low oil pressure

[greg_g]

i started the tractor and it went a little above 2.0 for a few seconds then stayed around 2.0

Nothing wrong with that, I'm guessing you don't realize that the gauge is graduated in MPa (mega-pascals); a metric unit of pressure. If you look close, you'll see a decimal point in front of the numbers; 0.1, 0.2, et cetera. You may even see MPa printed somewhere on the gauge face. One MPa equals 145 psi. Move the decimal, and 0.1 MPa = 14.5 psi, 0.2 MPa = 29 psi, 0.3 MPa = 43.5 psi.

Oil thins as it's heated, pressure drops as it thins. That's just physics. You may see it jump up as high as 0.4 on a cold engine on a cold day, then settle down in the neighborhood of 0.2-0.3 at working temperature. Most owners consider that normal. And it's been stated by several members and member dealers here - that hot oil pressure as low as 0.05 MPa (~7 psi) at idle is acceptable.

So it appears that the reason you didn't think there was much improvement after switching to 15W40, is because there wasn't all that much wrong with it in the first place. But you did gain the advantage of a multi-grade oil in the process.

//greg//

 

[Bob Rooks]

...my gague is the chinese type i assume
starts at 0 then 2,0 then 2.5 it is red up to 2.0 which is half way up...

I would sure like to see a picture of that gauge.

If it reads 2.0 and 2.5 like you state then it reads in bar, atm, or Kg/cm².

If it reads 0.2 and 0.25 then I will defer to Greg's post.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I did the $7 HF mechanical gauge thing and found out my tractor was right where it needed to be. It came with the right fitting so it was a 10 minute install. I just put it on and left the factory one in the dash for checking things out then went back to the factory one once I had things verified.

Chris

 

[bluechip]

Its not uncommon for these to run just at the red line when hot at idle even with the 15W40 but should move up at higher rpm. If gas engine oil has been used for the hours it has, there may be enough wear on the bearings to let the oil pressure drop. Always use a C type oil (not sure what the second letters are up to by now, guess I need to read a can of rotella. Can? there I go dating myself, havnt seen oil in a can in a while, but I still hve the spout hanging in the garage that I used to stick in them to open and pour, don't know why.

 

[Bob Rooks]

Can? there I go dating myself, havnt seen oil in a can in a while, but I still hve the spout hanging in the garage that I used to stick in them to open and pour, don't know why.

I still have several of the quart glass bottles with the steel spout and cap that were filled from my hand-crank bulk storage tank left over from my Signal Gas service station. Still have the old 1 gallon "swingspout" too.