59AB oil pressure

B

BlueSunoco

Well-known member
Did a search didn't really find an answer here...................

Pressure on our 59AB flattie runs around 8 lbs. with the motor good and warmed up. About 50 lbs, on start up of a cold engine. Motor runs great, no issues no weird noises. Running 10w-40 motor oil.

Any thoughts? Seems OK to me what are your experiences? Is this normal? Engine has supposedly less than a thousand miles on rebuild. Thanks.
 
Well, 8lbs seems low for a fresh engine. 50 cold and 8 hot is O K for a "used" engine How did you get your pressure reading? How complete was the "rebuild"? John
 
That is about where my '47 runs, except I use 20-50 oil. That boosts the hot idle pressure a bit. Too many people worry about flathead oil pressure. The dash gauge is not a precision instrument. and as long as it shows some pressure, it is normally OK. For the gauge to show little or no pressure on hot idle is also normal. Flatheads are slow turners with plenty of bearing clearance. Check the oil level frequently, and change it at least once a year. Drive it and enjoy the ride!
 
Sunoco, What kind of gauge are you measuring pressure with? For years I've used a S-W mechanical gauge, and when I compared it to a calibrated 3-1/2" industrial gauge, I found it was almost 10 psi off (low).
 
The specification for the oil pressure in the 59A is 30 psi on the road. If mine drops to 0 on idle I pull the throttle knob out so that it will read something. Also keeps my generator charging.

Here's how to test your oil pressure mechanically to be sure since the dash gauge is not a precision instrument: http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68156

Eventually I permanently installed the mechanical gauge and put it in the glove box to double check the oil pressure occassionally. My dash gauge reads about 10 psi below the mechanical one.
 
The reccomended oil dor a flathead is 10w in the winter and 30w in the summer. Today we can just use 10-30. Now 10 psi at hot idle and 30 psi at 5o mph an you know that your bearings are running cool and well lubricated. For those running, say 20-50 oil and have say 30 at hot idle and 60+ at 50mph know that the bearings are running very hot and are getting blasted with what ever is in the oil. Be nice if you had a full flow oil filter. What I'd like you to do iz start an engine with the oil sending unit removed and see how much oil comes out. How do I know this??
 
Ross F-1 said:
Sunoco, What kind of gauge are you measuring pressure with? For years I've used a S-W mechanical gauge, and when I compared it to a calibrated 3-1/2" industrial gauge, I found it was almost 10 psi off (low).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the responses I feel better!

Ross, I'm just going by the stock gauge if I hooked up a master gauge would be a better indicator. We're running a canister filter. I only drive 400-500 miles a season and faithfully change oil and filter before storing for the winter. Last fall I didn't get the canister filter lid rubber seal on straight and had a driveway full of oil in something like 30 seconds before I shut it down!

Thanks again to all.
 
BlueSunoco said:
Thanks for the responses I feel better!

Ross, I'm just going by the stock gauge if I hooked up a master gauge would be a better indicator. We're running a canister filter. I only drive 400-500 miles a season and faithfully change oil and filter before storing for the winter. Last fall I didn't get the canister filter lid rubber seal on straight and had a driveway full of oil in something like 30 seconds before I shut it down!

Thanks again to all.
Click to expand...

And if your talking the original type add-on filter, that's a low pressure leak! A high pressure leak will dump a lot of oil in a short period of time.
 
BlueSunoco said:
...

Ross, I'm just going by the stock gauge ....
Click to expand...

My stock gauge says I have 30 psi running / hot, on a good gauge it shows to actually be 50 - 55. At idle the dash gauge is < 10, good gauge shows it really has 15 hot. All these are with 10w30.
 
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