As most of you know, I put a new engine in the car in February.
http://www.njfboa.org/forums/showthread.php?t=69033
Dart block, 406 cid rungs gapped for nitrous so there is a bit of blowby etc. Engine has been super reliable and has never given me a problem I put just over 3,000 miles on it this year, including 3 days of autocross and 45 quarter-mile passes. On my actual very last pass of the year, (october 25 at Island Dragway) on the return road I noticed my engine oil pressure on my OEm style dashboard gauge was off the chart reading probably 100psi under moderate throttle and it was at around 80 at idle. Turned the car off checked the wiring to the sending unit and checked the PCV valve, breather, dipstick, etc. Some nearby racers said that is odd, but high oil pressure is much better than low oil pressure. It started raining and the track shut down. I let the motor cool while I packed up all my gear in the rain. Decided to keep an eye on it and at least make it out of the track and onto rt 46 in case I needed to call a AAA tow truck. Oil pressure was still reading higher than normal, and I gently drove the car home, listening and being aware of the engine the whole time.
Made it home with no issues. Did some online research and also called the engine builder. He said the same type of things I had heard/read. He Recommended an oil change and I told him that was my plan also since the car was about to be put away for the winter. prior to flushing/draining the oil I also hooked up a mechanical oil pressure gauge to the block to verify that my dashboard oil pressure gauge/needle was not the culprit. Both gauges matched, but no abnormal/high readings were to be had. I was happy about this.
Had a bottle of AMSOIL engine flush on my shelf, so I put than in, ran engine for 10 mins and drained oil right after. It looked normal, but when I put a high powered light up to it i noticed a very trace amount of coppery colored sparkle. Now, I have never studied my oil with a high powered flash light so I had no previous oil samples to compare it to. There was like 5 total very small specks of metal debris on the magnetic drain plug, and the oil filter was very clean (I cut it open like I usually do). This oil has been in the engine for exactly 1,500 miles (it is actually the leftover oil I bought from Brian BlackbirdWS6 this summer).
old oil vs new oil placed onto a clean paper towel. no metal residue
Valvoline VR1 20-50 and Napa ProSelect Filter - engine builders recommendation.
It has been a few weeks and with a few cold starts, hot restarts, and some local moderate driving, the HIGH oil pressure readings have not returned. I am getting my normal 55ish psi at idle and 75-80psi under moderate throttle. Seems great.
However, I decided to try one of those engine oil test kits for $30. I have read that theses tests usually are good, but tend to "scare" people into thinking the worst. Even my engine builder said, they tend to hype up the results. But I tried it anyways. Results are attached.
Not sure what would cause that much sodium, I do not run conventional coolant.. I have only ever used Evans waterless coolant in this system. From what I can find, Evans is just Glycol, no sodium. Also, not sure if the "chromium" levels are anything for concern, or if that is somewhat normal for a hot street/strip motor. Not sure if ANY of the ingredients in the AMSOIL engine flush bottle contributed to the results, but I DID put in my test sample notes that I used the amsoil flush. According to AMSOIL, the ingredients in the flush are just detergents and oils? Obviously no wear metals, .
MY test results:
LAb's instructions on how to understand the test results:
So, any thoughts?
Was my high oil pressure issue just maybe something intermittent with the oil pressure sending unit or the gauge getting wacked around due to the day of drag racing, or do I have something more serious to look into?