Hey, Newbie here. Just bought an 88 Ram 250, to be used as secondary plow vehicle. The engine (318) sounds great, that's why I bought it, but it carries low oil pressure. Can anyone tell me what the pressure should be? While I don't consider myself a "mechanic", I do feel capable of making most of the body repairs necessary to improve this ride.
Thanks for help,
Bob

 

your oil guage should be around half or a bit below. if it's still the stock guage it could be that. what kind of oil do you use. I used 15w40 and 20w50 in my old ram and I had lots of oil pressure. how many miles is on her. it could be time to do a rebuild or you could just replace the pump.
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Oregon dispensary

 

Pressure isn't always a good thing - you could put tar in it and have gobs of pressure but no flow. At idle once it's warmed up ~20psi or so is plenty. In my Ram it jumps to 45-60 when I get on the gas.

 

Thanks guys. The guage was bad, I replaced it. It carries from 30 at idel to 55 when on the gas. I feel much better now.

 

What all is involved with installing an aftermarket oil psi gauge on a 1985 360?


Where do I mount the sensor?

Is a mechanical gauge better?

What brand of gauge should I use?