low oil pressure?
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From: stevens point
low oil pressure?
i have a 78 f150 with a 400 in it. i recently put the engine in and for a month it ran fine. all of the sudden my oil pressure gauge is acting weird. itll be fine for 10-15 minutes and then it will drop completely down to nothing, occasionally it will move back to high but then will go back to low. (wether im on the highway or around town its the same) the engine is running really good and doesnt seem to have any problems and the oil level is fine. i know it could be a bad oil pressure sending unit and im going to change it out tomorrow. any ideas on what to do.
Last edited by Torque1st; Jun 8, 2005 at 02:52 AM.
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From: Southwest Montana
Quackhead,
I would verify the erratic reading with a known second gauge. Put a tee in and see if both gauges dip low at the same time. If the pressure actually is dropping then you may have something washing around in the oil pan. I ran into a John Deere tractor three years ago that had exactly the same symptoms and it had a chunk of tee shirt that the farmer was using to check the oil with wrapped around the sump pickup. ( dont know how he dropped it in there) I know that was a tractor but oil pumps are oil pumps. Or possibly the oil pump pickup tube is coming loose. Has it got the 4X4 pan? Because that pickup tube is alot longer than the 4X2 one. If it was loose it would tend to suck air rather than oil, especially when it warmed up. I guess first see if it's just the gauge screwing up.
Ken
I would verify the erratic reading with a known second gauge. Put a tee in and see if both gauges dip low at the same time. If the pressure actually is dropping then you may have something washing around in the oil pan. I ran into a John Deere tractor three years ago that had exactly the same symptoms and it had a chunk of tee shirt that the farmer was using to check the oil with wrapped around the sump pickup. ( dont know how he dropped it in there) I know that was a tractor but oil pumps are oil pumps. Or possibly the oil pump pickup tube is coming loose. Has it got the 4X4 pan? Because that pickup tube is alot longer than the 4X2 one. If it was loose it would tend to suck air rather than oil, especially when it warmed up. I guess first see if it's just the gauge screwing up.
Ken
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Wow,tee shirt thats crazy.I was draining the fuel out of the tank of my friends Firebird,and sucked out at least a roll of toilet paper or paper towel.It took three differnt pumps to just get the fuel out.The first two got cloged.In the old days they used ping pongs if some one did not like you.
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From: Southwest Montana
Quackhead,
There you go. If you did not change the car pan off of it than it's the 4X2 pan. The 4X4 pan has a rear sump and a shape that gets it out of the way of the front differential. It holds two more quarts of oil too. My daughter bought a 78 F250 4X4 that had a car engine and pan in it and over time the diff created its own dent to fit into. She finally changed it to the rear sump pan.
Let me know how it works out. I hope it's just the gauge screwing up, thats easier to fix.
Ken
There you go. If you did not change the car pan off of it than it's the 4X2 pan. The 4X4 pan has a rear sump and a shape that gets it out of the way of the front differential. It holds two more quarts of oil too. My daughter bought a 78 F250 4X4 that had a car engine and pan in it and over time the diff created its own dent to fit into. She finally changed it to the rear sump pan.
Let me know how it works out. I hope it's just the gauge screwing up, thats easier to fix.
Ken
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