What should be the normal oil pressure reading, at idle, with a warm engine for:

1. A 420SEL (91)

2. A 300TE (89)

I am not having a problem with either car. Just curious.

Thank you.

__________________
Current Benzes

1989 300TE "Alice"
1990 300CE "Sam Spade"
1991 300CE "Beowulf" RIP (06.1991 - 10.10.2007)
1998 E320 "Orson"
2002 C320 Wagon "Molly Fox"

Res non semper sunt quae esse videntur

My Gallery

Not in this weather!

Don't know if your 300TE has the single or dual cam engine.

Mine has the single cam version. Once fully warmed up, the tach reads 1 BAR using conventional 10W/40 oil and either a Hengst/Mann/Mahle-Knecht oil filter. On occassion, it will dip a hair below 1 BAR.

I would not be comfortable with a reading of less than .75 bar (in my opinion). My manual states the following:

Idle >= 0.3 bar
3000 rpm >= 3 bar

__________________
Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)

Dont worry about low oil pressure. As the oil warms up, the oil exapnds and thins out. In my 99 S420, my oil pressure was around 1 at idle so Mercedes changed the oil pump and sending unit. At startup the oil pressure shoots up but it then slowly decreases as it warms up. I was told it is normal.
Like me, I see you're in So. Cal., using a heavier weight oil will prolong the oil pressure but eventually it will thin out. I have a 300E, and I used 5 bottles of Chevron 20W-50 and 1 bottle of Mobil 1 10W/30 w/ a Mobil filter. During short trips for 15 min, the lowest I read is 2 bar but after traffic of the 101-405, it goes down to 1. If you oil pressure does not jump to 3 during acceleration, then you might have a problem or you need an oil change. Relax