[alfa] Oil Changed... now at high RPM pressure drops

[Don Banfield <banfield@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,
	I finally put some better oil in my 88 spider veloce... it had
been done by random service shops before, and I don't know what they put
in it.  I put in some Mobil 1 15w50, which is about as close as I could
find to the listed spec of 10W50 that the car claims it wants in the
engine.  From the digest info I've read, this is a good choice for motor
oil.

	My oil pressure gauge has worked fine all the time I've had the
car, and it worked fine just before the oil change, so I don't expect that
it suddenly started malfunctioning now.  It used to show lower oil
pressure when the engine was warm and at low RPM.  Now it shows the oil
pressure dropping to very low (~0-10 PSI) when the engine is warm and at
HIGH rpm (i.e., above 3000 RPM).  At low RPM, it seems to be maintaining
the nominal oil pressure correctly.  Note that I haven't seen the oil
pressure warning light come on (except on starting), and that the
voltmeter doesn't wiggle at all as the RPM changes (so I really doubt that
it is an indicator problem).  The dipstick shows a full oil pan with the
engine cold.

	Could this be an indication of this being the wrong oil for my
engine?  Perhaps I have some significant wear or blockage in an oil
passage(s) that would make me want to use a different weight (higher or
lower?) oil?  Could this be a problem with the engine or the oil pump?
Should I not be so confident the sender is OK?  Is it a problem or should
I just ignore it until I see the oil pressure warning light come on?

Suggestions?

Thanks alot,
	Don Banfield

Don Banfield					Senior Research Associate
banfield@domain.elided                   Cornell University Astronomy
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