Minimum oil pressure
 

Hi folks,

What kind of oil pressure is normal at idle for my '87 300e? It hovers just above 1 bar (about 15psi) at idle and goes right up to 3 bar at anything above idle. Should I be concerned?

Thanks,

Bob Kopicki

MB says that 0.3 bar is minimun, about 5psi.

At 2500RPM you must have at least 3 bar.

Thanks MBDoc,
I looked all through my Owners manual and could only find advice on what to do if oil pressure was low, but no actual numbers. 5 psi seems kinda low to me, but I'm happy that our engine is still putting out enough pressure. The vehicle we bought is a TMU (true mileage unknown) but looks and runs great so we took a chance.
Thanks again,
Bob

Ahoy!

That sounds like perfect oil pressure.

Low oil pressure? Thats my 380SE ? ...... when at hot idle (in parking gear) , it is at the " .3 " bar, but when in drive (idling) when hot, it is pegged at " 0 ". Yes, " 0 ". When I hear that the "MB minimum is .3 bar", I am assuming that is when in gear? By the time it gets back to about 1800 rpms, it is back at " 3 ".... actually pegged past "3 ". I guess I should mention that my car has 268K however. :)

Some cars have low oil pressure from the factory. Some of the newer Toyota trucks are supposed to read extremely low on the guage at hot idle. I guess it varies from car to car. I have heard that on the first line is normal on those.