What is the ideal oil pressure for a small block at idle? I got mine fired up this weekend and it was reading 40's psi at idle ...I couldn't run it long due to no coolant in the system yet... still getting my serpentine system worked out. Any ideas?

 

10 psi per 1000 RPM or better

 

"or better" Is 40psi too much? I realize once the engine is warm the pressure will fall some but I'm worried about cold starts causing leaks.

 

Most new cars have 40-60psi

 

I dont know that I would classify this car as new...but thanks for the input. I'll take that as a yes and 40psi is ok?

 

40 at idle is fine.

 

40 at cold idle is going to be a lot lower at warm idle, but I agree it's fine.

My well-broken in 30k mile 355 that gets driven with conviction gets 60+ psi cold idle, around 30 warm idle. 25-35 warm idle is average. 15 warm idle is adequate. Much below that is still technically good enough (see the 10 psi per 1k RPM rule) but it would bother me.