i have a 03 lb7 duramax and i was hauling a load of hay (about 20000 lbs including trailer weight) and was running great, pulling fine, and my oil pressure warning light came on when i would drop rpm to idle and then go away when i would give it some gas. oil level is right on the money i hooked a mechanical gauge to it today right off the oil filter housing and the gauge and dash were reading very close 1-2psi off each other. it drops almost to 0 at idle. Oil was changed 1500 miles ago with rotella 15-40 and lucas oil stabilizer, no fuel or water in oil. I'm thinking my mains may be worn but not sure. i will send an oil sample soon but i am just curious if anyone else is having this issue. any input is greatly appreciated:thumb:
Low oil pressure warning while towing heavy load
- Thread starter dirtymike1988
- Start date
May be a possibility of getting the oil too hot and thinning it out. Common problem with these trucks, especially if your towing over the Eisenhower pass. However that seems pretty damn low at idle.
That was my original thought but it is happening more and more often now so I am gonna roll in rods and mains seems kinda early though only 150k on truck
Have you ever had problems with bad injectors diluting fuel in the past? Could be damage caused by oil dilution from past injector problems is now showing up.
You are extremely overloaded with that much weight behind you, I bet your truck was HEATSOAKED big time and the oil was thin as hell and who knows how hot. Change oil and filter and see if it comes back to normal, if it does keep towing weight at 16k MAX.
I drained the oil and it was very diluted with diesel, I pulled the valve covers to pressure test the return fuel lines they both check out so I am gonna do injectors in it tomorrow quite the project though
Well, sounds like you found the problem, even though it isn't what you hoped. Get some new sticks in there and it will be back to 100%.
Whaaa? 16k lbs may be right near the "official" rating of these trucks (official max is 22k minus truck weight IIRC); but 20k lbs is not that much weight. I have towed over 20k lbs and it doesn't even break a sweat. Heck, I won't even engage tow/haul mode until I have about 8k lbs behind me. Never once had it overheat, and oil samples always come back golden.
Look through the [THREAD=45569]towing pictures thread[/THREAD] or the [THREAD=30813]most weight towed[/THREAD]. You're being too nice to your truck. As long as the trailer is rated for the weight and has good brakes you're golden.
I agree I just put in 8 reman injectors from the chevy dealership 2200 after 800 core, changed fuel filter running great gonna keep an eye on the oil level for the next few days. Quite the project though 14 hrs r&r