Does anybody know of an aftermarket high capacity engine oil pump (external or interal) for the 7.3l. or a piston cooling bypass system?

I have heard that the oil pressure on these motors at idle is pretty low but

 

not to highjack the thread but i would like to look into one for my 6.9 also

 

The stock pump is low pressure high volume.

 

Thanks Dave,

The reason I was asking is that my 91 seems to run quieter (less valve clatter)when it shows higher oilpressure on the gauge I installed.

The pressure at idle is pretty low (Maybe 5 psig, hard to tell as my gauge is not very accurate at the low end) especially after I chase it up a hill and she is hot. It almost sounds like the lifters are starting to make noise.

I have been running 10W30 which is less than the recommended 10W40 but that is what I have used on my 93' for the last 230,000 km without any problems. Running a more vicous oil would probably help things and I might try the 10W40 at my next oil change to see if it makes a difference.

I think part of the reason the IDI's have low oil pressure at idle is that there does not seem to be a piston cooling bypass that would shut the piston cooling oil flow off during idle when it is not needed. Those piston cooling nozzles are big taking lots of oil flow which would explain why there is so little oil pressure at idle.

Some of the Volvo's my uncle works on use an externally mounted bypass valves that bypasses the piston cooling system during idle to avoid low oil pressure at idle.

Anyways, just thinking out loud here. The truck runs great since I installed the new IP and Injectors after my less than stellar Biodiesel experience last year.

By the way, Happy New Year to you.

 

15w40 is the recommended oil and you would have low pressure with 10w30 it just isnt heavy enough for the demands of a diesel engine , of course it depends on the climate it is operated in

 

There is no other pump available for the idi, I looked everywhere . Also my new melling pump is a piece of crap. Clearances are not even close. I quote the rep" well we cant check them all" . I am putting the old IH pump in if I ever have to drop the pan for anything.

 

First, as already said, I'd switch over to a 15w-40 oil. A good brand like Rotella, Delo, Delvac, etc. Those oil jets for the pistons are to help keep them cool (very important, especially in a diesel) so I wouldn't to tamper with them personally. As a matter of fact, oil jets are one of the selling points on some of todays high performance gas engines.

 

6.9-7.3 Engine oil requirements.

32F to 100F+........30wt

0F to 100F+..........15W-40

32F to way below freezing ........10W-30

With the new oils...... 0W-40 is a good choice too in extreme cold

 

Personally I have been using the Rotella 5w40 full synthetic for the past 7 years in all my cars. It is a little more costly than the Rotella 15w40 at $16/gal (when I started using it was $12/gal) Which is a reasonable price compared to other full synthetics.

The last time I took my 1984 chevy blazer in for a smog check, based on the numbers he saw the guy assumed I had recently replaced the engine. It only has about 160K miles on the engine though. But I have only been changing the oil once a year. (don't try that with a diesel!)