I have a 99 Ford Explorer XLT 4WD, automatic. I have noticed seen the weather has gotten colder in the morning my oil pressure gauge does not work for about 1-3 minutes. But ithen it starts showing pressure and works perfectly for the rest of the day. The same thing happends again the next morning. The engine is running fine and there is no grinding or metal agaiunst metal noise as if there was no oil pressure. I assume it is the oil pressure sending unit. But I have no idea how to check it and where it is located.

Thank you for any help you can give.

 

Bumping this as my sister-in-law has the same issue with her 99 4.0l, as does her son with his Ranger... no abnormal noise, just no reading until a couple hundred yards up the road and then it snaps to normal...

 

yep my sister-in-law has the same problem.

must be a chick thing.

 

make sure you are not using a fram and using 5w30 if you are good then replace the sending unit

 

This is a common problem. Keep in mind that it's not really even a guage. If you notice, once it 'snaps' into place, it never moves. Ford stretched things when they referred to this as a 'guage'.

 

Blly177, "make sure you are not using a fram and using 5w30 if you are good then replace the sending unit."

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Are you saying that Fram filters won't work on these rigs? I thought that Fram filter and others were manufactured above OEM specs. These trucks needed a little more time on the drawing board.

 

I use Fram filters all the time without any problems.

 

the guage may have sludge on or near it, when it it cold the oil can not reach the sensor.

 

I am experiencing theexact same problem on my 99 Ford Explorer with the 4.0 engine. This must be a part failure from Ford. Does anyone know if they have issued a recall or bulletin on the problem? Also what relationship do Fram and 5W-30 oil have with the problem?? I was using 10-40 and a Motorcraft filter when the problem developed.

 

no what i am saying is that 10w40 wont flow as well as 5w30 when it is cold taking longet to build up good oil press. frams dont help either they are the worst filters on the market

 

What is the best filter out there?

 

Notice, marragtop said it is not a guage. The guage is real but the sender is only a switch. Using the search you should find a fix.
Ford replaced the oil pressure sending unit with a switch. On/off at about 5-8 psi.
They also placed a 20ohm resistor in line to the guage to give it a good looking reading as long as you have over 5-8 psi of pressure.
I lost my oil pump and had to rebuild the engine. The indications of it comming I could hear but when I looked at the guage all was fine. That is until too late. By the time you get down to 5psi and the guage shows no pressure it's all over but the rebuild.
The fix only cost about $15 and some time.

Good luck.
Tom