Hi All,
With the junkyard gage pod I was able to get a working oil pressure gage on my Montero this weekend, unfortunately the results weren't what I was hoping for. I have an OEM pressure sensor that I recently installed, and am running 15W40 non-synthetic with OEM Mitsu filter. At cold startup (80F) I'm idling at about 30psi and then at operating temp I'm seeing ~15-20psi at driving speeds (~2500 RPM). The FSM states an idling pressure of >11.4psi is acceptable, but the driving pressure seems low to me.

What pressure should I be expecting at the 2-3k RPM range?

These gauges are not great, typycally read really low. You can test it with a mechanical gauge.

Thanks Toasty, would you recommend removing the current oil pressure switch and installing a mechanical gauge to that port to test?

Did just that yesterday. Was pleasantly surprised. 20 psi at idle while hot. Gage on dash rarely got above 20-30 driving down the road.

Doug


P.S. Just a heads up. The thread on the pressure switch is not standard pipe thread like your mechanical gauge probable is. It is close enough to gently snug it tight for testing. Will only go in 1 or 2 threads before doing damage. I ran mine for maybe 5 min and it dripped 1 or 2 drips.

Hey Doug,
Thanks for the info. Good to hear you had some good results.

Did you only check idle with the pressure gage?
What type of mech gauge did you use? IÔÇÖd need to buy whatever I use to check, so just looking for suggestions on what is recommended.

I did not drive it but revved it up to about 3000 rpm= about 55 psi.


I just used an old 0-100 psi hydraulic pressure gage I had laying around.

Doug

Something like this should work.
https://smile.amazon.com/Milson-Pressure-Gauge-Bottom-Accuracy/dp/B072PXNCX9/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1530683882&sr=8-13&keywords=pressure+gauge+1%2F4+npt

Doug

Well, it looks like I don't know how to post a link but you can copy and paste. After the fact I noticed I tried to link to a gage that was 1/4" NPT. 1/8" NPT is the one that is close enough for testing that I used but you get the idea.

Doug