i have an 87 turbo sr5 and i took out the cat and the oil pressure had dropped from my gauges readings. its got almos 200k miles, 197k to be exact. when i start it, the pressure is normal but thats cuz the oil has not warmed up yet, but once it does its pretty low at idle but on free way speeds its in the OK range. i have oil up to full on the dipstick ( yes on flat ground), i just got the truck so maybe its time for a rebuild. ill try changing to maybe a thicker oil?


any thoughts guys?

 

Thoughts:
1) Your cat has nothing to do with oil pressure.
2) Unless the cat is plugged up, keep it. Zero to near zero performance gain from removing it, 10x increase in emissions. Instead use a 2.5" downpipe after the turbo and corresponding exhaust (22rte only)

3) The stock toyota gauges are near worthless. Consider them like an oil pressure Yes/No indicator.
4) Want to measure oil pressure, use a mechanical gauge.
5) The factory limits for oil pressure are really really low.. Generally 10psi per 1k RPM is considered normal. The 22RE is within spec with much less.

 

I just replaced my cat with a hi-flow one, and noticed the same thing.

 

BEWARE the 'high flow' cats. Some (like the 2.5" one Summit sells) are made of poor quality materials and will melt internally. Once that happens your engine can't exhale. EGT's will go thru the roof and if you have no way of monitoring them and backing off you will melt pistons quickly, especially in a turbo.

 

well wat could of been the cause of the so called "not really working" oil pressure gauge to read lower than when i had the cat in it?

 

Bad sender............??

 

happened when i took out the cat? it reads, but lower than before.

 

Mine showed low all the time at a idle after it warmed up.. It finally quit working all together.. I put a aftermarket in and i have GREAT oil pressure.. I would spend 15 bucks on a gauge before i even thought of rebuliding.. Mine had 274 when it odometer stoped working a couple years ago

 

I was (and always will be) concerned about a lower than normal Oil Pressure indication a few years ago.. Many people stated that their oil pressure read low. It seems to be "normal".. Here's the link:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...w+Oil+Pressure

 

if i do buy an oil pressure gauge, do i just tap it in from the old gauge wiring from the sensor?

 

I had to go to NAPA to get the right fitting to make my Sunpro work but i think others have had no problems with the adapters sold with the gauge.. I would just almost bet you money that when you hook up the after market gauge tou will be surprised.. I know i was!! 80 pounds cold.. 40 warm at a idle.. Never drops under 60 going down the road....

 

I used to have a '94 p/u with low oil pressure and I think I remember reading in a Haynes Manual that minimum operating pressure on the 2.4 was 4 psi...
I'm not implying anything about your rig, but I ended up rebuilding the lower end of the motor @80k due to my rods and mains going out--I always kinda wondered if the broken timing chain guides blocking my sump and the typical low oil pressure didn't somehow contribute to my problem I'd say you all are right for getting an aftermarket gauge to really check it.

 

I have the Sunpro gauge in mine. I think it was $13 at VIP. I also ordered the copper tube kit and the metric fitting kit from the Sunpro web site. Although I haven't installed either yet. When I 1st installed the gauge I was in a bit of a rush. I rethreaded the fitting that came with the gauge to the metric thread of the block and that has worked fine for the last year and a half. I chose to upgrade to the copper line because a guy at work had two of the plastic ones fail and make a mess in the interior of his car (GTO). I just haven't gotten to it yet.

The stock ones are mearly idiot lights and not known to be accurate.

 

thanks guys ill got down to a local shop and grab me one.

 

finally made the time to get a gauge, but all i gotta do is pull out the sender from the side of the block, then get and adapter for that hole to where i can hook up the new gauge lines? would this be correct