hey guys. heres the thing. i started my truck (4.3L 1999 GMC sierra) and noticed my oil pressure gauge went to 0. i shut it off and looked around and found most of the oil on the ground. i found it was the o-ring on the oil filter had blown out a bit. (good mess).
well, i took the filter off and put the ring back in and re-installed to get me to the store to buy a oil change that was needed anyway. now it seems to be working ok as i have been running it normally for 2 weeks now but i think the pressure is still high so i dont take my eye off the gauge and its kinda nerve racking. the guage is in Kpa (canadian truck) not psi and it holds steady at the think dash between 275 and 550 when driving and just below 275 when idling.
im not sure but i think normal it ran just over 275. i know the sensor or sending unit commonly goes on them but that dont explain the o-ring blow-out. is the pressur ok or should i get it checked out

well, 275kPa is roughly 40PSI, and 550 is roughly 80PSI...

it will be interesting to learn if the o-ring blowout was caused by high pressure, or if the high pressure was somehow caused by the blowout...

just for ***** and giggles, what brand/style filter is it?

the filter was a motormaster (canadian tire brand) for those not familiar with canada. im pretty sure it was high pressure that caused the blow out cause thats how i noticed it, the gauge went to 0. might not even have or had high pressure, could just be coincidence but i dont think so. one of those gut feeling things. lol

well, 40 PSI when warm is nothing to be concerned about.... 80PSI cold is somewhat high though, i'm not sure what the threshold is to remove the babbit from bearings...

so im getting roughly 400kpa, does that make sense? the gauge shows right between 275 and 550.
so that would be like 65-70 psi correct? i just dont know why i haven't had a problem since? probably put 200KMs on it since.

400kPa is close to 60PSI, which is completely normal, and is likely where the oil pump'* pressure relief valve is set at.

could have just been a fluke. i know FRAMs that have literally exploded cannisters on startup, i can see the gasket popping off during a high pressure event when the relief valve hadn't reacted yet.

thankyou for your time. if it happens again, i will have to replace the oil pump. i think thats easier than just replacing the relive valve

gm truck gauges arent known for being overly accurate, infact my gauges say mine is pretty high for 155k motor, temp is 165 when i measured 195 at the water neck, and i have the 16v alt apparently. if you ask around youll find most are that way. anyway your probably fine just watch for something different than normal like it drops to zero