hi, a while back my 67 dart gt (225 /6) started having the oil light go on while idling in drive or reverse once it was warmed up. i changed the sending unit, same thing, i changed to 30 weight and it was fine but after i changed it yesterday(30 weight)its doing it again, so i need to fix it, all the symptoms point towards the oil pump, i found a high pressure kit on ebay and was wondering if anyone knew if this would cure my oil pressure problems heres the description:
"This is a High pressure Kit including spring - spring cap and instructions. Increases engine oil pressure over stock spring for high performance applications. Delivers up to 70 lb of oil pressure to keep your engine oiled and installs fast and easy in ALL /6 motors"
thanks!

Sounds to me like either the pickup screen is getting blocked up with gunk, or the gear might be starting to go out on you. I would definately install an oil pressure gauge to find out where exactly your pressure is sitting at certain RPMs.

As far as the high pressure "kit", not necessary. What I did with the new pump I bought was follow Doug Dutra's advice on reworking the pump (drill out the channels to 1/2" and take a die grinder to smooth out the insides and round off sharp edges). If you want to raise the pressure and be able to use thinner oil (my goal is to have 30-35PSI idle and 50-55PSI at highway RPMs with 10W-30 full synth), you can take the pressure relief valve and put 1/2" washers into the bolt/plug to shim up the spring. You'll have to grind the i.d. of the plug to 1/2" to fit the washers, but that's quick and easy. I'm starting with just one washer, but I'm sure I'll be doing alot of trial & error before I get to the optimal pressure.

You can do all this with your factory pump too. You won't be doing much more work (cleaning it good will be necessary, and you'll need to get a new pair of gaskets) at all. If it turns out that the gear is toasted, you can get a case hardened gear from Doug (send a PM to Doc or Doctor Dodge. They're the same person).

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'74 Duster w/ HEI ignition, beat to snot suspension, A904, 8.25" 3.55 SG rear, still being tuned up and gets 17 MPG

Know how they always build a better idiot? That's me

How many miles are on the engine? If it is more than a few (around 100,000), your cam and crank bearings could be worn causing the pressure to drop at low rpms. Basically, the worn bearings have more "clearance" between the bearing surface and the cam or crank surface. This takes more oil to fill up the worn bearing surfaces in more noticeable low pressure/rpm situations. Hence at idle and low rps, the oil pressure drops to below the factory preset switch tension in the oil sensor and turns the idiot light on.

I would install a oil pressure gauge just to be sure of where your engine oil pressure is running at cruising speed and at idle and then decide if you want to go more in-depth on the oil system without a rebuild.

Just my 2 cents worth,

CMS

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'68signet

"Living analog in the digital age."

Changing the oil pump pressure relief spring or increasing its tension (shimming) will have ABSOLUTELY NO EFFECT ON LOW OIL PRESSURE AT IDLE. The only fixes are to 1) somehow reduce the rate of oil leaking out at the various bearings and such inside the motor by decreasing the clearance (wear) or increasing the oil viscosity, or 2) Install a pump with larger displacement rotors that will supply more oil for a given RPM.

The oil pressure relief spring stays closed until the oil pressure builds up to a point which it begins to open and bleed off pressure. If your oil light is flickering on, the motor is probably experiencing 5PSI or less at idle and that valve is closed whether or not you've upped the tension, it's really quite irrelevant.

"DW"

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

Jopapa, why do you believe the oil pump drive gear may be "going out" in this case?

"DW"

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If it ain't broke, fix it!