Ranger 2.3 Duratac--alternate oil pressure bung???
 

Just tried installing a mechanical oil pressure gauge on the 2001 Ranger Duratec 2.3L. It will show "check gauges" if you totally disconnect the sender for the dummy gauge, so I had to put in a T fitting, but the T fitting won't fit as the sender is very close to the engine and the flange for the flywheel is in the way also. Can't even turn the T to get it into the hole.

Nor if I wanted to convert the dummy to a real gauge (jump resistor on back of gauge cluster and install a real sender) would the real sender fit as they are wider than the dummy senders (which is actually called a switch--off or on).

Only thing left is to live with the dummy gauge, or find an alternate bung to tap into for oil pressure. I don't want to install a convoluted plumbing setup (like a long tube to get past the bell housing) as it just makes for a situation where vibration can eventually crack the tube--so it seems to me. But maybe that is the answer.

By the way, I am sending a sample off tomorrow for analysis (including TBN) of Redline 5w20 I ran in this truck for 10,250 miles!

I think your on to a fix with the tubing extension idea. I ran into the same sort of problem on my 78 Merc Zypher 3.3L I6, when I installed an electric op gauge sender, but wanted to retain the op idiot light, so I added a short nipple to the "T" to get it away from the block enough to be able to turn the "T" with the senders attached. That plumbing arrangement was still on that puppy leak free, when I sold the Zypher in 08!!!!!

I used Loctite PST 565 industrial liquid anaerobic pipe thread sealant for metal threads. You may be able to find it in the .2 oz size for a reasonable price, under the 56507 item number, at most plumbing, or industrial supply houses.
Being a vicious liquid, it'll fill the thread in to make a good seal, but during installation will squeeze out enough to make a good electrical contact where the pipe threads touch, so the electrical senders work properly (which may not be the case if you use a PTFE ribbon dope thread sealant), but in case you run the engine right after installation, the 565 is thick enough so it isn't pushed out by pressure, until it anaerobically cures. Seeing as how you likely have brass plumbing fittings, the copper in brass is a good catalyst for the anaerobic cure of the 565. As I indicated above, my fittings hung on the block of that old 78 Merc 3.3L for about 25 years, with no leaks/weeps/drips!!!!

You'll likely want to retain the op switch/sender, as you know the check gauge circuit knows when its not in place, or not working & the computer may still use its op closed signal, to tell the computer it has oil pressure & its ok to re-activate the the fuel pump power relay to run the fuel pump & keep the engine going after the engine cranks & starts.

Some thoughts for consideration, let us know how it goes.

Thanks, good info. So the fuel pump will cut out if no oil pressure? That is a good thing, sort of, depending on what traffic you are in.

Now I just realized that there is more space right at the bung and the electronic sender might fit--have to measure. I would think the electronic sender attached to the existing gauge would keep the other stuff working, but the gauge would likely only work in the lower half of it's range unless I jump the resistor on the back of the panel, so that may be an option.

I have a sender from a 1990 E350 motorhome that is bigger and should be for a real gauge, maybe I'll screw it in and see what happens. Problem is that oil comes pouring out the hole when I remove the switch. It's beside and just above the oil filter. Yesterday I was changing the oil and had the pan drained and the filter off when I removed the switch and still, close to a cup full of oil came out. Have to thumb the hole.

But perhaps I can put a real switch in the hole, install a real gauge and just splice in the wire from the dash gauge.

Here is a thread link with a GP Sorenson part # for an electrical sender for our idiot oil pressure gauge. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/3...onversion.html

Edit: Here is a link for the senders & the 20 ohm instrument panel resistor you may, or may not have. If you don't have the resistor, just use one of the listed pressure senders. http://rogueperformance.com/oilsw.html

Thanks. I saw some website where they were discussing the gauge conversion process and one poster stated that the '97-03 Ranger did NOT use a resistor in series with the gauge, so for those you only have to replace the switch to a sender and presumably the gauge will work. Worth a try. If there is no resistor on the gauge then presumably the switch sends the precise amount of resistance to put the needle mid gauge.

Yup the later models are reported to Not have the 20 ohm resistor mounted on the circuit board behind the op meter, so Bob Ayers just installed the variable resistance electrical sending unit, to operate his op gauge.

I don't know if the 20 ohm resistor became part of the op on/off switch/sender, internal to the meter, or maybe incrorporated into the GEM module, to operate sorta like the slosh module, that evens/smooths out fuel gauge gas tank level readings.

