First crank - oil pressure and RPM?

[kmacht]

I did check my transducer earlier. I adapted it to an air collet so I could connect it to a spare tire. My MFD oil pressure reading fell in between two of my tire pressure gauges.

oil pressure sender test.jpg

I do have an oil filter. My pump has an inlet and outlet on the cover. IIUC the oil goes from the sump to the filter and then to the engine. Could it just be a matter of filling the lines and filter?

If that’s a stock aerovee oil pump cover (pre top mount oil cooler) the inlet and outlet ports are supposed to be used to connect an oil cooler. They aren’t meant to connect between the sump and a filter. Those ports put out unregulated pressure and putting a filter directly to them can and will blow the filter out when it’s cold out and the oil is thick. The filter kits you see sold for VWs are meant for cases that are drilled and tapped for a full flow oil system using a pump with its internal port blocked off. The aerovee case and oil pump as delivered is not setup for a full flow system unless they changed something recently. If you aren’t seeing oil pressure I would start looking at what you are doing with those ports and the filter to see if that’s causing the issue.

[Bryan Cotton]

Update - we have oil pressure. It showed 80 psi which seems high. It is not a stock Aerovee pump. I bought it to add the oil filter.

[kmacht]

80 PSI is max pressure for the stock VDO oil pressure sender so you may actually be higher than what your showing. You should be seeing between 30 and 50psi cold at full rpm if everything is running right with the engine. What changed between having no pressure and now?

[Bryan Cotton]

Keith,
Two things changed. We were going to check for oil in the filter, but there was a big puddle under the filter. Our fittings were not tight. But, it told us that we had probably filled up the filter. So we socked down the fittings and tried again - two more cranks, and on the second one we had pressure.

[Curry Matherne]

My aerovee has 55 psi cold and pretty much maintains that pressure at a wide assortment of RPMs until the oil starts getting good and hot.