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Ahh,, another gauge junkie, welcome and AMEN! :-) Ive Noticed that over the last 100K miles my oil pressure started around 38psi at its hottest on the highway at 70MPH in the summer, it went down to 34 over the next few thousand miles and stayed that way for a long time, then at around 60-70K it started down from there, slowly, to about 26PSI where it was before the trip cross country and roughly 24 now (at 109K) that its back Should things really start down it will let me know instead of being hung somewhere with a #4 rod gone. As you say, its not so much the numbers themselves, but the relative numbers to what is normal for your engine. Keith Also, in reference to the gauge comments in the last T-3 letters...I have run a plethora of these on many aircooleds over the years and their accuracy while dependent on the the installer and the manufacturer can certainly vary, it is important to remember that while temperatures and pressures may well be off by some points from a scientific standard, they nonetheless can help establish a benchmark for normalcy; a range of what is to be expected at various periods of weather, altitude, seasons and speeds, so that extremes can be signs to warrant closer investigation. While sounds are invaluable to the driver, they don't tell the whole story. I had a recent experience with this... ending in this rebuild. The engine "sounded" great and pulled well and a variety of speeds. But, without gauges, I'd have been hard pressed to know that my oil pressure (the norms I had determined from years of watching the dials), were in precipitous, albeit gradual, decline. Ultimately, the number four bearing dissolved on a hard climb and the sounds very certainly changed. But, had I really investigated what the gauges had told me for some months, I would have saved a stroker crank and case, not to mention the time and expense for the rebuild. Gauges work, but only as well as they are installed and tracked, indeed, believed. I won't make the same mistake again. I will believe what I see and not assume that even with 80K , heh, I rebuilt this, taken close care of it it "should" get another 20K at least...yeah, or not. Frank Meek ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List info at http://www.vwtype3.org/list | mailto:gregm@vwtype3.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~