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Old Sep 13, 2003 | 10:49 AM
  #1  
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Thumbs down low oil pressure

1987 f-150 straight six,about 6 months ago I noticed that my oil pressure gauge was low ,It sttarted to move up and down according to engine speed,if i was on the highway it would stay on the low side of the normal range,if I came to a stop sign or red light it would dive right down below the red line on the low side I put a new oil pump on her and now the gauge stays right above the red line,Yes I primed the pump and installed it correctly,can some one give me some advice on what can be wrong. I was told my oil sensor my might be bad and thus sending a bad reading to the gauge,can someone tell me where this sensor is?
 
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Old Sep 13, 2003 | 02:46 PM
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low oil pressure

I'm not sure about the location of the sensor but that was kinda what my Bronco was doing. The oil Pressure stayed low. I replaced the electric sending unit and gauge with a mechanical gauge, now my oil pressure reads right, about 20psi at idle and 45psi at 2,000rpm. Those stock gauges are junk.
 
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Old Sep 14, 2003 | 09:42 PM
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low oil pressure

The oil sensor is next to the oil filter, with one wire attached. You may need a special socket to get it off. I found that a twelve point socket worked good, I dont remember the size. You may be able to use a vice grip. I would buy an electric gauge, from personal experiance I had that white plastic line break inside the cab and I had oil spraying all over the place. The electric is 3X the price, and not quite as accurate but reads PSI
 
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Old Sep 14, 2003 | 09:49 PM
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low oil pressure

I set my truck on fire with that plastic hoseing they give you darn stuff slipped and hit the exhaust manifold! When I got my gauge I also paid the extra $8 and got the copper tuping kit for it, won't catch on fire on me again! THey do make a special socket to get the senser out, I tired vise grips and wrenches and all to get mine out and no luck so I broke down and got the sensor socket, it was less than $10 at Auto Zone.

P.S. I did put the fire out with no damage
 
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Old Sep 15, 2003 | 10:54 AM
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low oil pressure

Originally posted by c_rossman
... from personal experiance I had that white plastic line break inside the cab and I had oil spraying all over the place.
Where did your line break, at the fitting into the back of the gauge?
 
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Old Sep 15, 2003 | 10:59 AM
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low oil pressure

Originally posted by Wolfman2405
I set my truck on fire with that plastic hoseing they give you darn stuff slipped and hit the exhaust manifold! When I got my gauge I also paid the extra $8 and got the copper tuping kit for it, won't catch on fire on me again! THey do make a special socket to get the senser out, I tired vise grips and wrenches and all to get mine out and no luck so I broke down and got the sensor socket, it was less than $10 at Auto Zone.

P.S. I did put the fire out with no damage
I have a mechanical gauge and want to prevent problems, so hope you don't mind a few questions:

How flexible is the copper tubing to route? Do you need a flaring tool to make the connection? Or does it just press in like the nylon tubing? What slipped, did the tube break off from the connector and fall onto the exhaust manifold? The fire was from the nylon line burning or oil?

As for removing the sender switch, I just used an open ended wrench, though I suppose a really deep socket would work also.
 
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Old Sep 15, 2003 | 12:31 PM
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low oil pressure

My Plastic tube broke right behind the gauge. It seemed the compression fitting held, but broke right behind it, I had hot oil spraying everywhere for about 5 miles! I lost over a quart of oil!
 
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Old Sep 15, 2003 | 12:32 PM
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low oil pressure

Lucky I had a needle nose vise grips along to pinch the line off
 
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Old Sep 15, 2003 | 12:34 PM
  #9  
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low oil pressure

I really like the Electric Gauge, Just one wire, Can make it as long or short as you like. I can still smell oil in the cab, It just isnt worth it.
 
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Old Sep 15, 2003 | 12:39 PM
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low oil pressure

Originally posted by c_rossman
My Plastic tube broke right behind the gauge. It seemed the compression fitting held, but broke right behind it, I had hot oil spraying everywhere for about 5 miles! I lost over a quart of oil!
When I got my AutoGauge (by Autometer) at a garage sale I bought a new line. Didn't want to risk a used nylon line. Now am wondering about the el cheapo mech gauge I got for the motorhome and whether the line for that is all that good, especially since the ferrules went on loosly. Tightened down well, but you never know.

BTW, someone tipped me off to this trick and so thought I'd pass it along: you have an hour to edit your message if you click the EDIT button at the bottom of your displayed message. I often use it to go back and remove my signature stuff from sucessive posts, as I just did now.

Thanks
 
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Old Sep 15, 2003 | 02:10 PM
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low oil pressure

I had my hose routed and zip tied where I wanted it, one of my zip ties slipped and let the hose touch the exhaust manifold, the fire was from oil.
WHen I got the copper tubing kit it came with nuts and ferrels(spelling). THe copper is pretty easy to bend where you want it to go, just becareful you don't bend it too much and put a kink in it.
Took me no longer than 30 min to install everything, but I had already planed where I wanted everything to go before I started.
Good luck!
 
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Old Sep 15, 2003 | 02:41 PM
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low oil pressure

I called Sunpro and their tech said the copper tubing can break more easily if you don't give it enough play to accommodate engine movement. Also he said the nylon tubing is great if you protect if from rubbing on sharp edges and hot surfaces. On both my vehicles the tubing is nowhere near hot surfaces and I used thickwall flexible plastic tubing from the local hardware as a sleeve over the line where it had to negotiate some potentially sharp edges like into the gap between the defroster vent opening and ducting. The only other place where it could fail is if the connection was not properly done. Nonetheless, I will rig something to ensure that if the line does pop out the back of the gauge it will not go in anyone's face.

Hey, anyone looking for a good mech gauge? Sunpro has a "garage sale" that includes some nice oil press gauges for as little as $5 for a 0-100 mechanical with 2&5/8 face. What a deal. That one is about $19 in Autozone.
 
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Old Sep 15, 2003 | 02:42 PM
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low oil pressure

The problem with copper is that it will become brittle with heat and vibration. I have seen copper lines break under the dash too. Route it with some expansion loops to take out any stress.

Jim
 
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Old Sep 15, 2003 | 05:20 PM
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low oil pressure

Yeah you have to leave some wiggle room for your copper tubing. I don't see anything wrong with the plastic as long as you protect it, but after your vehical is on fire you don't take any chances
I don't know the life expectancy of the plastic hose but on the truck I had before it had almost 20 year old copper tubing in it and it was just fine. I guess you just go with what works for you
 
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