High temp/ low oil pressure warning

[Melissah82]

Hello,
I have an '03 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer V8. I love the truck but am tired of the issues with it. It has 85000 miles on it and I just paid $2000 to have the transmission rebuilt and torque converter replaced. The O/D light kept coming on and the Check Transmission warning as well. The gears were shifting hard and hesitated to grab between 2nd and third. Reverse has always shifted hard and still does. The tranny shop also told me that the torque converter that was on there wasnt the original and must have been replaced before. I bought the truck with 30,000 miles on it. Well anyways, I had the tranny rebuilt and now I have a new issue.

Now the high temp/low oil pressure light comes on. It only comes on about half the time when I brake. Once I give it gas then the light turns off. I checked the oil and it was about 1 quart low. I put in another quart and it is now full and it is still happening. When the light flases the guage goes all the way to low and then once I gas it, it goes back to normal. The tranny was just rebuilt 3 weeks ago, I think I put about 200 miles on it before this new issue started.
If anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it. Also, does anyone think that the new issue is somehow related to the first.

Thanks so much!

Thank you

 

[custexplorer]

Hello,
I have an '03 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer V8. I love the truck but am tired of the issues with it. It has 85000 miles on it and I just paid $2000 to have the transmission rebuilt and torque converter replaced. The O/D light kept coming on and the Check Transmission warning as well. The gears were shifting hard and hesitated to grab between 2nd and third. Reverse has always shifted hard and still does. The tranny shop also told me that the torque converter that was on there wasnt the original and must have been replaced before. I bought the truck with 30,000 miles on it. Well anyways, I had the tranny rebuilt and now I have a new issue.

Now the high temp/low oil pressure light comes on. It only comes on about half the time when I brake. Once I give it gas then the light turns off. I checked the oil and it was about 1 quart low. I put in another quart and it is now full and it is still happening. When the light flases the guage goes all the way to low and then once I gas it, it goes back to normal. The tranny was just rebuilt 3 weeks ago, I think I put about 200 miles on it before this new issue started.
If anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it. Also, does anyone think that the new issue is somehow related to the first.

Thanks so much!

Thank you

I'm having the same problem and thinking oil pump.

 

[jrford]

I would be surprised if its related. Maybe they hit a wire while pulling the trans.

But there is a temperature and oil pressure sensor, I'd first want to verify the actual temperature and oil pressure, to rule out any electrical issues. The gauges are not very helpful they only show low/high, what you need to find are the PSI at idle and load. Most old truck that i have seen will at least put out 20psi at idle, new ones 60-70psi. If its below <10psi then there could be something wrong with the oil pump or the bottom end, main bearings.



Have you had the oil changed recently?

 

[Melissah82]

Thanks for the advice. I had the oil changed about 2500 miles ago. I went somewhere new, is it possible that the truck isnt used to the new oil that they used. Would it take the truck 2500 miles to have the warning light come on? In between now and the oil change it sat in the shop for a week getting the tranny rebuilt.

Thanks again

 

[jrford]

mine sat for two week while getting rebuilt that shouldn't matter. Maybe a clogged oil filter, maybe the used a really cheap one. . .

Try changing the oil again and see what that does, it would be the cheapest test, imo. They should use 5-20w also try a Motorcraft filter too, most autoparts store usually carry them. Another thought would be to use Motorcraft oil, its suppose to be made by Connco and i have been running it for 40k miles no issues.

Take it to them and have them drain it and put your stuff in. I would be surprised if it made a difference but again its a cheap test. They shouldn't charge very much to drain and fill might be the same price ???

Let us know what happens, it could be very bad to lose oil pressure.

 

[Melissah82]

Thank you.

I'll let you know what happens

 

[Melissah82]

Well, I took it back to the Tranny place and they ran a test and said that it was the oil pressure switch and would only cost $35. i was excited, picked it up and it didnt work, they said they thought it was the cluster panel and that they couldnt do it there and suggested I take it to a Ford dealership. Well, I still havent taken it in yet. I am searching the junk yards for a used cluster panel first, I was quoted a new one at $1100 and I sure cant afford that right now. This is all after I just paid $2000 for the transmission. To top it off, now my other car an '05 Ford Freestyle is having problems. The power steering is out. I had it flushed ($75) and it worked for about 1 hour of driving and now it is steering really hard again. The pump is working, I can feel it when I turn the wheels all the way to the side. I am guessing the rack needs to be replaced and that is about $450. I dont know which to fix first, the beeping Truck or the hard steering car. All in all I am not very happy with Ford, I really wanted my next vehicle to be an F-150, but seriously I am looking into Toyota or Nissan. Boooo Ford!

