stock oil pressure gauge shows low pressure

[tomtoc]

i know, i know - it's an idiot light, but...

it's always sat just above the middle. i just went to go out of town for the weekend and it's pretty low. like way below the N in NORMAL.

drives the same, no codes, etc. i played it on the safe side and cancelled our plans. little pissed now, but i'd rather be safe than sorry.

i changed the oil - that did nothing. nowhere with a mechanical gauge is open now. what are the odds it's the gauge vs the oil pump or something more serious. my uncle said if it was the oil pump, or there was a real problem, i'd have a CEL.

thoughts?

my current thought: i have an electrial oil pressure gauge that i just need a sending unit for. i'm thinking that in the morning, i'll just go get a T, a seding unit for that gauge and see what it says. would you guys make the 200 mile trip or stay home and figure it out?

EDIT: part 2 of the question - where is the stock sending unit located on the engine. i'm going to need to find it to install the T. talk simple to me

 

[tomtoc]

odds that it's just the gauge, and not the pump or sending unit?

i might try to go swap my old cluster in from the tach swap

 

[surewhynot]

My gut says the sending unit, but I wouldn't take the chance without knowing for sure.

 

[Skandocious]

Yeah I'm thinking sending unit too... Guage-- not likely since it really ain't a complicated device, not a whole lot worth failing in there.

Pump-- again, not likely because if your pump were going out, giving low oil pressure, you wouldn't have proper lubrication of cylinders/valvetrain/etc and the engine would have broken down rather quickly.

Are you blowing any smoke out the exhaust? Namely... Blue smoke?

 

[tomtoc]

exhaust seems fine

so the sending unit...will the auto parts place have that, or do i need to go to ford?

 

[95F350XL]

The sending unit is on the side of the block by the timing cover area. Look down by where the ps pump is. You should see 1 wire going down to it. Autozone had one for my truck.

 

[surewhynot]

Auto parts store should have it.

 

[Brian_B]

Sounds like the likely culprit to me. I have had quite a few sending units go out over the years. That is always my first suspicion.

I have never had a factory gauge (or aftermarket for that matter) go bad.

 

[tomtoc]

i replaced the sending unit and that didn't change anything.

i attached a picture of what i'm talking about. it used to be in the M-A range.

the guys at the auto parts store said as long as the idiot light isn't on, they wouldn't worry about it. that made me feel better until i got back in the truck and noticed that i'm pretty sure i don't have an idiot light.

i still might go back, and get the T connector to hook up my autometer electrical gauge today.

so what's next

 

[Blue Goose]

Tom, is that where the temp gauge usually runs too or is it lower than normal?

 

[tomtoc]

it's lower than normal, but it sits pretty low usually. it rarely gets above the N. crossed my mind that it would be low, but when i first bought it, i flushed the coolant and changed the thermostat. figured the gauge just read a little wacky. i've had 4 clusters in 2 trucks and it seems like each gauge on each cluster interprets things a little differently.

 

[Blue Goose]

The reason I asked, Ford used to and I repeat used to have a constant voltage regulator that controlled the electric gauges. I had one go bad and the fuel gauge wouldn't go clear to full, oil pressure reading went low as well as the temp reading. Maybe somebody with more knowledge on your generation truck might be able to chime in here to say whether they used them on your truck.

 

[Mr. Stroker]

Mine use to sit that low. Freaked me out a bit but i just drove it. Finally i just went and replaced the sending unit on the intake and now its usually between the O and R (Little more towards the R) on NORMAL.

 

[tomtoc]

Mine use to sit that low. Freaked me out a bit but i just drove it. Finally i just went and replaced the sending unit on the intake and now its usually between the O and R (Little more towards the R) on NORMAL.

your oil pressure or your water temp?

 

[Mr. Stroker]

Water temp.

My oil pressure guage has always said the same (around the A on NORMAL) Even with my new motor i put a brand new sending unit in tho simply because i have bad luck with them going bad.

 

[tomtoc]

just drove it a little more. i was next to a brick wall and revved it a little bit. as it comes back down to idle, it sounds like it makes a little "sputter", or a few small pops. you can really only hear it next to a wall.

related, normal, nothing to worry about?

 

[tomtoc]

resolved:
i think anyway. i installed a manual oil pressure gauge and disconnected the stock one until the local parts place orders a T to fit it.

related threads here:
oil pressure readings
installation


EDIT:

just drove it a little more. i was next to a brick wall and revved it a little bit. as it comes back down to idle, it sounds like it makes a little "sputter", or a few small pops. you can really only hear it next to a wall.

related, normal, nothing to worry about?

i created a new thread about this problem here