Oil gauge problem ?
 

After driving my A for over 30 years with no problems I broke down and installed an oil and temp. gauge. On a cold start up the oil gauge will read 5 psi and then as the engine warms up and driving the pressure drops off to 1 psi and it has me worried. Do I have a problem?
Here are some of the details:
1 Engine is a fresh rebuild with two thousand miles.
2 Same oil pump with the 30 years of service, Clean and looks to be okay
3 No problems with the old engine just wanted to freshen it up with rebuild
4 When I pull the plug from side of block I have oil running out of engine.
5 I do not have a plugged oil line to the gauge but very little oil comes out
with engine running and line not attached to gauge
Any advice from this great group would be appreciated. Thanks

Re: Oil gauge problem ?
 

Sounds just like mine does! Have been told that is normal. Remember asking about installing an oil pressure gauge and was told don't do it will worry you to death, due to low or no pressure.... Guess it just has little flow with no pressure build up

Re: Oil gauge problem ?
 

If you don't have a pressurized crank case then that is normal .

You made it all this time with the pressure you have .,

Re: Oil gauge problem ?
 

Sounds like when I had a Moto-meter on my T, spent too much time looking at it so I took it off and sold it. Car has run just fine since. :)

Re: Oil gauge problem ?
 

An A is a non-pressurized system. The pump output is delivered to a wide open pipe inside the valve chamber, so there is no way for any pressure to develop. It is a gravity feed system. You would be better off with a gravity gauge. No gravity=no oil flow

Take the gauge off, it serves no purpose. You may as well have installed a geiger counter; it can also try to measure something that is not there.

Re: Oil gauge problem ?
 

Hi Randy,

Good question, & good answers.

One (1) experience: in about 1959:

I had installed an almost perfect B engine in my 1930 coupe whereby everything was going great for several thousand miles.

While driving one day, all of a sudden I heard an engine knock. Turned around, came home, dropped the oil pan only to find the cast iron on the oil pump broken mid-way up the shaft. At that time, it was devastating to loose the No. 1 connecting rod bearing on a recently purchased $25.00 Model A.

In my opinion, if one ever gets shot at with real bullets, one realizes it makes far more sense to carry a gun; & if one ever looses an engine with a broken oil pump, it makes far more sense to have an oil gauge to observe psi readings now & then.

I have an oil gauge -- and after over 50 years, nobody has to remind me to look at it now & then -- & I still jump when I hear loud thunder and/or loud fireworks at close range.

Re: Oil gauge problem ?
 

Very good info. Everybody that runs a gauge needs to understand, the A has no oil pressure except for flow pressure. If you understand this and know you just use that gauge to make sure the pump is working, it will work fine and I suggest getting one.

In my case, I run a down draft weber. I let the car sit for a couple of winters and drove it little in the summer. Last spring, I decided to drive it more but, noticed, the gauge wouldn't show pressure till I reved the engine quite high. I couldn't remember if I replaced the pump when I rebuilt it so, I decided to re-con the motor and freshen the paint and check the bearings along with the check the pump. I removed the engine and mounted it on a stand to dump the oil and get started. I pulled the plug and drained 2 1/2 gallons out. Over the 2 winters even with the valve shut, the carb had leaked about a gallon and a half into the cylinders and down into the pan. The oil was so diluted with gas it smelled like gas and would light on fire just like gas. If I had not had a gauge, I could have driven this motor till it literally BLEW UP. Get one, understand it's use and pay it attention only when it makes a drastic change. :D

Re: Oil gauge problem ?
 

Very helpful info guys.

Re: Oil gauge problem ?
 

Thanks for the information to all that responded to my questions. I will just look at my oil gauge upon start up to see that the pump is working.