well my 92 clubwagon 5.0 has been running good for the past year. Ive recently been seeing the needle for the oil pressure guage sitting slightly lower, at N or normal... which is pretty close to zero...

ive done a search and read thru lots of threads, seems like the guage is a dummy and does not accurately portray the actual pressure. so max pressure on these fords are about 7psi?

where are the oil pressure sending unit located on these V8? I think im just gonna go ahead and change it as its only 5 bux from the store.

ive read posts where after changing the sending unit the needle was back up around half... motor has only 106k on it.. and i use 5/30 synthetic for now... theres some oil leak but not significant and i keep the oil topped off all the time.

 

the sender is by the filter. but check the pressure first with a real gauge to give you a idea of the pressure.

 

Mine recently did almost the exact same thing. The gauge was reading fine then suddenly dropped to about half its normal reading to about the N in normal. Then after running for about 10 minutes it drops to the peg at zero.

When it first did it I paniced and shut it off instantly. Checked the oil level (full) and the lead to the send (still attached). After checking everything out and finding nothing I started it back up and the gauge was back to the N again. A few minutes later, zero. I got it home and put a hand-held mechanical gauge in place of the sender and pressure was normal. I don't remember the numbers but it seems like it was something like 6 psi at idle and maxed out somewhere around 30.

I bought a sender for $7 at autozone but it is the wrong connector. Checked senders at a couple of other stores and they were all the same. ??? I guess I will have to get one at the Ford dealer.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

Steve, I'd be a little concerned with 6psi at idle..... That's really low, low enough to starve the bottom end and kill your bearings.

 

My sender went bad too.
It used to be a real gauge sender, then they changed to a switch which essentially turns it into an idiot light while retaining the appearance of a gauge. I believe the later models they sent out with switches can be switched over to a gauge-type sender.

 

I don't remember what the actual number was but it was within spec. A general rule of thumb is 10 psi per 1000 rpm. It was well over that.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

clubwagon, the autozone part number is OP23081, and they have 2 options, gauges and just light, but they both come up with same part number.... maybe ill try murray or somehting.. but im glad u have oil pressure still

 

Well, I just changed the sender in my van. I got one at carquest, they did list different senders for a gauge and a light. I looked at both and they are different. The light sender costs about half what the light sender does.

I installed the new sender and the gauge was back to normal, with the reading between the m and a in normal.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

awsome, thanks and now i know where to go for a new one
thanks and have a nice off season!
yohei

 

Sometime ago I've read about this on this forum: The oilpressure gauge uses just a switch and a fixed resistor in series, located at the gauge, so as long as the switch makes contact, the oilpressure always reads the same.
I then verified this with the Ford schematics, and it is indeed the case.
That switch makes contact between 4.5 and 7.5 psi, according to this schematic. If someone wants a copy, I could find this again and post it as a picture.
I remember the advise then given, which is to install a real 'sender' (hence a varaible resistor, depending on the oilpressure) from a van, or an F type from somewhere in the '80s. This one would give you the real presure indication.
Of course, I do not know the partnumber or make, sorry........
Cor