2.3L w/ a possesed oil pressure gauge

[praitorianlord]

i've got a '90 ranger with a 2.3L (stock motor) w/ the dual plug head. after shaking my truck on a back road like a bad parent giving their kid shaken baby syndrome, my oil pressure gauge is now possesed by a skizophrenic demon. the needle goes from between the r and m on normal to "there is absolutely no pressure at all (i.e. vehicle is shut off) while i'm whipping this truck go 65 on the highway. i know it's either the sending wire or the oil pressure sender itself that has gone the way of the demented crack addict, so i was wondering if someone out there can walk me through getting my hand(s) on the piece in question so as to repair this problem. any shouts back are much appreciated.

 

[LearjetMinako]

To start, the oil pressure gauges in the Rangers are more like a relay. Either the gauge is reading normal or not. No variable in between to give actually oil pressure readings. The oil pressure sender switch is located on the right, towards the very back of the engine block (when looking from the front of the truck), with one wire coming off it.

 

[Twisted_Steel]

If what Learjet says doesn't help, you may be looking at a different problem.
You may have a clogged oil pick-up screen. My 91 2.3 did the same thing until I pulled the pan and found the cork gasket had disintegrated from the oil and heat cycles causing little cork balls to slowly clog the screen. The oil pressure would show nothing, then jump up to mid normal and crash again suddenly.
The replacement gasket is rubber and deletes future gasket failure.
You can jack up the drivers side of the engine to get the pan down far enough to remove the gasket and get a wrench on the pick-up tube.. all without having to disconnect the fuel lines.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[praitorianlord]

hey, thanks for the replies, yall.