Oil Pressure Relief Valve

[dgbull3]

Noticed that after de-winterizing and running, my oil pressure will be higher than it was last year for the first ~20min of operating time then it will start to come down. If I'm running and then slow down to neutral it will sit a little lower than it did before ~30psi before it comes back up. After searching through the forum, I'm wondering if I have a failing oil pressure relief/recycle valve. Couldn't find anything in the forum though, where is this valve? Is it at the bottom of the motor, within the pan? (i.e. would the engine need to be pulled to replace?)

Did an oil change and ran it before winterization; everything seemed fine. I've only taken it out twice since de-winterizing, but have been monitoring everything for any changes.

[gregski]

How high is the pressure? That sounds pretty normal to me. The pressure will always follow the engine speed to some degree, especially at the low end and I've always noticed it to be higher when the oil is cold.

[dgbull3]

It'll run up to ~70-75psi when at 3400rpm, until it seems to warm up then it'll be in the 60s. It makes sense that it'd be the oil coming up to operating temperature, but it's catching me off guard because I didn't see it do that last season.

[kaneboats]

Don't see any real danger here. Different filter, thinner oil, etc. might cause different readings. Now, if you lose oil pressure-- that's something to worry about.