I changed my oil and my oil pressure went down HELP!!

[BigBlockSam]

Hey guys . i changed my oil in my 68 charger r/t with a 440 motor. i had 10/40 oil in it and changed it to 10/40 castrol high mileage oil .when i got this car i freshen up the top end and timing gears . when i had the heads off i noticed that the cylinders had a ridge on them.i believe the short block has about 120 thousand miles.
when i start it it has about 50 lbs of pressure .at 190 degrees it goes down to about 22-25 before the oil change it would stay about  28-30 lb .at high way speeds it stays about 40lbs. i know the bottom end is tired but it runs good and has lotsa power and i can't afford to redo the bottom end right now.
i was thinking of changing to a 20 -50 oil and putting on a high pressure stock oil pan melling oil pump but i am afraid that would cause other problems. any help would be appreciated . someday in the future i will rebuild the bottom end but for now i would like to get the oil pressure up some   

[69wannabe]

You can put a stiffer oil pressure relief spring in the oil pump and get it reading about 10 psi higher on the gauge if the pump is just a regular pump with a regular spring in it. 20 to 25 psi hot idiling isn't bad really, I usually run 20w 50 in my big block myself but 10w 40 should be fine I would think too

[BSB67]

If your pressure is that low, a spring won't help.  It sounds like your internal clearances have become too loose.  That said, you probably okay.  Thicker oil or a long rotor pump will increase the pressure but not change the reason the pressure is low.

[Kern Dog]

Did you use a regular FRAM oil filter?
There have been incidents where an oil pressure drop has occurred with a new FRAM filter. Not all Fram filters are bad though. The HP 1 is an excellent filter.
There are much better filters out there compared to the PH series. The WIX brand is known for quality.

My 440/493 will register 75-80 lbs cold with 10w30  at idle. Once warm, it will idle at around 25-28. The bearing clearances are right on spec. The engine has less than 10,000 miles on it. Once the rpms rise, the oil pressure comes up quickly. THAT is what really matters.
Higher weight oil will cost power. New cars run 5w20, some run 0w30 ! They do run tighter bearing clearances than our old iron. Lighter oil pumps through the engine easier.
A couple of rules to live by in the realm of oil and gas: 1)Use the lowest octane that allows the car to run without knocking. Any higher octane than that burns slower and is a waste of money with no benefit. 2) Use the thinnest oil that gives the acceptable oil pressure. Using thicker oil, the engine loses some power due to increased drag on the oil pump and the engine gets no additional benefit.

[Sublime/Sixpack]

You didn't say what oil filter you installed at the oil change, but if by chance it was a Fram, listen to Kern Dog. He's right about the regular Fram oil filter. It can indeed cause lower oil pressure than a good filter such as a Wix.

[cdr]

put a high vol pump on it,& keep the thinner oil & as kerndog said, no fram filter .

[BigBlockSam]

thanks guys, yes i put the fram filter on it but it had a fram filter on it already . i like the stiffer spring idea but it is the original stock oil pump from 68 . do you think if i run a hv pump it would help the pressure at idle , the pressure  flies rite up when you touch the gas . and i'm gonna change the oil filter to a non Fram too . i'd like to stick to the 10/40 oil cause we have cold winters in nj. 

[Kern Dog]

Not all of the cheap FRAM filters have been problematic, just a few here and there. As I said, their HP-1 series is a great filter.
My habit is to change the oil and filter at least twice a year, once for Summer and once for winter. I don't drive in the rain though. I average under 2000 miles per year.
No PH 8A, No PH series at all!
Pay a few extra bucks for the better one. You may have been lucky. Some have reported zero oil pressure with the FRAM PH filters!

[BigBlockSam]

Pay a few extra bucks for the better one. You may have been lucky. Some have reported zero oil pressure with the FRAM PH filters!

sounds good to me , i did not know that about Fram filters .


is this the pump i need . i put all my info in and it tells me it's not comparable with my car


http://www.ebay.com/itm/best-price-BBM-383-400-440-GENUINE-MELLING-M63HV-HIGH-VOLUME-OIL-PUMP-charger-/300798855401?_trksid=p2352135.m2548.l4275

[cdr]

Pay a few extra bucks for the better one. You may have been lucky. Some have reported zero oil pressure with the FRAM PH filters!

sounds good to me , i did not know that about Fram filters .


is this the pump i need . i put all my info in and it tells me it's not comparable with my car


http://www.ebay.com/itm/best-price-BBM-383-400-440-GENUINE-MELLING-M63HV-HIGH-VOLUME-OIL-PUMP-charger-/300798855401?_trksid=p2352135.m2548.l4275

yes that is the pump, take it apart & wash it out before install. & also as said run the thin oil.you will also need a bolt kit, the bolts are longer.

[cdr]

http://store.440source.com/High-Strength-Bolt-Kit-for-High-Volume-Oil-Pump-New/productinfo/109%2D1502/

http://store.440source.com/Melling-M-63HV-High-Volume-Oil-Pump-New/productinfo/M63HV/

http://store.440source.com/Oil-Pump-Gasket/productinfo/144%2D1002/

http://store.440source.com/Pinned-HD-Intermediate-Shaft-New/productinfo/200%2D1078/

this is what you need,  free shipping over 100.00

[BigBlockSam]

hey guys i changed the oil filter to a hp-1 fram filter . the oil pressure only came up 3 lbs but it is real steady . the needle doesn't bounce anymore . so i'm happy with that for now . like i said she runs good. i will order the hv pump in the future .
  i also changed out the filter in my 39 plymouth coupe, gasser 440 motor fresh hp build . the oil pressure came up 15lbs . it's at 60lbs at idle . i will only use hp-1 filters from now on.thank you for all the help 

[Kern Dog]

I consider that a thank you to ME.