the fact I have not no front wheels (front wheel bearing changes/rotor/brake pads/ etc, etc, etc). 70 PSI cold and warmed up? To high? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Once I have feet on the ground I can see what's really happening and make adjustments accordingly...

 

Thanks in advance...

Jason

I was not sure if the cylinder compression numbers would be needed, so I just posted them. I do run hi test in it though. I hope my numbers come in around what I have seen already...Thanks all.

My 1275 s runs 100psi cold idle, 75psi cruise hot, and 30psi hot idle  Not sure about the 100psi cold will have to check the relief valve me thinks......