Re: New available motor oil

Posted by JWL On 2014/8/18 9:53:11

I may have missed this in the long discussion thread, but if this was my Packard, I would temporarily install a mechanical oil pressure gauge. This gauge would tell me exactly going on.

Trying different oil weights and additives will not yield an answer. I use 15W-40 detergent oil in all my vintage vehicles with no additives. I think a 20W-50 oil is much too heavy and places too much of a strain on the pump. Using a heavy oil will not fix a low pressure problem.

Do you know what the trigger pressure is for the sending unit? It may be stamped on the unit.

Another thing to look at is the pressure relief valve in the pump. Some of us have had seen some improvement in oil pressure by installing a couple of shims under the spring. This "fix" improves running pressure, but not much of an improvement at idle.

Try a gauge and see what is going on and then you can act on this information.

Best of luck.

(o{}o)