What happens if your oil pressure is too high?

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asked Jun 18, 2020 in Repairs/Maintenance by Darlene (350 points)
What happens if your oil pressure is too high?

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answered Jun 18, 2020 by Shelde (51,990 points)
Normal engine oil pressure should be between 25 PSI to 65 PSI and any higher oil pressure than 65 PSI can sometimes be a problem.

When engine oil pressure gets too high then it can cause engine damage such as oil seals leaking out or even bearings to slip out of position.

The most common issue when oil pressure is too high is that the seals will leak first because the seals in the engine cannot take the oil pressure being too high.

High engine oil pressure may just be a bad oil pressure sending unit and the oil pressure may not actually be very high at all.

if your oil pressure is getting too high then you might have a blocker or clogged oil filter or you have engine sludge blocking the oil flow holes in the engine.

The reason your oil pressure rises or increases when you accelerate is because your oil pump is spinning faster and pumping more oil through the engine faster at a higher pressure.

Your engines oil pump is directly, mechanically driven by the engine and when your engine goes faster so does the oil pump.

As the engine spins faster it needs more oil to keep it lubricated so your oil pressure rises to send more oil to the engine as needed.

It's very normal for oil pressure in an engine to rise some as you accelerate however it should not get too high.

Normal engine oil pressure is between 25 PSI to 65 PSI.

Also as your engine gets hotter and the engine oil gets hotter it can lower the engine oil pressure some which is also normal.

If the engine oil pressure gets above 65 PSI then it may be too high and cause engine oil leaks although it could also be your engine oil pressure sensor that is going bad.

I have a truck that runs great and only has 1 PSI of oil pressure once the engine gets to operating temperature.

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