High oil temp/low pressure

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Mtns2Skies

Final Approach
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Mtns2Skies
Still having new owner panic attacks :oops:.

Now that I have my JPI installed, I see that my oil pressure gets pretty low and my oil temp gets higher than I'd like - especially during pattern work. That being said, the analog gauges don't seem to show anything alarming and are about where it has been the whole time I've owned the plane.

Anyway - Continental recommends 30-60psi oil pressure and I've seen as low as 26psi before on the JPI - but the analog gauge doesn't show anything too out of the ordinary. The temperature is routinely getting into the 186F temp range.

I have plenty of oil ~11 quarts (12 max 8 min) of Aeroshell 15W-50 flying in about 80F degrees.

Is this anything to worry about?
Should I go to thicker oil in warmer temps?
Or just carry on?
IMG_20180901_205729.jpg IMG_20180901_205701.jpg
 
Lose the 15-50. That stuff is poison. XC 20-50 if you like multi vis. Aeroshell 100+ if you like single weight.
 
You are well within parameters for your engine.. don't panic.
The old saying - If it ain't broke don't fix it until it is.
There is a reason they call 15W50 aeroslime.
20W50 will help.
 
I once talked to my mechanic about a jpi edm700 and he said once I install it I'll have "all kinds of problems". I never did install it and I tend to agree with him. I've seen others do the same.

Im on the fence about them honestly. My plane has been flying for 50 years without one. And my buddy who has one had all normal readings up until his engine died.
 
What is wrong with Aeroshell 15W50? I've used it since I bought my plane with no bad results that I can see. I fly frequently... just passed 100 hours in 2018. I live in the desert (humidity right now is 16%), my airplane is hangared and I change the oil every 30 hours.
 
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simtech said:
I once talked to my mechanic about a jpi edm700 and he said once I install it I'll have "all kinds of problems". I never did install it and I tend to agree with him. I've seen others do the same.

Im on the fence about them honestly. My plane has been flying for 50 years without one. And my buddy who has one had all normal readings up until his engine died.
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These are a case that reminds me of " measure with a micrometer, cut with a chain saw"

The engine manufacture sets the minimum oil pressure as low as 5 PSI at idle, and the aircraft manufacturer uses a gauge with 30 PSI as low limit.
 
Thanks guys! That all makes me feel better :)
 
Depending on your OAT 200 or below is fine for the temp (at least on my wagon with a 520), when are you seeing the oil pressure low? In cruise mines normally on the high side of the analog green, don’t have oil pressure on my JPI 700 series
 
Tom-D said:
The engine manufacture sets the minimum oil pressure as low as 5 PSI at idle, and the aircraft manufacturer uses a gauge with 30 PSI as low limit.
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No it doesn't. His gauge shows a red line clearly at about 5 PSI which is the minimum at idle. The 30 PSI is the low limit at normal cruise power. Nothing contradictory.
 
I don't have oil pressure on the JPI in my Aztec, but the oil temps are on the opposite side of the oil cooler (inlet) from the stock gauges (outlet) so they always read different from one another.
 
Pop Quiz:

What does the green area mean on both the analog and digital gauges?

-Skip
 
Skip Miller said:
Pop Quiz:

What does the green area mean on both the analog and digital gauges?

-Skip
Click to expand...
Okay operating temperature.... But pop quiz... How is the green area on the JPI set?


Answer... it's not. Its a generic area not specific to any given engine or airframe. So if continental specifies 30PSI as the minimum... then it is indeed out of spec regardless of the "green area" on the jpi.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
Its a generic area not specific to any given engine or airframe. So if continental specifies 30PSI as the minimum... then it is indeed out of spec regardless of the "green area" on the jpi.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I was not aware of that. OK, let's move on to the OEM mechanical gauges ....

-Skip
 
Mtns2Skies said:
Okay operating temperature.... But pop quiz... How is the green area on the JPI set?


Answer... it's not. Its a generic area not specific to any given engine or airframe. So if continental specifies 30PSI as the minimum... then it is indeed out of spec regardless of the "green area" on the jpi.
Click to expand...

Is the JPI measuring pressure at the same point on the engine as the OE gauge? You can’t definitively say oil pressure is out of spec if it is not.

All this JPI seems to be doing for you is manufacturing problems. Treat it like the in flight entertainment it is, and things will be easier.
 
mondtster said:
All this JPI seems to be doing for you is manufacturing problems. Treat it like the in flight entertainment it is, and things will be easier.
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Yeah,,,, this.
 
mondtster said:
All this JPI seems to be doing for you is manufacturing problems. Treat it like the in flight entertainment it is, and things will be easier.
Click to expand...

Yep exactly what my mechanic says happens to everyone installed.
 
Digital instrument accuracy is a great tool when the digital instrument is an approved primary. Keeping the old and adding new? That just makes you recognize that you don't know what the analog instruments are telling you.

186* oil temp is not hot.
 
Oil heat reading is really viewing what the oil can handle without losing its protective qualities (viscosity for one simple example...not thinning out to the point you lose pressure).

I would look to Shell for their spec on how hot is too hot for oil longevity (look it up or call them).

Opinion: I’d want the temp data on the cooler inlet. I wouldn’t care how cool the oil got, I’d worry about how hot it got, for oil and engine health insight (as well as cooler effectiveness, oddly enough, from just the hot side).
 
You didn't mention which motor you have.

Have you read the engine operating manual?

What does it say?

IO-520 for ex. says temps of 170 in cruise to burn off moisture. In summer in climb routinely higher than this and that is fine. Pressure again in the manual.
 
BTW, we often saw oil temps of well over 210°F in our cars. Gets any moisture out!
 
Temp is right where it should be, however, if the oil pressure is truly that low at cruise, it needs to be adjusted. It should idle around 25, and cruise around 50.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Stewartb said:
Lose the 15-50. That stuff is poison. XC 20-50 if you like multi vis. Aeroshell 100+ if you like single weight.
Click to expand...
We use Aeroshell 100+ for summer operations. Pawnee never gets above 215F but routinely above 200F for summer operations. 80+ for winter ops. Two oil coolers, one gets covered for winter.

Flew a DA-40 today, not sure brand of oil used, extended climb below 100knts IAS. Higher OAT was not climbing well. Oil temp hit the yellow, pressure was normal, all I could do was level off to get more airflow through the cooler. 100F OAT, CHT below 400F, EGT below 1300F.
 
GLMS_NC said:
You didn't mention which motor you have.
Click to expand...

I didn't see that either but, if he's running an O-470, the type certificate (E-273) for my L shows the oil's "normal operation" limits to be 30 to 60 psi. 10 psi minimum idle pressure. Oil temp is 75* - 225*.
 
Stewartb said:
Digital instrument accuracy is a great tool when the digital instrument is an approved primary. Keeping the old and adding new? That just makes you recognize that you don't know what the analog instruments are telling you.

186* oil temp is not hot.
Click to expand...

Exactly. 186 is perfect. Below 180, you should start blocking off the oil cooler.
 
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