I think Ford did the op gauge resistor mod in the Ranger about the 89 time frame & eliminated the resistor on the instrument panel circuit board about the time frame you posted. So earlier than about 89 Ranger models had the variable resistance electrical sending unit, to operate the op gauge as it was intended, to show op changes as it warmed up, or the engines rpm changed & 89 to the late 90's had the 20 ohm resistor & late 90's on, the 20 ohm resistor was removed or incorporated elsewhere.

Also it seems in later years the op sender pipe thread size, or type of thread was changed, so take your old sender/switch with you, so you can make sure the electrical senders threads match the old part.

Let us know how the conversion goes.

Too danged bad that the younger generation got idiot light brain washed & never learned to read & interpret an analog op gauge!!!!! Sure messed it up for the rest of us didn't it!!!!

Simpler solution. Ground the stock sender wire. Since you now rely on the mechanical gauge, no need to trigger the light. Ford used opposite logic to other automakers in order to get the fake gauge to work.

Generic sender switch, NC, ON with no/low oil pressure.
Ford sender switch, NO, OFF with no/low oil pressure.

"Too danged bad that the younger generation got idiot light brain washed & never learned to read & interpret an analog op gauge!!!!! Sure messed it up for the rest of us didn't it!!!!"

What generation are you talking about? by the mid-1950's many, if not most, ordinary passenger cars had idiot lights for oil and generator. The average non-enthusiast driver of any age is not interested in interpreting gauge readings. A warning light may be better for saving the engine. The Ford "Fake" gauge is just stupid. And there was a lot of engineering wasted on it. On the airplane, I have wired an amber "master caution" light connected to the electronic engine monitor so that if any pressure, temperature or voltage gets out of range I can divert attention to it.This is what the Ford "Check Gauges" light does, but in an airplane, I didnt put in a fuel pump cutoff relay.

The Ford fake op gauge came about because of some sender problems & owners that didn't know that oil pressure drops at idle on oil at operating temp, so to solve both of those service problems & the cost to advise uneducated owners, they engineered the fake op gauge to read straight up, unless the op was less than about 7 psi & by then it was too late for the engine!!!!

On multi engine aircraft, its a lot easier to keep a check on a bank of analog instruments or displays that are oriented so the pointers read straight up at 12:00 when things are normal. That way one quick glance will quickly determine if all is normal, without having to read each gauge, or will quickly & easily call attention to read any gauge that isn't pointing straight up.
So a bank of properly oriented analog gauges or readout is a danged sight easier to monitor than a bank of flashing digitial gauges, easier to note trends too.

Learning to read an analog op gauge will let us keep a check of the viscosity of the oil, & any changes in readings at various rpm & temps would suggest a check, Before the idiot light comes on, if it isn't burned out, or disconnected & the engine seizes.

Things like fuel dilution/decrease in viscosity, or an increase in viscosity from oxidation, or when the wrong viscosity lube is installed, or a clogged filter, ect, is quickly determined by learning to monitor an analog gauge.

Best is a combination of both a warning light & analog pressure gauge & is what I did on my 78 Merc, when I installed an op gauge on it.

If the vehicle engine goes belly up along side the road, its easy to pull over, but when your at 10K feet, inverted flight, hanging by your relief tube & the op warning light comes on, just before it locks up, it'll cause the pucker factor to go Way up!!!!! lol

Yeah, nowadays many view an automobile as just another appliance . If it has computer touch screen, heated seats, comfort and gets them where they are going with the least effort, they are happy. They say ignorance is bliss.

My son didn't know about manual transmissions until I started taking him for a lot of rides in my truck. He caught the bug and soon as he got a drivers license he bought a manual tranny truck (shhhh, it's a chevy S10). Actually a pretty nice truck with a pushrod 2.2L 4-banger, but I like my Ranger. Anyhow, he shelled out $5200 (and does not have a steady job yet) on a truck he could not yet drive. He learned quickly and loves it, says his goal is to never drive an automatic, even a short distance.

Things I hate: Automatic transmissions (why complicate the simple merely for so-called convenience), front wheel drive, power windows, and touch screens in cars.

I do like the light and it would alert me much quicker than the gauge. If I can get the dash gauge to respond properly that will suffice. I should first put in a mech gauge and run it a few days to get a read on cold, hot at speed and hot at idle pressures, then when the dash gauge is working (hopefully) I have rough calibration for the unnumbered lines.

Because I ended up running two similar threads, I plan to only post to the other link WHICH IS HERE in the future (starting now).

Because of the cheap front wheel drive and these new noisy automatic trans, There is nothing out there today that would make me feel good about owning. I guess I'll keep on driving my 2002 Ranger that I have owned for 12.5 years.