Explorer with high engine oil pressure?

I have a 116,000-mile 94 Explorer with the 4.0 V-6 engine that suddenly started to show high oil pressure. I replaced the sending unit but it still reads max pressure. The engine sounds normal (quiet, no miss), and I'm wondering if I have worn insulation to the wire to the oil pressure gauge, or if the gauge itself is bad. Anybody else ever hear of this? Could it be a bad oil pressure relief valve?

Reply to
macjim
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As I understand the oil pressure switch and dummy gage on the Explorer, the oil pressure should read nominal when the pressure is greater than 6 psig.

So, you probably have a off-value resistor in the instrument cluster.

To check the real oil pressure, just pick up a mechanical gage at any auto parts store for about 20 bucks and plug it in where the oil pressure sense switch goes.

I'll bet you find the pressure is OK. I think it should read about 10 to 20 psi at idle and maybe 50 to 60 at higher throttle settings.

Reply to
Tommy Wood

Do you have a real pressure sender or just a switch? The real thing is much larger, not just the tiny 1/4" thick, 1" diameter gizmo that costs $3 at a parts store. If that's what you have, it's a switch. To the best of my knowledge Ford stopped installing real pressure gauges many years ago 'to avoid questions from users about the needle moving around all the time', and they have been shipping the simple switch since then. The switch is off when the pressure is below a certain minimum value (a few psi) and on when it exceeds that value. A resistor in the circuit (behind the instrument panel) sets the current at half scale when the switch is on, regardless of the actual pressure. 10 psi or 100 psi, the needle remains in the same spot. It's exactly as good as an idiot light, but makes their trucks look more 'professional'. If you have a switch and the needle goes to full scale, either the resistor is shorted or the gauge itself (not the sending unit) is bad. The switch is on the ground side, so defective insulation that you suggested can only cause the needle to go to 'normal' when it should be 'low', but not anywhere higher. The good news is that as long as the needle still drops to 'low' when the engine is off, you have nothing to worry about, because the thing is doing its job and no one can tell what the pressure is anyway.

Reply to
Happy Traveler

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