98' Ranger no oil pressure after valve cover gasket replacement

[ssmason85]

But that was with a brand new sender. Maybe I did my test wrong?

I wrapped a scrap piece of 12 gauge copper wire around the sender and the other end to the ground screw in the body of the car next to the common terminal of the the battery. I attached the electrical connector on top of the copper wire on the sender. Then put the key to the on position and the check gauge light went away.

I tightened that oil pressure switch on pretty good and it came with sealant on the threads. Maybe I need to tighten down more, or loosen it? Or i got two bad sensors?

 

[adsm08]

That is very odd. All the tests point to a bad sender, but it is unlikely for two in a row to be bad out of the box.

 

[ssmason85]

Is this the correct way to ground out the wire?

 

[2trux]

Ground the metal part of the sensor. Perhaps it's not grounding correctly so when the switch closes the contact there is no ground to the terminal.

 

[fastpakr]

I'm questioning the engine's block connection to ground at this point.

 

[ssmason85]

I took a break from this project but I'm back at it!

I just want to say thanks to everyone on this thread for their help so far. This forum has over exceeded my expectations BY FAR and so many people have been extremely helpful. So thank you again!!

I'm still trying to get this thing running smoothly again. Here's some thoughts and findings since my last post.

It's hard to see in my last picture, but the metal contact point of the switch was grounded. I put the electrical connector right on top of the coiled wire. This test did turn off the check gauge light and spiked the needle to "normal" with the key in the on potion. However, once the engine is on, I'm having the same idling and smoking issue seen from the driver side exhaust manifold area. When I remove my added ground wire and turn the key to the on position, the check gauge lights illuminates and the oil pressure gauge sits at zero.

Other thoughts..

I just started it up and it ran smoother than it has lately, but it did eventually smoke somewhere between 5-8 minutes of being on. Whereas before it would smoke with in 2 minutes.

I'm wondering if the EGR system could have any play in the issues I'm seeing here. In my inexperience, I do remember tugging and fidgeting with the EGR pipping to get the driver side valve cover off. At a glance its connections look totally rusted through and I'm wondering if I cracked or bumped something enough to cause some sort of leak where it connects to the exhaust piping. The smoke I noticed today seems to be coming from that area.

Lastly, I just bought a new battery and after a week its dead. Doh! I don't think it's related, but something is draining power while the car is sitting and I figured I'd mention it.

 

[ssmason85]

Ok, so the car runs and drives pretty normal with the exception of a super rough idle. The smoke I was seeing from the drivers side exhaust manifold seems to have disappeared. It must have been gunk burning off from my valve cover or spark plug change.

I still have the check gauge light and zero oil pressure with the key in the on position. Then the needle spikes and the check gauge light turns off once I start the car and never turns back on. And I have a rough idle that appears to improve as the engine gets hotter.

Does this still sound like electrical issues? Could over gaping my plugs cause a rough idle? I'm questioning if I used my gaping coin correctly (or if its a bad tool).

 

[fastpakr]

Wait - the check gauge and zero oil pressure is with the key on, engine OFF? That's normal. There's no oil pressure until you start the engine.

As to gapping the plugs, I prefer the ones that have a wire instead, but I doubt you got it too far off with the one you've got.

 

[ssmason85]

Doh!

Figures I didn't notice the check gauge light on just before I start the truck until after I attempt a new repair...

Thanks, I'll check my plug positioning again and start researching how to idle trouble shoot. Maybe a new thread would be the way to go.

 

[Curious Hound]

Many vehicles, and other machines do a "Power On Self Test" (POST) every time power is turned on. You will notice this by seeing indicator lights blink on and off. Newer vehicles do even more. It is good to watch for this when you start the vehicle. Sometimes, if an issue comes up, you will then see the check engine light or other indicators stay lit or blink to let you know there is something that requires your attention.

As for the rough idle, that could be plug gaps or some other ignition issue. If the idle is smooth but too high or low or waivering, that could be related to idle air control. If the idle issue goes away after the engine warms up, then a sensor is seeing a problem or may be malfunctioning. Computer controlled vehicles operate in " open loop" ignoring certain sensors until the engine reaches operating temperature. So that helps point you in the right direction. The engine coolant temperature sender ( a multi-wire device, not the single wire sender that gives the guage reading) gives the computer the info it needs to switch from open loop to closed loop. Sometimes that sender is the issue.

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