Oil pressure problem

[Jarred]

My 93 will have good oil pressure on starup, following that "10psi per 1k rpm" rule, but one it's warmed up the pressure gauge will read 0 at idle and only ever hits around 30 at 8-9k. The oil is to the full line. I do plan on doing a change soon but would like to know if this is a typical problem

 

[Traumahawk]

It's my understanding it is a typical problem. The Yamaha pump is a high volume low pressure pump. For peace of mind some people have swapped to a high pressure pump. Sean Morley sells the kit.

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[Jarred]

I have heard that 2-4psi idling isn't bad. Just that my gauge bottoms out on the 0 when sitting. Not to say it might have a 2psi margin of error, it just makes me feel uneasy

 

[Killjoy]

I've been reading about a blown oring somewhere in the oiling system *could* cause these symptoms as Well?

 

[dannymax]

Worst thing I ever bought was an OP gauge! Lucky I didn't crash, staring at that thing, fretting I didn't have 10# per K rpm, 0# at idle, etc.! Ended up putting a 'popper stopper' kit in.....which made no difference at all! :biglaugh:

Best rule of thumb I know is, with the bike on the center stand and the engine cold....when you start it will it pull the oil out of the sight glass quickly....(I forget the number of seconds it should take, maybe someone will chime in with it) that will tell you if the o-ring is blown out or not.

 

[[email protected]]

Pretty normal to see 0 PSI at idle. Check the old threads about oil pressure gauges.

Even with Sean's oil pump upgrades installed my pressure is quite low at idle.

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[adambweird]

Ive got Seans oil pump upgrade and my oil pressure reads 0 at idle, was the same before i did the upgrade too. I dont pay any attention to it at idle unless im looking to see if i can have fun yet, lol. I have seen it around 2-5 psi if i turn my idle up to 1100, but at my normal idle speed of 850-900 and fully warmed, 0.

 

[Killjoy]

All on 40wt I assume

 

[sdt354]

There's a reason Yamaha didn't put an oil pressure gauge on a Vmax. It would have been a customer service nightmare for them. They just don't have much at idle. Like Eric mentioned the pump is designed for high volume. Do the sight glass check Danny mentioned. Early models did have an o-ring issue, which can be avoided by letting the engine warm up before revving it very high. When cold, the pressure is quite high. The oil pump upgrade is worth doing if the exhaust is coming off anyway. I can see the O-ring in question with my bore scope through the neutral safety sender hole. It takes some maneuvering, but good to know it's not bulging out. The O-ring upgrade seem to work well. See Sean Morley for upgrade parts.

 

[Jarred]

Thank you everyone! I actually tried using the search and it kept saying no results with a simple phrase like "oil" so I said screw it I'll make a new one. Glad to know it's not too problematic.

 

[RaWarrior]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. 0 gauge psi doesn't mean there is no oil circulating. A lot of bikes mention in the owners manual that if the oil light (on most bikes it's a pressure switch) comes on at hot idle it's no cause for concern, as long as it turns off once above idle RPM. Harleys were notorious for this for quite a while, still common when they start getting a lot of miles on them.

My Max tended to idle somewhere around 2-4 psi hot. Running the idle too low doesn't help with this, it's happiest somewhere around 950-1000.

 

[wayne z]

There's a reason Yamaha didn't put an oil pressure gauge on a Vmax. It would have been a customer service nightmare for them. They just don't have much at idle. Like Eric mentioned the pump is designed for high volume. Do the sight glass check Danny mentioned. Early models did have an o-ring issue, which can be avoided by letting the engine warm up before revving it very high. When cold, the pressure is quite high. The oil pump upgrade is worth doing if the exhaust is coming off anyway. I can see the O-ring in question with my bore scope through the neutral safety sender hole. It takes some maneuvering, but good to know it's not bulging out. The O-ring upgrade seem to work well. See Sean Morley for upgrade parts.

When I used a borescope on mine I shined a bright flashlight into the sight glass to get enough light in there for the camera.

 

[sdt354]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. 0 gauge psi doesn't mean there is no oil circulating. A lot of bikes mention in the owners manual that if the oil light (on most bikes it's a pressure switch) comes on at hot idle it's no cause for concern, as long as it turns off once above idle RPM. Harleys were notorious for this for quite a while, still common when they start getting a lot of miles on them.

My Max tended to idle somewhere around 2-4 psi hot. Running the idle too low doesn't help with this, it's happiest somewhere around 950-1000.

Good to see you back here Ryan.