Diagnosis help

It's an '89 Ranger with 151000 miles on it. We just did the clutch and rear seal. It had visible oil on the lower block and oil pan but it wasn't coming from the rear seal. My thought was the oil was coming from the sending unit. Here are the symptoms: When cold everything is good. It runs smooth and all gages work. The lifters chatter a good bit. As soon as it gets a little run time [10 minutes or so] the check engine light comes on and the oil pressure gage stops working. It zeros out just like it was turned off. You can still run the truck [we ran it 15 more miles before we shut it down]. When he did turn it off there was no oil smell or any visible signs of oil damage to the motor. When you turn it on again after a couple of minutes the gage works again and then does the same thing. There appears to be some power loss also after the gage shuts down. My initial thoughts were the sending unit and possibly a clogged catalytic converter. It isn't burning oil. Would worn compression rings cause something like this? What is the life expectancy of the ford 2.9 V-6 and when do they normally have to be rebuilt? Also, is it worth rebuilding?

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mbjj
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2.9's are known for losing oil pressure like that:

Due in most part to coked oil and sludge in the oil pan. I lost count on how many I've done.

If you keep driving it when the oil pressure gauge drops, one day you will get a durprise. Knock, Knock, Knock.

Then it's rebuild time, because 2.9's are scarce if available at all.

Refinish King

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Refinish King

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