Good Morning Ford fans. I have a 2.9 6 cylinder in my Ford Ranger 1990. The other day I went out and started my truck and the oil just come pouring out. After shutting it off immediately did some investigating. Ok, actually it was my brother as I’m not mechanically inclined. Pouring oil back into it didn’t see any leeks. Filled it back up and w/him under the truck it was coming out around the oil filter. He removed it to discover the seal had to cracks in it and was extremely heavy as it appears hasn’t been changed in sometime. I’ve only had the truck and short time and haven’t made the oil change yet. Well, went to the auto part store got a fram oil filter put that on and filled it back w/oil. Started it and began to leek again. Talking w/another friend he said the oil pressure sender is above the filter and could be it?!?! It began to get dark last evening and the investigation will have to continue this afternoon after work.

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The part that completely baffles me is I’ve had it for about 3-4 months and the truck hasn’t used a drop of oil and all of sudden BOOM. Sorry, for the long drawn out question. But, any trouble shooting thoughts would be must appreciated. Thanks.

 

Since you said all of a sudden boom, that tends to make it seem as if it's a seal, probably the one above the oil filter. Do your best to get to where you can see the top fo the filter when you crank it.

On my 4.0L, which is the same engine family as the 2.9L, the oil pressure switch is on the other side of the engine, but on your 2.9L, check above the oil filter and see if it's up there. It's a round sender typically threaded into an extension that will have one wire going to it's end. It would have to almost be missing for oil to "come pouring out" however, so I would definetly suspect the filter area first. Since it happened immediately, I'm thinking something may have gotten past the filter, clogged up the oil passages, and forced so much pressure it blew the seal on your old oil filter, and possibly your new one as well it seems.

Just don't keep the engine running long...engines aren't happy without oil.

 

The Oil sender is not above the filter! It is front of engine under the power steering pump.

Check and make sure all the rubber gasket from the old filter came off the houseing.
And also the Oil filter houseing bolts to the engine with 1 bolt! ( Make sure its tight ) Not sure if there is also a gasket there or not.

IF you haven't changed oil in a while and the old filter was heavy DO NOT use a fram filter as it will clog and you will lose oil pressure.

Also check the valve cover gaskets as they are prone to leak down in that area

 

Ok added to my brain, same area as the 4.0L.

 

someone else touched on this too NEVER use a FRAM oil filter ive used them cause they were cheap and ive had them jam up on me twice i wont let that happen a third time i learned i stick by the Motorcraft filters and they are great NEVER had a problem with them

 

Ok, I’ll take that information w/my further investigation Thank you. Also, wanted to add and find out if this could be apart of the problem. Just spoke w/another friend and they said something about a xlt tow package oil cooler line that could have failed. Could this be true? Thanks again everyone appreciate the knowledge.

 

If you have an oil cooler ( Doubt it ) there would be oil lines attached right above the filter. I myself have never seen an oil cooler on a 90 2.9

 

Good Morning Ford fans….the story continues. Ok, had another friend come over who is very knowlegble and good @ working on street cars and race cars back in the day? We put a new oil filter on and instead of using just there hands used the proper equipment. Put oil it in and BOOM. Or should I NO boom. It ran no leeks drips etc. All good on the test run. Then on the way on to work I’m watching the oil pressure gage as much as looking out onto the road. Pressure was great until I would come to a stop and then would begin to bobble and lower. I eased on the throttle a bit and when I did that the pressure would stay where it should be. I finally came to a gas station and pulled in got a cup of coffee to figure if it’s leaking. I came out no leaks and checked the oil and its fine. But, the remaining trip into work same thing. And the biggest bummer is that it began to make the dreaded “knock” or as one of the guy’s here at work say’s “sounds like a lifter”. I have since checked the oil and it is up and no leaks. But, of course my biggest concern is 1. Why the flutter w/the oil gauge? Could it be that the sensor went bad? 2nd. And my biggest concern is if the engine is hurt and or no oil reaching the top of the lifter or motor? Sorry, not very truck/car savvy w/my terms. Guess that is why I’m here trying to get some expert advice. Thanks and once again sorry for the long post. But, rather be thorough w/my problems then vague. Have a good day.

 

I don't have my '90 2.9L anymore...sold it to a friend and it's still going with about 190,000 miles on it. I still maintain it for him. Here's my story with it, and maybe it will apply to you. I never had any issues with the oil dumping, but I did have a problem once with the oil pressure going erratic and then the "ticking" noise of collapsing lifters. Now, you must realize that the oil pressure gauge is nothing more than a fancy "Idiot Light". The gauge doesn't read true pressure. It only reads "something" if you have more than 7 psi. Do a search on the forums here to see how it really works. Anyway, I didn't know it, but I had sludge build-up from antifreeze in the oil, which came from a small crack in one of the heads (common on the 2.9L). When I bought the truck used with 70,000 miles on it in 1994, I was told that the engine had been serviced with synthetic oil, so the day I brought the truck home, I changed the oil with synthetic. Later I found receipts with dino oil shown, and shortly after, the synthetic oil "flushed" out all the sludge and put it all at my oil pump intake screen, restricting my oil pressure. I was able to just undo the motor mounts and lift the engine, (tranny and all), enough to get the pan off and replace the pump. But the truck, even now, still has the lifter "tick" on startup, especially when it's cold outside.

I'd check the oil for presence of antifreeze. Your oil quantity may increase, the dipstick might be rusty, and you might smell the antifreeze in your oil if you have a leak.

I might add, once the cracked head and the oil pump were replaced, I had virtually no problems with the engine since then. It's not a powerful engine, but it's been very reliable.

 

I Agree with sjwoody about the heads & possibilty of antireeze in the oil. But these 2.9s are noted for there Ticking after alot of miles, some tick for thousands of miles with no other issues. AS for the oil guage, I would replace the oil sending switch -- it could be going bad and for about $7 bucks -- could be a cheap and easy fix

AND if the oil had not been changed for a long time alot of engines will tick after an oil change do a search on that and you will see.

 

i havent ownd a 2.9L that the lifters didnt tick or rattle in. its known common issue. the sending unit is on the front drivers side of the engine looking from the front of the truck, its either mounted directly into the timing chain cover, or its mounting in a tube thats screwed into the timing chain cover. if its in a tube i would take the whole thing out and clean the tube with a pipe cleaner. this is a dead end for oil to get to and over time of oil going there and cooling, it can turn into sludge and while the engine is cold, show haveing oil pressure. as the engine heats and the oil thins down it cant force thru the gunk to push the sensor. (the sensor is a cheap pos imo, i would go with an aftermarket mechanical gauge that reads true pressure. i have one on my truck, its an 86 2.9 with 147k all origianal while cold has 55-60 psi and warmed up @ idle has 25-30. cruising warmed up usually stays about 40-45 psi)

 

Another possibility is a bad oil pressure release spring in the oil pump. It can cause too much pressure to build up and blow out the filter seal (and sometimes blow the filter right off of the threads). I've seen this a couple times.