[Healeys] oil pressure relief valve

healeymanjim at hansencc.net healeymanjim at hansencc.net
Tue Sep 28 09:42:49 MDT 2010


i am having trouble understanding how increasing the spring strength in the oil pressure relief valve will increase oil pressure.  this spring is calibrated to keep the oil pressure in the engine to below aprrox 60 psi.  when the oil is cold and the pressure is above that, the spring is compressed and excess oil returns to the sump.  once the oil heats up enough to allow the pressure to decrease below 60 psi the relief valve closes, never to enter the equation again.  increasing the spring strength would only cause the relief valve to come off the seat at a higher pressure, i.e., 70 psi with cold oil.  i cannot see where increasing the strength of the spring would do anything to increase the pressure of hot oil, say from 35 to 45 psi.  where is the fallacy in my thinking?   hjim


More information about the Healeys mailing list