Any ideas? Fluctuating Temp Guage and Oil Pressure

[acastell]

Any ideas what could cause this?

My Temp Guage steadily climbs to 3/4 reading then slowly drops to 1/4 reading, only to do this over again. Very constant, all the time, regardless of strain on motor.

My Oil Pressure guage 'twitches'. Hard to describe, every so often, it flutters, not up or down, simply flutters only to land dead center between high and low.

No other sympotms at all, car is running great.

96, V8, 83K, AWD.

 

[dogfriend]

Originally posted by acastell
Any ideas what could cause this?

My Temp Guage steadily climbs to 3/4 reading then slowly drops to 1/4 reading, only to do this over again. Very constant, all the time, regardless of strain on motor.

.

I think that a faulty thermostat could cause this behavior, assuming that the gauge is reading more of less correctly. You may want to verify that it is ok (thermostats are pretty inexpensive).

Im not sure about the oil pressure prob. If you search, you will find that the stock oil pressure sender only indicates that you have minimum oil pressure (it is a switch that turns on when oil pressure is above ~ 5 psi). It shouldn't move unless you have done a mod to add an actual oil press sender (if you search, you can find details on the mod).

 

[TheRookie]

see my post on fluctuating temp gauge. PRAY that isnt your problem. Water pump bearing failure. wasnt too bad to fix all in all if you are an average DIY. It just sucked that it was 26 degrees and snowing

 

[JasonF]

Water pump bearing faliure, yuck. Is there any way to check for this? Or do you have to take the pump apart to find out?

 

[dogfriend]

I forgot about this thread: Dead Link Removed

Yes, the water pump could cause this problem also. Ford has a newer design (see TSB in other thread) to fix this problem

 

[acastell]

Well, glad to see I am not alone, however, it appears that there is no definitive fix. It seems like I have an annoyoing prblem that has no ill affect on the car. Rather than chase the problem, I will live with it and make sure to notice any abnormalities.

Thanks for the help...

 

[X-1]

Are the newer ex's dashes one coponent? My 2000 dodge ram did that, and they had to replace the gauge cluster.

 

[TheRookie]

The easiest way I can think of to check your water pump is to remove the serp belt. With the belt off you can try to wiggle the pulley/fan. if it wiggles then its bad. There is NO reason to not change a thermostat when doing a water pump. Change it too if you are in there. To remove the fan you can use a strap wrench on the pulley OR buy the right tool (basicaly 2 large open ended wrenches) from most parts places.