Erratic Oil Pressure
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Erratic Oil Pressure
Hi all,
I read a previous thread on erratic oil pressure gage readings and it is somewhat similar to my experience but with a difference. I have a 97 Ranger XLT 4x4 4.0L with 91,000. Worked great other than replacing cracked heads at 65,000 miles. My oil pressure gage is bouncing all over the board (from middle to lower and down). Most of the time it is in the range of "normal" but does kick off the check engine light. Today the pressure gage was bottoming out. Today, I bypassed the sender switch and checked the pressure with a different gage and the same thing was happening (erratic pressures). Any previous experiences with Rangers (or other Fords) and this problem?
Thanks in advance.
I read a previous thread on erratic oil pressure gage readings and it is somewhat similar to my experience but with a difference. I have a 97 Ranger XLT 4x4 4.0L with 91,000. Worked great other than replacing cracked heads at 65,000 miles. My oil pressure gage is bouncing all over the board (from middle to lower and down). Most of the time it is in the range of "normal" but does kick off the check engine light. Today the pressure gage was bottoming out. Today, I bypassed the sender switch and checked the pressure with a different gage and the same thing was happening (erratic pressures). Any previous experiences with Rangers (or other Fords) and this problem?
Thanks in advance.
Last edited by Burky; Dec 1, 2004 at 01:57 PM. Reason: Typo
Cross-Country
Joined: Mar 2003
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From: Hampstead, NC
If you are checking the pressure with a "real" oil pressure gauge the pressure will change with the engine RPM and engine temperature. Higher RPMs = higher oil pressure. The cheapest thing to try is to replace the oil pressure sender. Always look for the simple solutions first.
Rereading your post it sounds like you checked the pressure with 2 different gauges but used the same sender in both instances. If true this starts to point towards a bad sender. If you are getting erratic readings with different (known good) gauges/senders then you may have a more complex problem.
Rereading your post it sounds like you checked the pressure with 2 different gauges but used the same sender in both instances. If true this starts to point towards a bad sender. If you are getting erratic readings with different (known good) gauges/senders then you may have a more complex problem.
Last edited by mothra; Dec 1, 2004 at 02:10 PM.
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A friend and I bypassed the sender. The "different good" gage bounced all over which seems to imply a more complex problem. What should I check for first? Oil pump, bearings, etc. Thanks for everyone's reply in advance.
Cross-Country
Joined: Mar 2003
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From: Hampstead, NC
So with the mechanical gauge at engine idle what was the minimum and maximum pressure reading? Was this for the engine cold or for the engine warm?
Any chance that the erratic reading could be the result of "noise" due to where the gauge was attached?
Any chance that the erratic reading could be the result of "noise" due to where the gauge was attached?
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Warmed. The minimum pressure would go to 0 for short intervals. Revving would help bring pressure back. I had a "professional mechanic" friend come and look at what we were doing. He said the oil pump was probably bad - 7 1/2 hour shop job. Hopefully nothing else is wrong. What do you all think?
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