I have read earlier posts regarding safe oil pressure levels, and someone said that .5 was safe. My car 1987 560SEL has always stayed around 1.5 when warm, and jumps up to 3 when I accelerate, which I assume is normal. Last night the pressure was reading just above 1 at a stop, although it still jumped up to 3 on those green lights. Should I be worried that it was reading lower than it ever has? I don't want the car to blow up...

hello!
The oilpressure on a mercedes can go as low as 0,3 at idle,you must have 3,0 at 3000rpm...maybe the engine was just a little bit varmer this time...that makes the pressure lower,if you stand too long at idle and the engine gets warmer the pressure gets lower.
I hope this will be some help to you.
Mikael

I agree with the above post. My '93 will get as low as 0.5 bar at idle, in gear, in warm weather with AC on, and others with V8s I've talked to have the same experience. I was told by Stu Ritter that officially the oil pressure is always measured with transmission in neutral, never in gear, so if you check your pressure in neutral you'll be pleasantly surprised to see how much higher it is.

I think one of the reasons MB took out the oil pressure guage on new vehicles is to keep us obsessive owners from worrying too much!

Thanks for the feedback guys. I agree with what you said about the newer MB's not having the guage, Steve. Often I will ask my girlfriend if she can hear that strange noise or feel that weird vibration. She just looks at me like I'm nuts. I guess that we can be a bit too sensitive to our car's needs at times!
Justin

Justin,
I hear you. My wife cannot possibly understand for the life of her why I am so enamored with my car and how I can actually find it fun to spend time learning more about the technical aspects of it. To me, however, it's like reading a novel where the deeper you get into it the more you appreciate the intricacies and elegance of it.

RE: oil pressures, another thing I forgot to mention is that I have been told that oil pressure gauges and temp. gauges in MBs are "linear," meaning that they give you a true and accurate reading. I always wondered why our Ford Exploder (oops, Explorer) 's oil gauge would NEVER vary from its mid-position, regardless of ambient temp., idling vs. heavy throttle, etc. I was informed that most other manufacturers' gauges are "NONLINEAR" meaning that a large change in actual pressure is translated into a small change in the gauge reading -- mostly to prevent driver anxiety . . . A different approach from the folks at Stuttgart who feel we have a right to know the truth . . .