Oil pressure help

[ddye40]

Ok so I was driving down the road today when all of a sudden my check engine light comes on. I looked around at the gauges and noticed that my oil pressure gauge was fluctuating between right in the middle and low. The truck was running fine and never acted up or anything. But considering it has to do with the oil pressure I decided to check and see if this is a big problem or not. Please help!

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Was the oil low if so you need to locate the leak and fix it if not how old is the oil filter change the filter and oil if it is still low pressure you need a oil pump, Look for metal shavings in the oil when you drain it. Let us know what you find out. Don`t freak out just yet until you diagnose the problem.

 

[necessaryevil]

first thing to do is get a mechanical oil pressure gauge to see if it is just a bad sensor or something more serious

 

[mentalbreakdown00]

^^^^^^he said it^^^^^

 

[97RangerXLT]

Was the oil low if so you need to locate the leak and fix it if not how old is the oil filter change the filter and oil if it is still low pressure you need a oil pump, Look for metal shavings in the oil when you drain it. Let us know what you find out. Don`t freak out just yet until you diagnose the problem.

first thing to do is get a mechanical oil pressure gauge to see if it is just a bad sensor or something more serious

ditto on the above.

check the easy and cheap stuff first. an oil and filter change is a mighty cheap fix

AJ

 

[LowRanger]

I had a similar problem in one of my tbirds. Turned out to be a weak oil pump. Im about to do the same in the Ranger because its having the same problem. Well, that and the rear main seal leaks like the Exxon Valdez lol

 

[feellnfroggy]

The oil pressure light doesnt help monitor your fluid level, it will come on when the pressure is low. Pretty simple, you can have next to zero oil, but as long as there is enough to keep regular pressure you wont know your low, You gotta keep up with that dipstick. If its boucning like HE said, I htink it would be a pump going bad. But a worn main bearing Ive been told could also cause low pressure, Be thorough.

 

[Mirage]

Have to agree with feelnfroggy, worn mains will definately do this. I know from experience. I wouldn't drive it too much until you figure this problem out. I agree with checking/changing the oil and filter, and at least borrowing a mechanical pressure guage. Just so you know exactly what your real oil pressure is. The sock oil pressure sending unit usually comes on at about 8psi, so if the needle is fluctuating either you really do have low oil pressure, or the sender is bad.

As you said, it could also be the oil pump itself, but I'm not exactly sure how you would test the pump itself. Especially if it's like mine on my 96 2.3L.

Maybe someone else has a trick to test oil pumps....