 

[jrford]

Question - They hooked up a mechanical gauge to where the sender/switch usually goes and found GOOD oil pressure?? Which should be anything over 20psi at idle.

What happens when the oil sensor is disconnected? Who's did you buy? Ford's or aftermarket?

Not only can it be the sensor but the wiring. fleabay for your cluster $49 and up might be cheaper than a diag from the stealership. Although i hate to throw money as stuff trying to fix it. . .

Here is one thread about the sensor which may or may not help.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192336

 

[FourXFred]

Also, check the wiring harness on the front crossmember. on my 02 v8, the little guard for the oil filter to keep it from draining on the crossmember wore thru a wiring harness right behind it. randomly the oil pressure gauge would drop, then come back up when i revved it. the little guard had cut the wire for oil pressure about 90 percent thru, so when i revved it vibrations would make a crappy connection. if its busted throw the guard away like i did, pull back the sheath on the wire harness, and splice the broken wire back together.

 

[Kimmya70]

Mine is doing the same. The guy I bought it from said..."oh don't worry its just got a sensitive oil level sensor".
It doesn't do it all the time, just when it gets a little low on oil..but recently it took a turn...got behind a school bus, after 4 stops it drops all the way to cold, jumps straight to hot and stays there. Then says decreased engine power, check engine, all this stuff starts happening. I limp it home, boyfriend diagnoses water pump, we replace it. But when we drive it, once it gets hot it won't restart until it cools down. A friend says..its still overheating. Replace thermostat, thermostat housing (plastic and it warps) and temp sensor?. We do all of that and the diagnostic to get them all synced back up alls well. Today, it does it again. Once or twice it does the high temp low oil pressure on stop..but back to normal on acceleration...but after a few times..it freaks out again. Common theme...its extemely hot outside..and we have the air on and are stuck sitting when it goes haywire. Friend says air or leak in the cooling system somewhere?
WTH is going on!? I already have to save up to fix the torque converter, I just bought the parts for the rear hub bearings ...I nead this vehicle to cut me some slack. Please help!

 

[SchuldiesSpeedWorks]

Also, check the wiring harness on the front crossmember. on my 02 v8, the little guard for the oil filter to keep it from draining on the crossmember wore thru a wiring harness right behind it. randomly the oil pressure gauge would drop, then come back up when i revved it. the little guard had cut the wire for oil pressure about 90 percent thru, so when i revved it vibrations would make a crappy connection. if its busted throw the guard away like i did, pull back the sheath on the wire harness, and splice the broken wire back together.

Reviving this Post! My 03’ 4.6 Eddie started throwing the Hi Temp Low Oil at idle and the oil pressure gauge dropped to needle rest. Rev it up and it goes away and the oil pressure gauge reads normal. FourXFred made an amazing recommendation and saved me a ton of time! Found my oil pressure sensor wire nearly severed in half. The job to repair it isn’t bad.

Here’s how to fix it:
Step 1: Disconnect the Positive Terminal on the Battery
Step 2: Remove A/C Compressor Connector. It is also clipped into a retainer shared by the loom leading to the passenger wire loom for the injectors.
Step 3: Disconnect the starter main cable and solenoid wire using a 13mm and 10mm wrench respectively.
Step 4: Using a flat head screw driver separate the cable retainer on the center cross-member and remove the starter loom from the retainer bracket.
Step 5: Disconnect the oil pressure sensor switch connector.
Step 6: Remove the two nuts under the power steering pump that attach the loom bracket to the pump using a 13mm deep well socket and extension. These are accessed via the driver’s side wheel well in front of the tire. (Note a ground cable is also attached and must be reinstalled!!!)
Step 7: Pull the entire starter-A/C-Oil Pressure Sensor loom up and out next to the battery.
Step 8: Repair the severed wire. I cut open the loom, soldered the wire back together, heat shrinked it, re-loomed it and wrapped it in 27 layers of electrical tape.
Step 9: Re-install the loom in the reverse order. I also routed the loom around the back side of the oil filter drain plastic...I like to fix things just once!

The job took me about an hour, but I was a Ford mechanic in a previous life. If you have access to a lift I highly recommend it as it will make even shorter work of the job. Good Luck!

Thanks again FourXFred if you are still out there!