How to: Make Oil pressure gauge perform like "real" gauge

[TSTONE]

originally posted by jambo - 3/11/00
Somewhere in the system is a sort of stabilizer, which allows the guage to move only slowly. Just like your fuel guage. It would be going up and down around every corner, not to mention all the splashing going on as you drive. They slow the fluctuations down so you can make a logical reading without having to manually guess at what the average fuel level is. As far as the oil guage, I am not sure how this is done, whether in the sending unit or in the dash somewhere, but it is done.



just wondering, i have a 93xlt and my gauge appears to work but it is slow, at idle i'm sittin on the "o" and when gettin up to hwy speed it will move up between the "m" and the "a", then when i set the cruise it settles into the left half of the "r", does anyone know - are these phantom readings or does the 93 have a working but stabilized gauge?
todd

 

[Hank]

Check back earlier in the post where I put the instructions. You need to jumper the 22ohm resistor.

 

[kEVINS]

93's do have a working gage, although it does react slowly. The newer X's have "gages for dummies".

 

[TSTONE]

thanks that's what i was looking for
todd

 

[01EB5.0]

Uh...I was told that after 1988 all ford cars had fake oil pressure gauges. If anyone still needs instructions on how to do this mod, let me know.

 

[Hank]

91+ Explorer has fake gauge. Check the early pages of the thread.

 

[kEVINS]

I had a '93 Sport, and different oil viscosities did alter the gage readings. I ran Castrol Syntec 5w50, and the oil pressure under high heat conditions was higher than when the engine was cold. I bought the '93 w/83k, sold it w/155k changed oil @10k intervals, and it used less than 1/4 quart between changes, didn't make any noise, and ran perfectly! Also got 19 to 22 mpg. Love that Syntec! I have a '96 now, and this gage sucks. It also has a higher gear ratio and gets poorer mileage.

 

[01EB5.0]

On your 93 how much did the pressur eon the gauge vary? Maybe a previous owner already swapped out the stock sensor for a pressure reader, because I am pretty sure that ford wasn't using real gauges then. our '88 and '94 ford vans both had fake gauges so if there was a fake in our '88, there most likely would be in the explorer also.

 

[kEVINS]

Another sites' thread stated '94 and up. Believe what you want.... I saw it.

 

[kEVINS]

Varied from low "O" to high "R". Reacted very slowly though.

 

[01EB5.0]

Well, whatever. I'm only stating from past knowledge and the concensus on this board.....doesn;t mean I am not mistaken.

 

[01EB5.0]

Yeah well i dunno because the real ones (on GM's that I drove and on my X) move quite a bit and move quickly. when I stop at a stop light in gear the gauge is in the lower 1/4 of the range, then when I hit the gas it shoots up to the upper 1/4 and ranges in that area all the time. If someone swapped in a pressure sensor on yours and forgot to remove the 20 ohm resister, it will cause th egauge to read low and react slow.

 

[kEVINS]

The people that had it before me didn't even know how to CHECK the oil. They wouldn't have changed the sending unit. Don't assume that because it is "posted" that it is the undenyable truth! I saw on another X site that early x's had a working (although slow) gage, and my '93 confirmed that.

 

[SteveVB]

kEVIN- clean your sender

kEVIN,

you need to reread the first post of this thread, clean your sender.

Like was pointed out before- the gauges on the early models are "dummy" gauges.

Wheres the slow gauge posts- id like to read them.

Like you said dont believe everything you see posted, true...except for the information this thread

 

[kEVINS]

Steve,
I read EVERY post on this thread before I posted one..Did you?? Also I have called Ford before on issues and the people working there often give inaccurate, incomplete,or just plain bad info. I'm talking about first-hand information that I've witnessed in person! Unless you were there looking at my '93 sport, I don't need your input. I've got 23+ years in as an industrial, automotive, and motorcycle mechanic, and I always take info, even from the manufacturer, with a grain of salt.

 

[TSTONE]

i'm really confused now

i've reread the posts again, and it still seems that no one really knows. as for the slow read units see post #3, as for they're all dummy gauges see post #5. i 've had my x since new and it's always reacted as i stated earlier (just wondering, i have a 93xlt and my gauge appears to work but it is slow, at idle i'm sittin on the "o" and when gettin up to hwy speed it will move up between the "m" and the "a", then when i set the cruise it settles into the left half of the "r", does anyone know - are these phantom readings or does the 93 have a working but stabilized gauge?
todd), now the poster #3 is an engineer, and poster #5 is talking bout something he read that dealt with cobras, and the majority of posters here have 95^ x's.

whatever - time for a beer
todd

 

[Hank]

Hey guys, here's a tip.

IF you gauge moves and you are happy with it leave it alone.

I spent alot of time on this and am pretty confident on the info I posted. Although Ford only has one sending unit in their system for my 91, I am sure in the strange big world it is possible that perhaps some Explorers came with working gauges and perhaps some did not. That point is irrelevant in this thread.

Here are some things to check if you have a real or fake gauge.

Sending unit size. The fake one is small, the large one is big.

22 ohm resister behind the instrument cluster. There = fake, not there (or jumpered) = real.

Yes a fake gauge CAN show movement. Mine did, that is what started this whole thread. Turns out it was plugged with sludge. The guage was actually turning on under pressure and OFF at idle. Cleaning the sludge out solved the movement problem.

The small sending unit is on/off that is it. Pull yours and measure the resistance to ground when under pressure or not.

The large unit is a pressure sensative unit. It WILL vary in resistance depending on pressure. That is also why the 22 ohm resistor is on the cluster. 22 ohms makes the guage stand straight up.

Please guys, lets keep this thread on the technical not philosophical issues. I get 10-15 e-mails at home each month on this thread plus e-mails all the replies.

Thanks
hg

 

[01EB5.0]

That was stated great Hank! Thanks
As he said the fake ones still will move slightly as my mom's 94 ford van does, and if it is real it will move quicker and will move further. try driving a chevy then you will know what I mean by more and faster movement. they have real gauges. I drove a 2001 Duramax diesel 2500 truck and the gauge moved a lot..both cold and warm. Same thing on the 98 Dodge Ram 2500 diesel that my Dad brings home sometimes.

Personally on my truck it will range greatly, but at speeds over 50 or 55 it normally stays up at the top of it's band.

The larger sending unit ( the real one) is about the size of a golf ball or tennis ball, while the smaller on/off switch unit (the fake one) has a plastic while tocer and is maybe the size of a ping pong ball or the size of the lid off a 2 liter bottle.

 

[crossman]

I am going to change my oil sending unit over to the new one, so I can see the changes in my oil pressure. I see that Maniak used a Niehoff FF133E oil pressure switch and I was wondering if this same one will fit in a '91 Explorer. Are they all the same size and fit each year of Explorers? Thanks.

 

[Maniak]

Yup, it will fit a 91 X and as far as I can tell it will fit all of the first generation X's (<95)

The only thing I would do different (which I finally did) is to put a split piece of hose around the powersteering hose as it will rub slightly on the sending unit. This way it wears through the extra layer of hose instead of the real power steering hose.

~Mark